New value added tax rates (VAT) effective 01 January 2024 in Switzerland
Claudia Mattig
by Claudia Mattig
The VAT rates in Switzerland will increase as of 01 January 2024 as follows:
Goods and services
Current rates
New rates as of01 January 2024
Standard rate
All other taxable goods and services
7.7%
8.1%
Reduced rate
Food and drink (except that provided in hotels), agricultural supplies, water, printed materials, medicines, cultural and sporting events
2.5%
2.6%
Special rate
For accommodation
3.7%
3.8%
The applicable VAT rate is determined by the time the supply of goods or the service is rendered (not the date of invoicing or payment). In the case of regular periodic supplies (e.g. yearly subscriptions), the period during which the supplies is rendered is also decisive.
Services rendered until 31 December 2023 are subject to current VAT rates. Supplies rendered as of 01 January 2024 will be subject to the new VAT rates.
If supplies subject to both the current and new VAT rates are listed on the same invoice, there are two possibilities according to the practice of the Swiss federal tax administration regarding how these services can be presented.
If the supplies can be separated by date or period provided, the respective share of the amount attributable to it should be shown separately, and the VAT rate applicable to the respective period can be applied. For example, supplies provided in December 2023 and shown on the invoice as such can be invoiced with the current VAT rate of 7.7% and supplies provided in January 2024 can be invoiced separately with the new VAT rate of 8.1%.
If the supplies cannot be shown separately on the invoice, the entire services must be invoiced at the new VAT rates (VAT rates from 2024).
Even if the time of the supply is decisive for whether the old or the new VAT rate applies, tax liability arises with the issuing of the invoice or the date that appears on the invoice.
Are you or your client respectively a company based abroad and operating in Switzerland or do you have Swiss customers? If so, you need to ask yourself the following questions:
Do you perform work on objects in Switzerland (e.g. assembly services, installations)?
Do you provide construction services in Switzerland under a contract for work and services?
Do you provide electronic services to private individuals in Switzerland (e.g. electronic provision of websites, software, music)?
Do you physically implement software in Switzerland?
Are you otherwise physically active in Switzerland?
Do you operate a warehouse in Switzerland?
Do you send to Switzerland low-value goods that are not subject to import VAT and with a total value of more than CHF 100,000 (e.g. via a web shop)?
Would you like to voluntarily register in the Swiss VAT register to relieve your customers from import and customs formalities?
If you have answered yes to at least one of the above questions and you reach the turnover limit of CHF 100,000 worldwide, then you are subject to VAT in Switzerland.
Treuhand- und Revisionsgesellschaft Mattig-Suter & Partner has been conducting business since 1960 and employs around 90 staff in total. The partnership provides market services in the areas of auditing, finance and accounting, tax consulting, business consulting, as well as legal consulting, and its size means it has highly qualified specialists in all areas.
GGI member firmTreuhand- und Revisionsgesellschaft Mattig-Suter & PartnerAltdorf, Brig, Pfäffikon SZ, Schwyz, Zug, Zurich, SwitzerlandT: +41 41 819 54 00Auditing & Accounting, Tax, Advisory, Corporate Finance, Fiduciary & Estate Planning
Claudia Mattig, co-owner, is the third generation to run the company. Advising and auditing SMEs is one of her focus areas. She has experience in the areas of international accounting, group accounting and reporting under Swiss law and is approved as an audit expert by the Federal Audit Supervisory Authority.
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