Swiss VAT 2026: everything you need to know about rates, returns and exemptions

What is new for Swiss VAT in 2026?

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The rates remain at 8.1%, 2.6% and 3.8%, as they have been since 2024. Two things are changing: a single online portal for your formalities and the vote of 29 November 2026 on an increase that would apply in 2028 at the earliest.

Rate changes on 1 January 2026

Nothing changed on 1 January 2026. The next step will be decided at the ballot box. In June 2026, Parliament decided to raise VAT to fund part of the 13th OASI pension (AHV/AVS). The people and the cantons will have the final say on 29 November 2026 (source: Federal Social Insurance Office, in German).

What is changing in your VAT formalities in 2026

Since 11 May 2026, registration and online returns go through the FTA portal and its VAT return service (source: Federal Tax Administration). You log in with AGOV, the Swiss authorities’ login, which replaces CH-Login by 31 October 2026. From 1 January 2027, formalities relating to net tax rates, flat tax rates, group taxation and deregistration must go through this portal.

VAT rates in Switzerland in 2026: standard, reduced and special rate

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Switzerland applies three rates in 2026. The standard rate of 8.1% covers the vast majority of goods and services. The other two are exceptions. Do your invoice templates still show 7.7%, 2.5% or 3.7%? Those are the rates that applied until the end of 2023: update them.

How do you calculate VAT on your sales and services?

VAT is added to the price excluding VAT: you charge it to your customer, then pay it over to the federal tax authorities. Three formulas are all you need:

1. VAT = price excl. VAT × rate
2. price incl. VAT = price excl. VAT × (1 + rate)
3. price excl. VAT = price incl. VAT ÷ (1 + rate)

Example: a consulting service invoiced at CHF 2,000 excluding VAT gives 2,000 × 8.1% = CHF 162 of VAT, so CHF 2,162 including VAT. Conversely, CHF 1,081 including VAT at the standard rate corresponds to CHF 1,000 excluding VAT, of which CHF 81 is VAT.

This Swiss VAT calculator works in both directions:

Save on EUR/CHF exchange for your VAT payments

Your VAT liability is set in Swiss francs. If your cash is held in euros, every payment involves a conversion, with a cost that is rarely visible: the exchange margin. On a transfer, many banks apply a less favourable rate than the interbank rate (the rate at which banks trade currencies with each other, with no margin), with a difference of up to 2%. For an SME that pays its VAT every quarter, this cost comes back at every due date. That is why a currency exchange solution for Swiss SMEs makes more sense than the exchange your bank offers by default.

On a quarterly VAT bill of CHF 10,000 paid from a euro account, each percentage point of margin costs about CHF 100 per payment:

The smart habit for your VAT payments

The habit is simple: before each payment, compare the rate your bank offers with the market rate, which you can follow in real time on the EUR/CHF currency converter. The difference between the two is your bank’s exchange margin. Commissions or transfer fees may come on top.

In practice, here is how b-sharpe works: the conversion starts from the interbank rate, with fees from 0.12% that decrease with the amount. You see the exact amount in francs before you confirm. The funds usually arrive 1 to 2 working days after your transfer is received, which leaves time to pay the FTA without risking the deadline.

VAT and e-commerce: the rules for distance sellers

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• The general threshold: an online seller is subject to the same rule as any business. It becomes liable for VAT once its relevant turnover reaches CHF 100,000, as explained in the section on registration.

• The low-value consignment rule: it applies to sellers who ship parcels from abroad. A low-value consignment is a parcel on which the import VAT does not exceed CHF 5, which means a value of about CHF 62 at the standard rate or CHF 193 at the reduced rate, shipping included. Once your sales made through such consignments reach CHF 100,000 a year, you become liable for VAT in Switzerland.

• What changes next: from the following month, all your deliveries to Switzerland are deemed to take place in Switzerland. You import in your own name and charge Swiss VAT to your customers (source: FTA). So that they do not pay it a second time on delivery, give the carrier your VAT number and an invoice that shows the Swiss VAT.

• The case of marketplaces: since 2025, an online platform that facilitates deliveries of goods is, under certain conditions, deemed to be the supplier. It is the platform that declares and pays the VAT on these sales. Transport and accommodation platforms are not affected.

How do you get a VAT number in Switzerland and register?

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To get a VAT number, you register online on the FTA portal within 30 days of becoming liable for VAT. The number is your business identification number (UID) followed by the word “VAT”.

Mandatory registration threshold: CHF 100,000 in turnover

Do you live in France and work as a self-employed person in Switzerland? Unlike employed cross-border workers, you may be subject to Swiss VAT, depending on your activity, your income and the country where your services are supplied. The threshold is calculated on relevant turnover: your sales in Switzerland, your exports (even though they are invoiced without VAT) and the services you supply in another country. Only services excluded from the scope of the tax are deducted.

Example: a Geneva SME that invoices CHF 60,000 of consulting to Swiss clients and CHF 50,000 to French clients reaches the threshold.

A foreign company is only concerned if it supplies goods or services in Switzerland: a French company that sells only in France owes no Swiss VAT. It remains exempt from registration if all it supplies in Switzerland are zero-rated transactions or services subject to acquisition tax (source: FTA).

When your VAT liability begins depends on your situation:

• If you are starting an activity and expect to reach the threshold within the first 12 months, it begins as soon as the activity starts.
• If your activity already exists, it begins at the end of the financial year in which the threshold was reached (art. 9 VATO).

Missing the deadline is costly: backdated registration, VAT claimed on your past sales, default interest of 4% a year in 2026 and 2027, possibly a fine.

Registering on the FTA portal

1. Check your UID: every business entered in the commercial register has one. Otherwise, one is assigned when you register.
2. Create your AGOV access, then log in to the portal.
3. Complete the VAT registration in the portal: business details, activity, start date, expected turnover, chosen accounting method.
4. Receive your VAT number in the format CHE-123.456.789 VAT (source: ch.ch). As a general rule, it must appear on the invoices you issue (art. 26 VATA).

Voluntary registration: benefits for small businesses

Below the threshold, you can register for VAT voluntarily to recover the VAT paid on your business purchases (“input tax”). This option is worthwhile mainly if you have large start-up investments, mostly VAT-registered customers or an activity focused on other countries. The downside: for private customers, VAT makes your prices higher.

How do you file and pay VAT in Switzerland?

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Once you are registered, you send a periodic VAT return to the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) on its online portal. The return and the payment are due within 60 days of the end of each period. The FTA collects VAT on transactions carried out in Switzerland. The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) collects the VAT due on imports of goods.

VAT returns for Swiss companies

Your return shows the VAT you invoiced minus the deductible input tax. Any balance in your favour is refunded to you.

Accounting methods: choose the option that suits your cash flow

With the effective method, input tax is deducted under the conditions of the VATA. Two variants set the moment when VAT becomes due:

1. On the basis of agreed consideration (you invoice before being paid, VAT is due on the invoices issued): this is the usual variant.
2. On the basis of received consideration, VAT is due on payments received, subject to approval. Returns are in principle quarterly. They can be monthly if you regularly have an input tax surplus.

Since 2025, SMEs whose turnover does not exceed CHF 5,005,000 can request annual returns with instalment payments, provided they have filed and paid their returns on time for the last three tax periods (or since they became liable for VAT, if that is more recent). The annual return is filed and paid before the end of February of the following year.

The simplified method: net tax rates (NTR)

• The conditions: the method is open to businesses whose taxable turnover does not exceed CHF 5.024 million a year including VAT and whose tax due does not exceed CHF 108,000 a year (source: FTA). Since 2025, it has been closed to companies headquartered abroad, to electronic platforms and to distance sellers liable for VAT on their low-value consignments.

• The principle: instead of calculating input tax invoice by invoice, you apply a flat rate set for your sector to your turnover including VAT. Example: an architect, whose rate is 6.2%, who receives CHF 400,000 over a half-year owes CHF 24,800 of VAT. Their invoices still show the statutory rate of 8.1%.

• Several activities: since 2025, each activity that accounts for more than 10% of your turnover is reported at its own net tax rate.

• The advantage: returns are in principle half-yearly or even annual on request, which noticeably lightens the administrative workload.

VAT for foreign companies operating in Switzerland

A business headquartered in another country that operates in Switzerland follows, in principle, the same rules as local companies, subject to the exceptions provided by law.

If they have neither a registered office nor a permanent establishment in Switzerland, these businesses must appoint a tax representative domiciled in Switzerland. Since 2025, the tax authorities can waive this requirement if their procedural obligations are guaranteed in another way (art. 67 para. 1bis VATA). A permanent establishment in Switzerland, such as a branch in Switzerland, is an independent taxable person subject to the same rules as a local company. Several permanent establishments form a single taxable person.

Swiss VAT refunds: conditions and procedure

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1. You are registered for VAT in Switzerland: the refund simply goes through your VAT return. If the deductible input tax exceeds the VAT due for the period, the tax authorities pay you the difference.
2. Your business is foreign and not registered for VAT (a French company, for example): it can recover the Swiss VAT paid on its business expenses in Switzerland, such as a trade fair, a business trip or services bought locally, through a specific refund procedure. All the following conditions must be met:

• Its country grants reciprocity to Swiss businesses, which is the case for France.
• It supplies no goods or services in Switzerland, apart from rare exceptions provided for in the ordinance.
• The amount to be refunded is at least CHF 500 per calendar year.
• It appoints a representative domiciled in Switzerland.
• The claim is filed between 1 January and 30 June of the following year, a deadline that cannot be extended.

The file includes FTA forms 1222 and 1223, a certificate from the tax authority of the business’s country and the corresponding invoices, duly issued (source: FTA, VAT Info 18). The refund is paid in Swiss francs: if it needs to reach a euro account, you will still have to convert it.

Exemption from registration, exclusion, deregistration: when do you not charge VAT?

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You do not have to register for VAT if your relevant turnover stays below CHF 100,000 (CHF 250,000 for certain associations) or if your activities are excluded from the scope of the tax. If you are already registered, you ask the federal tax authorities to remove you from the register, which is called deregistration. Three similar notions are often confused:

Businesses and associations exempt from registration (turnover threshold)

Every business, local or foreign, is exempt from tax liability if its relevant turnover, generated in Switzerland and in other countries, exports included, is below CHF 100,000 (art. 10 para. 2 let. a VATA).

The threshold rises to CHF 250,000 for non-profit sports and cultural associations run by volunteers and for public-benefit institutions (art. 10 para. 2 let. c VATA).

Business purpose (services excluded from the scope of the tax)

Regardless of your turnover, certain activities are excluded from the scope of VAT: they do not count towards the threshold and do not create a VAT obligation.

Other grounds for deregistration

Deregistration is not automatic: you have to request it from the tax authorities. From 1 January 2027, it will have to be done online.

Frequently asked questions about VAT in Switzerland