Hi, I'm an American who lived and worked in Switzerland part of 2008. When I report my Swiss income, do I report the "gross wages" or "net wages?" Also, do any other mandatory contributions to Switzerland count as taxes paid to Switzerland, or can they be deducted?

Thanks!

You report GROSS wages.

You can claim the Foreign Tax Credit on the INCOME taxes you paid to Switzerland. The other taxes are NOT creditable.

Switzerland has both federal and cantonal taxation of income. Both are creditable on Form 1116.

What do you mean by mandatory contributions?

Good catch, Five Rings; I should have thought of the cantonal income tax.

The mandatory contributions is likely the Swiss equivalent to our Social Security and Medicare taxes.

You may have another filing requirement.. Form TD F 90-22.1.
If at any time during the year, you have an interest in or a signature or other authority over a financial account in a foreign country, such as a bank account, securities account, or other financial account and the total amount at any time in the year was $10,000 or more. Your U.S. Tax Return: U.S. Citizen or Resident with Foreign Income (http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/03/us-citizen-or-resident-with-foreign.html)