Income tax on commissions paid out to consultants?

To my surprise, my financial advisor handed me an envelope with several thousand francs and told me that the money came from commissions she received from investment funds and insurance companies over the year for onboarding me as a customer. According to my advisor, she is not legally able to keep these commissions and has to pass them on to me as her client.

My question is, do I have to tax this money as income, or does it benefit from some type of tax-exempt status like stock dividends do?

Hi there,

Retrocession fees paid out to asset managers by investment funds and passed on by wealth managers to their clients must be taxed as regular income.

However, you should ask your wealth manager whether the money they passed on to you was received as onboarding rewards from investment funds, or if it was received as reimbursements for overestimated fees and charges at banks. Some banks return part of the fees charged to investors at the end of the year. These reimbursements of bank fees do not qualify as taxable income.

Best regards from Moneyguru

More on this topic:
Asset management comparison
Private banking service comparison