Is a Swiss bank account closed automatically when moving back home?

No, the bank account does not close automatically when you deregister from Switzerland. You must notify the bank separately about the change of tax residence, because only then can the bank correctly handle reporting and the account status.

Can a Swiss bank account be kept if the client no longer lives in Switzerland?

Yes, but not every bank allows non-resident clients. The rules for keeping the account vary from bank to bank, and some institutions specifically close the account once the Swiss address no longer exists.

When is it better to keep the Swiss bank account?

Keeping it may make sense if you still have a source of income in Switzerland, your second pillar or another Swiss payment is still pending, or you expect to return to Switzerland within a short time. In such cases, the account can be practical for receiving incoming payments.

What are the tax consequences if the Swiss bank account remains open while you are a Hungarian tax resident?

Under the CRS/AEOI system, the bank also reports account balances and interest income to the Hungarian tax authority. A person who is tax resident in Hungary must declare the interest earned on the Swiss account in Hungary.

Why is it important to settle tax matters before closing the account?

Because certain refunds, such as withholding tax reclaims or other credits, may still arrive on the Swiss account. If the account is closed too early, these payments may get stuck or require separate administration.

What document should be requested when closing the account?

You should request written confirmation of closure from the bank. It is advisable to keep this for at least 10 years, because it can serve as evidence in the event of a tax audit.

What happens to the credit card and securities account when the bank account is closed?

Most banks also terminate the related services or handle them through a separate procedure. Closing a securities account is a separate process, and the securities must either be sold or transferred to another institution.

Swiss bank account when moving back home: close it or keep it?

Why does this question come up when moving back home?

A Swiss bank account and your legal residence status in Switzerland are closely linked, but they are not the same thing. When you leave Switzerland and deregister from the Swiss population register (Einwohnerregister / Contrôle des habitants), the bank is not informed automatically — you have to notify it yourself.

This reporting obligation is not just an administrative formality. Swiss banks are required to keep track of the client’s tax residence (Steuerdomizil / domicile fiscal) on an ongoing basis under the automatic exchange of information (CRS/AEOI — Common Reporting Standard / Automatic Exchange of Information). Hungary has participated in this system since 2017, which means that Swiss banks report annually to the Hungarian tax authority (NAV) on your Swiss account balance and interest income if you are recorded as a person with Hungarian tax residence.

So if you move back home but do not notify the bank of the change in tax residence, the reporting will be incorrect or incomplete — and that can cause problems on both sides.

Keeping a Swiss bank account: when is it possible, and what are the conditions?

Will the bank keep your account if you no longer live in Switzerland?

Not every Swiss bank maintains accounts for non-resident clients. Large commercial banks (UBS, Credit Suisse’s successor after merging into UBS, Raiffeisen, PostFinance, Kantonalbanken) typically decide based on their own internal rules, and some institutions explicitly refuse to keep an account open once the client no longer has a Swiss address.

⚠️ PostFinance (the subsidiary of Schweizerische Post) tightened its non-resident policy in 2023. Current conditions vary from bank to bank and may change — please verify this point with the editor before publication.

In what cases is it worth considering keeping it?

Keeping the account makes sense if:

You still have an active source of income in Switzerland (e.g. Swiss rental income, a securities portfolio, or the final settlement of an ongoing employment relationship).
The second pillar (berufliche Vorsorge / BVG) payout or the vested benefits account (Freizügigkeitskonto) has not yet been closed, and you are expecting the money to be paid into a Swiss account.
You expect regular payments from Switzerland (e.g. refunds, severance pay, withholding tax refund).
You will be returning to Switzerland within a short time, and opening a new account again would take time.

What obligations come with keeping it?

If the bank accepts your non-resident status, you should be prepared for the following conditions:

Aspect	Typical condition
Tax residence notification	The new (Hungarian) tax residency must be reported to the bank in writing
CRS data reporting	The bank sends annual data to the NAV on the account balance and income
Account maintenance fee	Non-resident customers may be charged a higher fee (typically CHF 5–20 per month, depending on the bank)
Withholding tax on deposit interest	Swiss withholding tax (Quellensteuer) is deducted from interest income at a rate of 35%; a refund may be claimed under the double taxation agreement
Credit card	Most banks cancel the credit card if the customer loses their Swiss address

Closing a Swiss bank account: step by step

Step 1: Settle your tax obligations before closing

Before closing the bank account, the following tax matters should be settled:

*Withholding tax refund (Quellensteuer-Rückerstattung): If you have been taxed in Switzerland under withholding tax (typically in the case of employees with a B permit), you must submit the final tax return (Steuererklärung) to the competent cantonal tax office (Kantonales Steueramt*). The refund is credited to the bank account — so it is best to close the account only after the tax refund has arrived.

Withholding tax on interest income: Swiss banks deduct 35% withholding tax (Verrechnungssteuer) from interest income. Under the Hungarian-Swiss double taxation agreement (1981, as amended), part of this can be reclaimed, but the procedure is handled through the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (Eidgenössische Steuerverwaltung / ESTV) and can take up to 12–18 months.

Reporting a change of tax residency to the bank: The change of residency (Wohnsitzwechsel ins Ausland) must be reported in writing. Most banks use their own form for this, which can be submitted in person, by post or — at some banks — via online banking.

Step 2: Request account closure

The account closure request (Kontoauflösung / clôture de compte) can be submitted in the following ways, depending on the bank:

In person at the branch — this is the fastest and least error-prone method. A valid passport is required for identification.
By post — with a signed, certified request. Some banks require a notarized signature (beglaubigte Unterschrift) if the client is no longer in Switzerland.
Via online banking — only a few banks allow full closure digitally; at most institutions, this option is limited.

⚠️ The requirement for notarized signature certification varies from bank to bank. Please check this in advance with your specific bank.

Step 3: Provide the transfer account number

The bank will transfer the account balance to a specified account number. For this, you will need:

The IBAN of the destination account (for a Hungarian bank account, an IBAN starting with HU).
The SWIFT/BIC code of the destination bank.
The currency of the transfer to be specified (conversion from CHF to HUF takes place at the bank’s exchange rate, which may differ from the market mid-rate).

The transfer fee is typically between CHF 5 and CHF 30, but for larger amounts some banks may also charge a percentage-based fee.

Step 4: Cancel the related services

Before or at the same time as closing the bank account, you need to cancel:

Credit card (Kreditkarte) and debit card (Debitkarte)
Standing orders (Dauerauftrag) and direct debit mandates (LSV / Lastschriftverfahren)
E-banking access
Securities account (Wertschriftendepot), if you have one — closing this is a separate procedure, and in the case of securities, transfer or sale is required

Step 5: Request written confirmation of the closure

After closing, request a written confirmation (Kontoauflösungsbestätigung). Keep this document for at least 10 years, as it can serve as evidence in the event of a tax audit.

Tax and legal obligations — what you need to know before closing

CRS reporting and the NAV

Both Hungary and Switzerland participate in the CRS framework. If you become tax resident in Hungary after 1 January 2025, the Swiss bank reports the data for that calendar year to the Swiss tax authorities by September of the following year, and they pass it on to the NAV. This means that the Swiss account balance and interest income must be declared in the Hungarian tax return.

Hungarian tax filing obligation

As a person tax resident in Hungary, interest income earned on a Swiss account must be declared in Hungary. Double taxation is prevented by the 1981 Hungarian-Swiss treaty, but applying the treaty is not automatic — you must indicate the foreign income and any tax paid abroad in your tax return.

Deregistration in Switzerland and notifying the bank

Deregistration from the Swiss residents’ register (Abmeldung) and notifying the bank of your change of residence are two separate procedures. The authorities do not inform the bank — you must do that yourself.

Money transfer and exchange-rate risk

When transferring larger amounts (typically over CHF 10,000), it is worth considering the following:

Bank exchange rate vs. market exchange rate: Commercial banks typically charge a 1–3% spread when converting CHF/HUF compared with the market mid-rate. For larger sums, this makes a meaningful difference.
Money transfer providers: Some regulated payment service providers (e.g. Wise, Revolut — these are not banks, but EEA-authorised institutions) offer more favourable exchange rates, but they are not always suitable for direct transfers from a Swiss bank account.
Amount thresholds and reporting obligations: In Hungary, cash deposits or withdrawals above HUF 3.5 million must be reported. This threshold does not apply to bank transfers, but the NAV monitors larger incoming transfers from abroad.

⚠️ The editor should verify the current status of the HUF 3.5 million reporting threshold and the relevant anti-money-laundering (AML) rules before publication.

Severance pay, interest and closing costs

Severance pay (Abgangsentschädigung)

If moving back home involves the end of an employment relationship, the severance pay will arrive in the Swiss bank account. It is therefore advisable to initiate the closure only once all expected payments (severance pay, final salary, any bonus) have been received.

Closing fees

Some banks charge a closing fee (Kontoauflösungsgebühr) , especially if the account was opened recently (typically within 6–12 months). The fee usually ranges from CHF 20 to CHF 100, but this varies by bank and account type.

⚠️ The editor should check the exact closing fees bank by bank; these are listed in the general schedule of charges (Preisliste / liste des prix).

Interest credit on closure

When closing the account, the bank credits the final interest up to the current calendar day (pro rata). This amount forms part of the final balance.

Common mistakes and pitfalls to avoid

1. They initiate the closure before deregistration. If your Swiss address is still active but the bank account has already been closed, certain official refunds (e.g. tax refunds, insurance refunds) may not be able to arrive. The correct order is: first settle the financial processes, then close the account.

2. They do not notify the bank of the change in tax residency. Under the CRS framework, the bank will continue to classify the client according to Swiss tax residency until you report the change. This can lead to reporting errors and tax consequences.

3. They do not reclaim the withholding tax refund. The 35% Swiss withholding tax (Verrechnungssteuer) can be partially reclaimed under the double taxation treaty. Many clients overlook this, even though the process — while time-consuming — can be completed.

4. They ignore the securities account. If there is also a securities account (Depot) alongside the bank account, closing it requires a separate procedure. The securities must be sold or transferred to another institution — this can take weeks.

5. They confuse the second pillar with the bank account. The second pillar (berufliche Vorsorge / BVG) is not paid out through the current account, but via the vested benefits institution (Freizügigkeitseinrichtung). This is a separate process that must be handled in parallel with, but independently from, closing the bank account.

6. They do not ask for written confirmation. A verbal confirmation of closure is not enough. Without written confirmation, you may run into evidentiary problems in the event of a tax audit.

Keep or close? Summary of considerations

Aspect	Reasons to keep it	Reasons to close it
Swiss source of income	Yes, ongoing	No
Planned return	Yes, within 1–2 years	Not planned
Bank accepts non-resident status	Yes	No
Account maintenance fee	Low or zero	High
Tax obligations	Acceptable	Complicated / not desired
Second pillar still in progress	Yes	No

Sources

ch.ch – the official Swiss citizen information portal: https://www.ch.ch/en/
Federal Tax Administration (Eidgenössische Steuerverwaltung / ESTV): https://www.estv.admin.ch
Federal Social Insurance Office – AHV/AVS information: https://www.bsv.admin.ch
Federal Statistical Office (Bundesamt für Statistik / BFS): https://www.bfs.admin.ch
OECD – list of CRS participating countries: https://www.oecd.org/tax/automatic-exchange/
National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary (NAV): https://www.nav.gov.hu