Financial planning for Americans in Zurich.

Zurich brought you in for the role — Google, UBS, a re-insurer, a hedge fund seat on the Bahnhofstrasse, or a senior pharma move from the US. The pay is excellent. The wrinkles are real. Your Pillar 2 is quietly your biggest single asset, and almost every fund inside it is a PFIC. Cantonal wealth tax reads your balance every December 31st with no US credit. Your US broker is nervous about your Zurich address. We build for Americans on Swiss payroll in Zurich — your US side stays clean, your Swiss side gets done properly.

Cross-border financial planning and US investment management for Americans living abroad, typically with $1M+. Most clients have $1M+ in investable assets; we also work with selected households from $500K.

Written and reviewed by Anthony Walsh, Selanis. Last reviewed 2026-06-30.

Key issues

Pillar 2 (BVG) funds are PFICs
Zurich wealth tax with no US credit
Lump-sum vs lifetime pension at retirement
RSUs taxed both sides without coordination
Eigenmietwert abolition (2028)
US brokers closing Swiss-address accounts

Your Pillar 2 is the biggest pot you'll ever own here — and almost nobody has modelled how the US will tax it

The 2nd pillar is mandatory, employer-matched, and for senior US earners at Google Zurich, UBS, Swiss Re, Zurich Insurance, Credit Suisse legacy, or a Bahnhofstrasse hedge fund it often becomes the single largest line on your balance sheet — CHF 500k to CHF 3M+ by mid-career. The US recognises the pension wrapper under the treaty, but the underlying Swiss funds inside are PFICs that require annual Form 8621. Buy-ins (Einkäufe) give you a Swiss tax deduction but usually no US relief. The lump-sum vs lifetime pension choice at retirement is one of the most expensive decisions of your life, and almost nobody models both sides.

Pillar 3a is the standard 'smart' Swiss savings move — and most of them are PFIC factories

Every bank and every app (VIAC, Frankly, Finpension, your UBS branch) pushes a fund-based 3a. For a Swiss person it's a genuinely smart deduction. For a US person, the underlying Swiss or Luxembourg-domiciled funds are PFICs — Form 8621 every year, every fund, with the default IRS treatment producing a tax bill that can exceed the gain. Insurance-wrapped 3a (Swiss Life, AXA, Helvetia, Zurich) stacks a separate US life-insurance problem on top. A small number of 3a setups genuinely work for US persons. Most quietly destroy value for years.

Zurich's wealth tax hits your net worth every year — and the US gives you zero credit for it

The canton of Zurich (and the city) levies an annual wealth tax on your worldwide net assets. Your investment portfolio, your US brokerage, your crypto, your property equity, your private holdings — all in. The US has no wealth tax and gives no foreign tax credit for it. For a family in Zurich with CHF 5M of net assets, this is real money every year — on top of what you already paid on the income that built it. Debt deduction, pension structuring and the location of business equity are the real levers.

The Pillar 2 lump-sum vs lifetime pension decision is the most expensive day of your Swiss retirement — plan it 10 years out

At retirement you can take Pillar 2 as a one-time capital payout, a lifetime pension (Rente), or a mix. Switzerland taxes the lump sum at a preferential separate rate; the lifetime pension is taxed as ordinary income. The US treats the lump sum as a pension distribution but still gets first taxing rights as your citizen, and timing across calendar years can change the answer by six figures. Cross-modelled with your 401(k) rollover, IRAs and Social Security, this is a decision we build over years — not in the last meeting before you sign the form.

If your RSUs vest in Zurich, you're in a four-way puzzle most people only see two sides of

Swiss tax on equity follows grant-vest-sale rules reported through the Lohnausweis. The US wants the same vest on your 1040 with a treaty-based foreign tax credit, sourced workday-by-workday across the grant-to-vest period. ESPP discounts, sell-to-cover defaults, leaver dates, and whether you're paid in CHF or USD all change the optimal sequence. Doing it in isolation on either side leaves real money on the table every single vest.

Eigenmietwert is being abolished — and that changes whether you should pay down your Zurich mortgage early

In September 2025 Swiss voters approved abolition of the imputed-rental-value tax on primary residences, effective from 2028. The traditional Zurich strategy — carry a big mortgage, amortise indirectly through a 3a, deduct the interest against imputed rental income — is built on a tax that's about to disappear. For a US person it gets layered: US §988 currency gain on the CHF mortgage, US mortgage interest deduction limits, and the US $250k/$500k home-sale exclusion all interact. Anyone with a 60–80% LTV in Zurich needs to revisit the whole structure now.

UBS doesn't really want you anymore. Your US broker is closing your account too.

Schwab, Fidelity, Vanguard, Morgan Stanley and Merrill have all restricted or closed accounts for US persons with a Swiss address. UBS (post-Credit Suisse merger), Julius Bär, PostFinance and most Kantonalbanken have either pushed US persons to high minimums or closed the accounts. A forced US-side liquidation in mid-career crystallises an unplanned tax year and a CHF/USD event. Interactive Brokers, Schwab International (for qualifying clients) and a small bench of Swiss setups genuinely work — but the migration has to be sequenced.

If your spouse isn't a US citizen, your US estate plan probably doesn't protect them

The US federal estate tax exemption applies to US citizens worldwide, but the unlimited marital deduction does not apply if your spouse isn't a US citizen. A QDOT trust is typically required to defer US estate tax at first death. Zurich exempts spouses and direct descendants from cantonal inheritance tax — but that's only half the picture. The US–Switzerland estate tax treaty coordinates the two sides, only if your estate plan was actually drafted with both in mind. Most weren't.

Three US filings that follow you to Zurich — and that almost nobody coordinates

If your foreign accounts together touch USD 10,000 at any single moment, FBAR is mandatory. Form 8938 has higher thresholds. Form 8621 is required for each PFIC inside your Pillar 2, 3a and any Swiss-domiciled fund. None of these are filed by your Swiss Treuhänder, and US CPAs frequently miss them on a Zurich balance sheet. We bring late filers current quietly.

Frequently asked questions

Why do I need someone who handles both the US and Swiss side?

Because the entire problem lives in the gap between two systems and almost nobody sits in both. A Swiss Treuhänder doesn't think in PFICs, FBAR, Form 8938, US estate tax or QDOTs. A US CPA doesn't think in Pillar 2, Pillar 3a, wealth tax, Eigenmietwert reform or the lump-sum vs Rente decision. We design the strategy and quarterback both sides around one plan.

Is my Pillar 2 really a problem if I'm American?

The pension wrapper is recognised by treaty, but the underlying funds inside are PFICs requiring annual Form 8621. The real money is the lump-sum vs lifetime pension decision at retirement — we model both sides 10 years out, not at the last meeting before you sign.

What about my Pillar 3a?

Smartest move for a Swiss person, often value-destroying for an American if it holds Swiss UCITS funds or is insurance-wrapped. We assess your specific 3a and either reposition it or redirect future contributions.

Should I make Pillar 2 buy-ins (Einkäufe)?

Sometimes yes, often no. The Swiss deduction is real; US-side relief is usually nil and the PFIC base deepens. We model the after-tax outcome on both sides before you wire the buy-in.

Lump sum or lifetime pension at retirement?

It depends on your canton at payout, your US bracket, your other retirement assets, the conversion rate, your spouse's situation, and timing across calendar years. This is one of the most expensive single decisions of your life — we model it years in advance, not at age 64.

What happens with the Eigenmietwert abolition?

Voters approved abolition in September 2025; effective from 2028. Anyone with a large Zurich mortgage held mainly for tax reasons needs to revisit the strategy now. For a US person we layer in US currency-gain rules and US mortgage interest limits.

My US broker is closing my account because I live in Zurich. What do I do?

Move before they force-liquidate you. Interactive Brokers, Schwab International (for qualifying clients) and a small number of Swiss-friendly setups genuinely support US persons in Switzerland. We sequence the migration alongside any Pillar 2, 3a or RSU events in motion.

Do I need a QDOT for my Swiss spouse?

If your spouse isn't a US citizen, the unlimited marital deduction doesn't apply for US federal estate tax. A QDOT is the standard structure to defer the tax at first death. Combined with the US–Switzerland estate treaty, we draft this with a Swiss notary and a US estate attorney together.

Do you actually file my US or Swiss taxes?

No, deliberately. We coordinate a US CPA and a Zurich Treuhänder into one strategy. Keeping tax prep separate from advice keeps everyone independent.

What does engagement cost?

We start with a 45-minute Complimentary Fit Conversation. Engagement starts at $3,000 for a focused planning project, with ongoing management on a tiered fee from 1.00% on the first $1M, falling to 0.30% above $10M. No commissions, no retros, no product revenue. Ever.

Fees

Blueprint $3,000 and Life $8,000 (flat planning fees). Private Wealth Management on a tiered, blended schedule starting at 1.00% on the first $1M and declining to 0.30% above $10M. Fee-only: no commissions, no product payments, no lock-in. All fees

Book a Fit Conversation — Complimentary Fit Conversation (45 min).