With the start of the new year, a lot of retailers are working tirelessly to complete their annual financial statements and plan 2026. While selling in Switzerland it is easy to overlook another key factor besides the sales and growth targets: the Swiss value added tax (VAT). Overlooking deadlines or obligations can quickly lead to unnecessary additional payments or fines, additional coordination or missed input tax refunds.
To prevent scenarios like these from happening we have summarised the most important points that you can use to organise your Swiss Set-Up in a way that is technically sound and free of surprises in the new year.
The following applies for all companies subject to VAT in Switzerland:
Q4 2025 declarations have to be submitted to the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) by 28th of February 2026. Any resulting tax liability must also be paid by the 28th of February 2026.
Therefore, please make sure to check if all sales and input taxes for Q4 have been completely and correctly recorded.
Following the Q4 declaration is another important step: the annual tax settlement for 2025. This is used to compare the submitted declarations in 2025 with the finalized accounting for 2025.
It is important to note a special feature in the swiss system, which significantly differs from the german, for example:
In Switzerland the annual tax settlement only has to be submitted if there are dissimilarities. The annual tax settlement also only has to show the dissimilarities from the previously declared values - not the total for the entire year. If the annual tax settlement has not been received by the FTA in a timeframe of 240 days, it will be assumed that there are no differences and the tax period has been finalized.
The start of the new year is the ideal time to thoroughly review your Swiss Set-Up - technically and procedurally. Take the following question into consideration:
Check whether revenue taxable in Switzerland is posted to separate accounts or cost centers – clearly separated from revenue in other countries/markets.
Compare which revenues fall under platform taxation and make sure they are not recorded again as your own Swiss VAT-liable revenues.
Check whether these tax-exempt platform revenues are shown separately in the accounts (for example on dedicated accounts or with separate markings).
Review whether invoices only show VAT where there is in fact a Swiss tax liability.
Pay particular attention to invoices for platform sales: is VAT shown even though the tax liability lies with the platform, and is any reference to platform taxation missing?
Clarify whether a declaration of subordination abroad exists and is applied to all relevant shipments.
Make sure it is clearly defined who appears as the importer and how import taxes are treated in the Swiss VAT return.
Typical warning signals that your swiss set-up has not been set up in an optimal way is, for example:
Platform revenue and shop revenue are not separated inside the accounts.
While topics about Swiss taxes are discussed, the platform contracts, customs documents and invoices are only looked at individually.
Swiss customers are reporting unusual and additional delivery costs or report intransparent pricings.
If one or even more points made above call home, a complete check of the set-up should be done and perhaps a thorough restructuring would be the better choice moving forward.
The checklist shows: VAT obligation, input duty, platform taxation, accounting and invoicing are tightly intertwined in Switzerland. The tricky situations in daily business start once tax and operation topics are analysed individually - for example once customs processes, logistics, platform sales and VAT-declarations are not based on the same data sets.
exporto combines the mentioned areas with an integrated solution:
Fiscal Representation and VAT-Compliance for Switzerland are handled inhouse - from registering with authorities to VAT declarations and coordination with accounting.
Customs clearance, logistics and returns are technically connected conceptualise import duties and revenue correctly and taken into consideration for the VAT declaration.
Platform revenue and sales revenue will be separated correctly to avoid double taxation and avoid missing out on input tax potential.Working with all of these steps a mere obligation to declare VAT becomes more than just a form process: Your Swiss business can be drawn up more securely, transparently and efficiently in the long run - clear roles, traceable dataflows and a Set-Up that grows with you.
If you have questions after reading our checklist for the currently Swiss Set-Up, then it would be a great time to do a structured check up - functionally and procedurally.
exporto will support you building a sustainable and efficient business inside Switzerland. Feel free to contact us.
This article was translated by Nejla Mehanija.