VAT Rates in Switzerland

Updated Swiss VAT rate tables

Following a public referendum held on September 25, 2022, Swiss citizens have voted in favor of raising the standard VAT rate to 8.1%.

The implementation of this rate took effect from January 1, 2024, pending confirmation by the Federal Council and the publication of revised legislation.

VAT Rates in Switzerland

Standard VAT rate
A standard Value-Added Tax (VAT) rate is the most commonly used VAT rate in a country, applied to a broad range of goods and services. It is levied on the majority of items and services, though there are some exceptions like essential items or certain specific goods or services which may be subjected to a lower rate. These exceptions are listed below.
Rate	Good or Services
8.1%	All goods or services not included in the reduced rates table below
Reduced VAT rates
Some goods and services qualify for lower VAT rates. These typically include essential items or other special goods or services that may be subject to a reduced rate, which are detailed below.
Rate	Good or Services
2.6%	First “Reduced rate”
	Water distributed through pipes.
	Food items and additives, excluding alcoholic beverages. However, this reduced rate does not apply to catered food, but it does apply to food intended for takeaway, delivery, or sold through vending machines.
	Livestock such as cattle, poultry, and fish.
	Corn.
	Seeds, planting roots, bulbs, live plants, scions, cut flowers, branches, and similar items used for arrangements, bouquets, wreaths, etc.
	Animal feed, silage acidity, and scatterings used for animals.
	Fertilizers, pesticides, mulch, and other vegetation employed as covering materials.
	Medications.
	Newspapers, magazines, and books (printed or electronic) excluding advertising materials.
	Services provided by radio and television stations, excluding commercial services.
	Cultural services including entrance fees for cultural events, charges for sporting events, and the supply of works by creators such as authors, composers, painters, and filmmakers.
	Agricultural supplies associated with land cultivation directly related to initial production or cultivation.
3.8%	Second “Second reduced rate”
	Hotel Accommodation Services (including breakfast services).
0%	Zero rated products
	Goods that are directly exported abroad without being used or exploited in Switzerland. This includes chain transactions involving multiple suppliers.
	Supplies of goods for use or exploitation abroad, such as leasing or chartering, if the goods are transported directly abroad and predominantly used abroad by the recipient.
	Goods that have been subject to customs control in Switzerland due to transit, customs warehousing, temporary admission, inward processing, or storage in a bonded warehouse.
	Movement of goods abroad or arrangements for such movement that are unrelated to a supply of goods.
	Transport or dispatch of goods in connection with importation or exportation under Swiss customs law.
	Provision of transport services and related logistics activities abroad or in connection with goods under Swiss customs control.
	Supply of aircraft to airlines engaged in commercial air transport and charter business, with turnovers from international flights exceeding those from domestic traffic. This exemption also applies to certain services provided to qualifying airlines.
	Services of intermediaries acting on behalf of others, provided the underlying supply is either exempt with the right to recover input VAT or exclusively carried out abroad.
	Services provided by travel agents and event organizers in their own name, when they utilize supplies of goods and services from third parties that are provided abroad.
	International air, bus, and rail traffic, which may be exempt with the right to recover input VAT to ensure competition neutrality.
	Domestic supplies of goods that are exported in tourist traffic under specific conditions determined by the government.
Exempt From VAT
	Postal services
	Health and welfare services, including medical treatments, hospital treatments, human organ supply, transportation of sick individuals, and nursing care services provided by qualified staff
	Supplies performed by social assistance and social security institutions
	Supplies closely related to the education and cultural development of young people (up to the age of 25) by charitable youth exchange organizations
	Supplies related to child and youth care provided by specialized institutions
	Supplies in the field of education and training
	Supplies provided by nonprofit institutions to their members
	Cultural services, sports, sport competitions, and physical education
	Sales of works of art by the creators and services provided by publishers and collecting societies for the circulation of these works
	Certain fundraising events organized by charities and qualifying bodies
	Insurance, reinsurance, and financial services, including brokerage in legal currencies and cryptocurrencies like bitcoin
	Transactions involving immovable property, with certain exceptions
	Betting, gaming, and lotteries
	Betting, gaming, and lotteries
	Sales of agricultural, forestry, and market garden products, as well as the sale of milk by the producer
	Certain supplies within organizational units of the same public body or municipality, including the provision of public staff between units, and supplies between private or public law companies fully owned by public authorities and the public authorities themselves or their organizational units
	Arbitration functions

Various countries announced short-term adjustments to their VAT rates in response to COVID-19. This resulted in reductions to the VAT rates on products and services sold by businesses that were particularly hit hard by the pandemic’s economic fallout, such as the hospitality sector. To learn more about the implications of COVID-19 in Switzerland, please visit our news section by clicking here.

Last Updated: 24/01/2024

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