Swiss VAT: what the 2025 revision changes for SMEs

The partially revised VAT Act and VAT Ordinances have been in force since 1 January 2025. The rates, covered in our article on the 2024 changes, have not moved: the revision mainly affects the reporting period, online platforms and the net tax rate method. Here is what it means in practice for SMEs and self-employed people, and what to check before closing the 2026 accounts.

Rates and thresholds: a stable framework

The rates in force since 1 January 2024 still apply for the 2026 financial year. The only change in 2025: menstrual hygiene products now fall under the reduced rate.

Rate	Value	Examples
Standard rate	8.1%	Taxable supplies not subject to another rate
Reduced rate	2.6%	Foodstuffs, medicines, printed matter without advertising, menstrual hygiene products
Special rate	3.8%	Accommodation, breakfast included

The registration threshold is unchanged: a business is exempt from VAT liability if, within one year, in Switzerland and abroad, its total turnover from supplies not excluded from VAT is below CHF 100'000. The threshold is CHF 250'000 for non-profit sports or cultural associations run on a voluntary basis and for public-benefit organisations. Turnover is calculated on the agreed consideration, excluding tax.

The annual VAT return: a new option

As a rule, VAT is reported quarterly, or half-yearly under the net tax rate method. Since 2025, you can apply for an annual VAT return if your annual turnover from taxable supplies does not exceed CHF 5'005'000.

Conditions: your returns must have been filed on time and paid in full, based on the last three years.
Application: via the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) online portal, no later than 60 days after the start of the tax period, i.e. by the end of February. A newly registered business has 60 days from receipt of its VAT number.
Advance payments: the FTA sets them on the basis of the tax due for the previous period; you can adjust them on the portal up to 10 days before the due date.
Final return: it must be filed and paid before the end of February of the following year. Any late payment, whether of advance payments or of the return, incurs default interest.

Method	Advance payments	Due dates	Minimum
Effective or flat tax rate method	3	30 May, 30 August, 30 November	CHF 500
Net tax rate method	1	30 August	CHF 1'000

The choice is binding: the annual return applies for at least one full tax period and, if you leave it, you can only return to it after three tax periods at the earliest. The FTA withdraws it if the ceiling is exceeded in three consecutive tax periods, or if a return is filed late, payment is incomplete or advance payments are too low (less than 50% of the total tax due, 35% under the net tax rate method).

Online platforms: who is the supplier?

Since 1 January 2025, the operator of a digital platform that enables deliveries of goods by bringing sellers and buyers together is deemed to be the supplier to the buyer. The law then treats the transaction as two deliveries: from the seller to the platform, and from the platform to the buyer. The platforms concerned must declare and pay VAT on all deliveries of goods made through them.

The rule does not apply if the platform only, for example, processes payments, provides advertising or redirects buyers to other platforms.
If you sell goods through a platform that is deemed the supplier and is entered in the VAT register, your delivery to the platform is exempt.
The FTA publishes the list of registered platform operators: it tells you how to treat these sales.

Net tax rate method: new calculation rules

The ceilings remain CHF 5'024'000 of taxable turnover per year, VAT included, and CHF 108'000 of tax per year. The rules of application, however, have changed:

you can apply more than two rates; the 10% rule still applies;
mixed sectors and the 50% rule have been abolished: every activity exceeding 10% of total taxable turnover is reported at its own rate;
activities subject to different rates must be recorded separately in the accounts;
rates have been adjusted for around 15% of sectors and activities; rates already granted are adjusted automatically;
the special procedures under forms 1050 (exports), 1055 (notional input tax) and 1056 (margin taxation) have been abolished.

Please note: from 1 January 2027, procedures relating to the net tax rate and flat tax rate methods, group taxation and deregistration from the VAT register must be carried out on the FTA online portal.

Other changes to be aware of

New exclusions from VAT: notably travel services resold by travel agencies, active participation in cultural events and care coordination as part of medical treatment.
Subsidies: funds paid by a public authority are subsidies if the authority expressly designates them as such.
Foreign businesses: the FTA may waive the requirement to appoint a tax representative in Switzerland if the business meets its procedural obligations in another way.

VAT increase: what is being put to the vote

On 29 November 2026, Swiss voters will decide on the federal decree of 19 June 2026 on additional financing for the OASI (old-age and survivors' insurance, AHV/AVS) through a VAT increase, intended to fund the 13th OASI pension. It provides for raising the standard rate from 8.1% to 8.5% and the special accommodation rate from 3.8% to 4.0%; the reduced rate of 2.6% would not change. If accepted, the increase could take effect at the earliest at the beginning of 2028.

A second project, a temporary VAT increase to finance armament spending, is the subject of a Federal Council dispatch of 12 August 2026 and is before Parliament: it has neither been adopted nor put to the vote to date. For your 2026 closing, the current rates apply.

In practice

Annual reconciliation: reconcile the turnover you declared with your 2026 annual accounts and correct any differences using the ‘Annual reconciliation’ form. If no corrective statement is received within 240 days of the end of the financial year, the FTA considers your returns complete and correct.
Fourth-quarter return (or second half-year under the net tax rate method): it must be filed within 60 days of the end of the period. Extensions can only be requested online, on the FTA portal.
Annual return for 2027: if your taxable turnover does not exceed CHF 5'005'000 and your returns are up to date, submit the application on the portal by the end of February 2027.
Net tax rate method: check the share of each activity (10% rule) and that it is recorded separately in the accounts.
Registration threshold: compare your 2026 turnover with the CHF 100'000 threshold (CHF 250'000 for the associations and organisations concerned), in either direction.
VAT codes: check how your software handles platform sales and excluded supplies.

Taking stock before the year-end closing

The revision simplifies some procedures, but each option, from the annual return to the choice of method, comes with its own conditions and deadlines. SuisseFidu can help you take stock before your 2026 closing: you can book a 30-minute call or write to us at contact@suissefidu.ch.

This article provides general information as at the date of publication; it does not replace advice tailored to your situation.