Cleaning, caretaker, garden: what landlords can deduct in Switzerland

What counts, item by item

• Cleaning the stairwell and shared roomsSR 642.116.2 Art. 1; ZStB 30.3 RZ 21 (ZH)deductibleIn a rental building, as far as you bear the cost and do not pass it on.
• Caretaker: wage and your employer contributionsSR 642.116.2 Art. 1 Abs. 1 lit. a Ziff. 3deductibleThe ordinance names “payments to the caretaker”. The part you bear yourself counts.
• Garden upkeep: lawn, hedges, treesZStB 30.3 RZ 27 (ZH); StP 34 Nr. 5 (TG)deductibleOrdinary upkeep. In a rental building mowing and snow clearing count too.
• Laying out a new gardenZStB 30.3 RZ 27 (ZH)not deductibleA new garden and hobby gardening are not upkeep.
• Cleaning at a change of tenantStB 44 Nr. 2 Ziff. 1.5 (SG)deductibleIf you pay for it. If the outgoing tenant pays, it is not your expense.
• Holiday flat, partly used by youPraxis 035-01 Ziff. 6.4 (GR)partlyCleaning between guests reduces the rental income. For your own stays it is private.
• What tenants pay through service chargesStP 34 Nr. 1 Ziff. 3.6.3 (TG)not deductibleYou do not bear these costs.
• Your own home: cleaning, snow clearingArt. 34 let. a DBG; StP 34 Nr. 1 (TG)not deductibleLiving costs. In an owner-occupied condominium, Thurgau and St. Gallen accept 50 % of the caretaker costs.

The rule is the same everywhere: what you bear yourself as owner for the rented-out property is deductible. In your own home the same work is a living cost, with few exceptions: When is a cleaner in your own household deductible?. Where the employee appears in your tax return is shown in Household help in the tax return: what goes where?.

For holiday flats the cantons calculate differently. Graubünden deducts the cost of heating, electricity, water, visitor's tax and cleaning from the income of furnished holiday flats and allows a flat rate of 10 % for it up to CHF 30,000 of gross income per year. Above that, actual costs count. On the employment itself: Who cleans the Airbnb flat, and what applies then? and Having a holiday flat cleaned: which canton is responsible?

Flat-rate deduction or actual costs?

You choose again in every tax period and for every property. The flat rate replaces the actual costs of maintenance, insurance premiums and administration by third parties. So you cannot deduct cleaning, the caretaker or the garden on top of the flat rate.

The cantons have their own rates: Zurich uses 20 %, whatever the age of the building. The flat rate is excluded when third parties use the property mainly for business. If your documented costs are higher than the flat rate, deducting actual costs pays off. For that you need receipts. Your own work does not count, only the material.

If you employ the cleaner or caretaker yourself

Whoever receives a wage from you and works to your instructions is your employee, even with a few hours a month. If she cleans inside the flat, for example the holiday flat between two guests, the private-household rule applies: social security (AHV) contributions from the first franc. The distinction is explained in Cleaner self-employed or employed: how can you tell?

Caretaker work in an apartment building outside the flats is not counted as domestic service by AHV (leaflet 2.06). The general rule applies here: up to CHF 2,500 of wages per year, contributions are only settled if the employee asks for it, above that always. What belongs in the contract: What belongs in a caretaker's list of duties?

According to leaflet 2.07, the simplified settlement procedure is open when the wage per person does not exceed CHF 22,680 and the total payroll does not exceed CHF 60,480 per year. Corporations, cooperatives and spouses or children working for the employer are excluded. The leaflet does not limit it to private households. If in doubt, ask your compensation office (Ausgleichskasse). Accident insurance through the office (VAVplus) only exists for household help in your own household. To compare: Simplified or ordinary settlement procedure: which one fits?

Frequently asked questions

• Can I deduct stairwell cleaning from my taxes?Yes, in a rental building, as far as you bear the cost yourself.+

  Zurich expressly names cleaning, lighting and heating of entrance areas, stairwell, cellar and attic (ZStB 30.3 RZ 21). If you charge the stairwell cleaning to the tenants through service charges, it is not deductible.

• Is the caretaker's wage deductible?Yes. The ESTV ordinance on property costs counts “payments to the caretaker” among the operating costs, as far as the owner pays for them.+

  If the caretaker is employed by you, that is the gross wage and your employer contributions. The payslips and the statement from the compensation office are your proof.

• Can I deduct the cleaning of my holiday flat?Partly. Cleaning between guests belongs to the rental and reduces the rental income.+

  Cleaning for your own stays is private. The cantons calculate furnished holiday flats differently, some with their own flat rates. Ask your tax office.

• Flat-rate deduction or actual costs?You choose again every year and for every property.+

  For direct federal tax the flat rate is 10 % of the gross rental income for buildings up to ten years old and 20 % for older ones. The flat rate covers individual cleaning or caretaker costs. Deducting actual costs pays off when your documented costs are higher.

• And the cleaning of my own home?Not deductible. Cleaning and snow clearing in the home you live in are living costs (Art. 34 let. a DBG).+

  Help in your own household only becomes deductible in special cases, such as childcare or because of a disability.

• Can I deduct my own work as a landlord?No. If you look after the stairwell or garden yourself, you cannot deduct a wage for it.+

  Zurich and Thurgau state that your own work is not property maintenance. The material remains deductible.