Relocating vs Resident what's the difference?

mytoofood · Dec 3, 2022

A good 3 months ago I moved from Sweden to Germany to stay here for a maximum of 6 months and then moved on to Switzerland and then on to another non-EU country (haven't quite decided yet.

When I moved from Sweden, I went online and registered my move to Germany and deregistered in Sweden.

I have since registered in Germany and will deregister again in 2 months to register in Switzerland.

I pay tax in Germany during the months I live there, so don't I also have to pay in Sweden?

When I move to Switzerland do I have to pay tax there and not also in Germany?

What I'm doing is "relocating" right ?

Sols · Dec 3, 2022

Relocating is the act of moving from one place to another. It's just another word for "move". It has no meaning beyond that. You can relocate from the kitchen to the living room.

Resident is the act of living (residing) somewhere. You relocate from Sweden to Germany. Upon successful completion of the relocation, you have become resident in Germany.

You pay taxes based on the tax residence laws of the relevant jurisdictions. This is different from residence for immigration purposes. In some cases, you can be tax resident in a jurisdiction without living there. It's possible to be tax resident in multiple jurisdictions at the same time.

Sweden has pretty simple tax residence laws. As long as you don't live there and don't maintain strong economic ties (owning a business there, for example), you are tax non-resident in Sweden.

Germany is similar but stricter (the definition is looser). However, if you're a foreigner who only lived in Germany temporarily and cut your economic ties with Germany, they usually don't bother going after you unless you have an unsettled tax debt from when you lived there.

Switzerland considers you tax resident if you live there for 30 consecutive days (if employed), 90 consecutive days (if unemployed), or if you are staying in Switzerland with the intention of staying indefinitely.

If you lived in Germany, you are probably tax resident in Germany. If you continue to have access to residence in Germany while you live in Switzerland, this can make you tax resident in both jurisdictions. That's a complicated situation, best to be avoided.

Look into the relevant tax laws (seek professional guidance from a lawyer/tax adviser) if you're unsure about where you're tax resident.