Swiss company tax: what your GmbH pays, canton by canton
A Swiss company pays federal tax of 8.5% on profit after tax, the same everywhere, plus a cantonal and communal tax that depends on where it sits. Together that's 11.66% in Lucerne to 20.54% in Bern in 2026, 11.71% in Zug.
Profit paid out as a dividend carries 35% withholding tax. An owner living abroad gets most of it back if their country has a tax treaty with Switzerland.
Switzerland doesn't have one company tax rate. It has twenty-six, and the address in your articles decides which one you pay. The harder question for an owner abroad comes later: how much of the profit reaches you. Both are worked out below from the federal law and the 2026 cantonal figures.
Key takeaways
- Federal profit tax is 8.5% after tax, about 7.83% of profit before tax, in every canton.
- With canton and commune, the total runs from 11.66% (Lucerne) to 20.54% (Bern) in 2026.
- Dividends carry 35% withholding tax. Under the treaties with Germany, France, the UK and the US, an individual ends up at 15% and claims the rest back.
- Someone living in Switzerland must be able to represent the company. That's company law, not tax.
- VAT starts once worldwide turnover reaches CHF 100,000.
- The 15% global minimum tax only reaches groups with EUR 750 million in revenue.
Swiss corporate tax rate: work out yours
Pick a canton and type a year's profit before tax. Taxes are deductible in Switzerland, so these rates are already the share of pre-tax profit you'll pay.
The federal 8.5% is set by Article 68 of the Federal Direct Tax Act. The combined rates are published estimates for each cantonal capital in 2026, from a May 2026 survey; other communes in the same canton can be higher or lower. Treat them as a guide, not tax advice.
Pick the canton before you pick the name: the rate follows the registered address.
Swiss tax by canton: the 2026 ranking
Lucerne moved ahead of Zug in 2026 by a twentieth of a point. Six cantons sit within one point of the lowest; Zurich and Bern charge two thirds to three quarters more.
Basel-Stadt, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Schaffhausen, Valais and Bern charge less on smaller profits, so the figure above is their top rate. Low tax isn't a reason on its own to pick a canton: the address has to be real, and Zug and Lucerne also have the banks, lawyers and fiduciaries used to foreign owners.
Lucerne and Zug sit a twentieth of a point apart. Zurich and Bern are in another league.
Swiss withholding tax on dividends: what reaches you
Under Article 13 of the Withholding Tax Act, the company deducts 35% from every dividend and pays it to the Federal Tax Administration. If you live in a treaty country, you claim back the part above the treaty rate, within three years of the year the dividend was due.
The treaty rates come from Switzerland's tax treaties with Germany, France, the UK and the US. Your own country usually taxes the dividend too and may credit the Swiss part.
One payout skips the 35% altogether: capital you paid in above the share capital, booked as capital contribution reserves and reported to the tax administration, can be paid back free of withholding tax.
35% comes off every dividend. A treaty brings it to 15%, or 0% for a parent company.
Owning a Swiss company while you live abroad
A Swiss GmbH or AG is taxed in Switzerland because its seat is there, wherever its owner lives. Three rules shape how you run it.
- A person living in Switzerland who can represent the company, as a managing director (GmbH) or board member (AG), under the Code of Obligations, Art 814 and 718
- Books kept to Swiss standards and a yearly tax return in the canton
- 35% withheld on every dividend
- Treat the company as its own resident if the real decisions are made there
- Tax the dividends you receive, usually with a credit for the Swiss residual tax
- Tax a share of the profit each year under its foreign company rules
Director's fees paid to a board member living abroad carry Swiss source tax: 5% federal under Article 93 of the Federal Direct Tax Act, plus a cantonal rate, 20% in total in Thurgau, for example. They count as wages for Swiss social security too.
Someone in Switzerland must be able to sign for the company. Your country still has its say.
Salary or dividend from a Swiss company
| Salary | Dividend | |
|---|---|---|
| Deductible for the company | Yes | No, paid from taxed profit |
| Swiss social security | 10.6% old age, disability and loss of earnings, plus 2.2% unemployment up to CHF 148,200, split between employer and employee, per the AHV contributions leaflet | None, unless the salary is clearly too low and the dividend clearly too high |
| Swiss tax taken at payment | Source tax for people living abroad | 35%, partly refundable by treaty |
Swiss residents pay income tax on only 70% (federal) and at least 50% (cantonal, under the Tax Harmonisation Act) of dividends from a 10% holding. That relief is for people living in Switzerland; from abroad, the withholding tax and your home country's rules are what count.
Salary costs social security; dividends cost withholding tax. Neither is free.
Swiss VAT: 8.1%, and when you must register
Under the VAT Act, a Swiss company must register once its turnover in Switzerland and abroad together reaches CHF 100,000 in a year. Below that it can register by choice. Type yours.
No VAT until worldwide turnover reaches CHF 100,000 a year.
Capital tax, stamp duty and the minimum tax
The old holding company status ended in 2020. A Swiss company that owns 10% or more of another, or a stake worth CHF 1 million, now gets a participation deduction on its dividends and gains instead.
Capital tax and stamp duty barely touch a CHF 20,000 GmbH.
Swiss company tax return: the yearly rhythm
- Through the yearProvisional tax billsThe canton bills tax in advance; in Zug they usually arrive at the end of February.
- Every quarter, once registeredVAT returnFiled and paid quarterly as a rule.
- Before the year startsAudit opt outWith no more than ten full-time staff on average, all shareholders can waive the audit. It stays waived until someone asks for one.
- 30 September, in Zug and ZurichTax return for the past yearWith the approved accounts. Both cantons extend on request, as Zug's extension page explains; other cantons set their own dates.
One return a year, by 30 September in Zug and Zurich, and no audit if you opt out.
Swiss company tax questions, answered
What is the corporate tax rate in Switzerland?
Which canton has the lowest company tax?
Does Switzerland count as a tax haven?
Can a foreigner own a Swiss company from abroad?
How do I get Swiss withholding tax back?
Can a small Swiss GmbH skip the audit?
Can a Swiss company pay its tax in crypto?
Do you file the Swiss tax return?
Changelog
- 10 November 2026: first published.
- 13 November 2026: official sources linked in the text.
A Swiss GmbH in Zug, with the resident director in place.
CHF 6,299 in year one, everything included, then CHF 3,849 a year.