Tax at source in Vaud (impôt à la source)
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Focused basics for international students and newcomers in Vaud who take a job while holding a B, L, or similar permit without a C permit. Orientation only, not tax advice. This kit does not publish withholding rates; use Vaud’s official calculators or ask ACI / your employer.
Companion pages: Student tax · Residence tax vs income tax · AVS number & payslips · Working while studying
What “tax at source” means
Impôt à la source (withholding tax) is income tax that your employer deducts from your salary each pay period and remits to the cantonal tax administration (Administration cantonale des impôts, ACI).
Vaud calls people in this regime sourciers (withholding taxpayers).
It is not the same as:
| Payment | What it is | Kit page |
|---|---|---|
| Residence tax (taxe de séjour) | Commune charge on people staying in the commune | Residence tax vs income tax |
| Ordinary income-tax return | Annual declaration (typical for Swiss nationals / C permit) | Student tax |
| Serafe | Radio/TV household fee | Serafe |
| AVS / social contributions | Payroll social insurance (separate lines on the payslip) | AVS · Payslips |
Is there a church tax in Vaud? See Church tax and religious communities in Vaud.
Who is a sourcier in Vaud?
ACI’s sourciers page distinguishes two main groups.
1. Domiciled or staying in Switzerland (no C permit)
Foreign workers who are domiciled or staying in Switzerland for tax purposes without an establishment permit (C) are withheld on income from employed work in Switzerland.
ACI names, among others, permits B, L, F, N, Ci, and people working without a stay authorisation.
For most EPFL-area students on a student B (or L) who take a paid job, this is the usual track: the employer withholds on the Swiss salary.
2. Not domiciled in Switzerland
Workers whose main tax domicile is abroad (any nationality, including Swiss) can also be withheld on Swiss employment income (short stays, secondary domicile with return abroad, certain frontier cases, and other categories listed by ACI). Frontier rules with France have extra conditions; see ACI if that is your situation.
Sources: Personnes imposées à la source / Sourciers · Les impôts pour les jeunes
Students: working vs not working
| Your situation | What official pages support |
|---|---|
| B/L (etc.) student with a Swiss job, no C permit | Employer withholds impôt à la source on that employment income. Check the payslip and the annual salary certificate (Form 11, field for withholding). |
| B/L student with no job | Nothing to withhold on salary (ACI ties withholding to income from employed work in Switzerland). Federal and Vaud tax law say that a person who keeps their home (domicile) abroad and is in Switzerland only to attend a school or university does not become tax-domiciled or tax-resident here (LIFD art. 3 para. 4; Vaud LI art. 3 para. 4). Both conditions count: your home stays abroad, and studying is the only reason you are here. If your situation is different (for example your family lives in Vaud, you no longer have a home abroad, or you stay on after your studies), you may be tax-domiciled in Vaud, and the ordinary filing duty can then apply (Ma situation personnelle: every person from 18, students included). If ACI sends you a tax return or a letter, do not ignore it: fill it in, or contact ACI and explain your situation. To verify: no Vaud tax page explains how ACI applies this rule to students on a B or L permit in practice, or whether it sends them a return by default. Confirm your own case with ACI (021 316 00 00, Monday to Friday 08:00 to 17:00). See Student tax and Residence tax vs income tax. |
| Swiss national or C permit | Ordinary assessment (annual return), not the sourcier regime. Deadline reminders on the jeunes page: legal 15 March, tolerance noted to 30 June, extensions via e-Délai. |
EPFL’s Working page states that foreign students with a B permit have tax deducted from salary, and that the employer must notify the authorities.
Source: EPFL, Working
What your employer does
- Registers you for withholding when you are a sourcier.
- Applies the barème (tariff) that matches your situation (ACI publishes annual instructions and Excel calculators for employers and taxpayers).
- Deducts the tax from each salary and remits it to ACI.
- Issues salary statements / the annual salary certificate (ESTV Form 11), including the withholding total where applicable.
This kit does not quote withholding percentages or tariff tables. They change by year and personal situation. Vaud publishes calculators on the sourciers page (files labelled by tax year, including 2026 when last checked). Open the year that matches your payslip.
Hub for employers and sourciers: Impôt à la source (ACI)
When ordinary assessment still applies (TOU)
Even if you are withheld, ACI describes taxation ordinaire ultérieure (TOU) paths for people domiciled in Vaud for tax purposes.
Mandatory TOU (examples ACI lists)
- Gross annual income subject to withholding for you (or your jointly assessed spouse in the same household) exceeds CHF 120,000.
- You have other income not covered by withholding (examples ACI gives: certain pensions, self-employment income, real-estate income).
- You have taxable wealth (movable and/or immovable, in Switzerland and/or abroad).
Withholding continues; amounts already withheld are credited against the ordinary assessment.
TOU on request
If none of the mandatory grounds apply, you may request TOU in writing by 31 March of the year after the tax year (ACI form on the sourciers page). Once validly filed, the request cannot be withdrawn, and TOU continues until you leave the withholding regime. ACI warns the final bill can be higher or lower than pure withholding.
Leaving withholding for ordinary assessment mid-situation
ACI states you move to ordinary assessment for the whole tax period when, for example, you receive a C permit, or you marry a Swiss national / C-permit holder (details and timing on the sourciers page). Withholding stops from the month after the triggering event; amounts already withheld are credited without interest.
Source: Personnes imposées à la source / Sourciers
If the amount looks wrong
ACI describes several student-relevant remedies. Deadlines below are from the sourciers page.
| Path | When ACI says to use it | Deadline (ACI) |
|---|---|---|
| Decision on existence / extent of liability | You contest the withholding shown on the employer attestation, or the employer gave you no attestation | By 31 March of the year after the payment year |
| New calculation (nouveau calcul) | Gross salary used is wrong; annual income used for the rate is wrong; or the wrong barème was applied. No extra deductions beyond those already built into the tariffs | By 31 March of the year after the payment year |
| TOU on request | You want a full ordinary assessment (deductions outside the tariff path, etc.), knowing the result can go either way | Written request by 31 March of the year after the tax year |
| EPFL-described refund track | EPFL Working page: foreign B-permit students with annual income not exceeding CHF 28,800 may ask the canton of residence for a tax refund between 1 January and 31 March, sending salary statements, permit copy, EPFL registration certificate, and bank details to ACI Section de l’impôt à la source | EPFL: 1 Jan-31 March |
To verify: the CHF 28,800 refund threshold and document list are stated on EPFL’s Working page. ACI’s sourciers page, the retenue d’impôt à la source hub, and the published barèmes / instructions 2026 PDF emphasise nouveau calcul, contested decisions, and TOU; they do not publish that same CHF 28,800 student-refund line (28,800 appears only as a normal tariff income band in the PDF). ACI’s “Demande de remboursement” form on the retenues page sits with employer / special-payment forms, not a published student-refund path matching EPFL. Treat EPFL’s figure as EPFL guidance; confirm the current Vaud path and any income threshold with ACI Section de l’impôt à la source before you rely on a refund.
Practical first steps if a payslip looks odd:
- Keep monthly payslips and the annual salary certificate.
- Ask payroll which barème and civil-status codes they used.
- Compare with Vaud’s calculator for that tax year (sourciers page).
- Contact ACI source desk if needed:
info.aci-source@vd.ch(ACI publishes this address; formal réclamations must go by signed postal mail, not email). - Office for Lausanne / West Lausanne districts (from ACI page): Rue Caroline 11bis, CP 1142, 1001 Lausanne, tel. 021 316 20 65 (opening hours on the page).
Payslip and Form 11 pointers
ESTV’s salary-certificate guide (valid from 1 January 2026) includes ch. 12, total withholding tax deducted for foreign employees without an establishment permit (C) (and other cases the guide names). Monthly student payslips usually show a matching impôt à la source line when you are withheld.
Guide: ESTV / SSK Wegleitung Form 11, from 2026 (FR) · kit detail: AVS number & payslips