HolderTax / Switzerland
Jurisdiction · Schedule H–CH · tax period 2026
Switzerland
Private capital gains are tax-free — the rarest sentence on this site. The Swiss drama plays out elsewhere: on the line to professional-trader status, in the wealth tax on every holding, and on yields that very much are income.
Filing deadlinegenerally 31 March 2027 (cantonal · extensions routine)
Current position
The schedule.
Status marks: — settled in practice, ! watch (moving or commonly misapplied), ? unresolved. All lines are a working draft pending review by an authorised professional.
Schedule H · Part IClassification, gains, the trader line, wealth, yields, reporting and deadlines
FORM H–CH / 2026
STATUS: WORKING REVIEW| Line | Position | Current treatment | What it means | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Classification | Movable private assets | Not foreign currency, no special regime. Crypto runs through the existing wealth and income taxes. | — |
| 02 | Private capital gain | Tax-free · art. 16(3) DBG | Sales and swaps from private assets trigger no gains tax — as long as line 04 holds. | — |
| 03 | The flip side: losses | Not deductible privately | What gains tax-free loses tax-invisibly. No loss offset within private assets. | — |
| 04 | Professional trader | Overall assessment · Circular 36 safe harbour | The only line between 0% and progression plus social security. Five criteria protect — leverage, frequency and short holds expose. | ! |
| 05 | Wealth tax | Cantonal · holdings at 31 Dec · FTA rates | Every coin counts toward taxable wealth — self-custody included. Valued at the official year-end rates (ICTax). | ! |
| 06 | Declaration | Register of securities and assets | Declaring is not taxing: even the tax-free stock belongs, in full, in the register. | — |
| 07 | Staking · mining · lending · airdrops | Income at receipt · progressive | The CHF value on receipt is taxable investment income — federal, cantonal, communal. | ! |
| 08 | Crypto-to-crypto swap | No gains-tax consequence for private holders | A swap is a disposal — but the private gain from it is tax-free. For a trader, the opposite. | — |
| 09 | Social security if professional | AHV contributions on trading profits | Reclassification costs twice: income tax plus roughly ten percent social security — retroactively per open year. | ! |
| 10 | NFTs · special tokens | Case by case · practice thin | Valuation without an FTA rate, classification by function. Document the position, with advice. | ? |
| 11 | Cantonal differences | Rates, allowances, deadlines | Wealth-tax scales and formalities vary widely. What counts is the canton of residence at 31 December. | — |
| 12 | Crypto AEOI · CARF | Legal basis in force since 1 Jan 2026 · application deferred | The partner-state list is still in parliament: collection 2027 at the earliest, first exchange 2028 at the earliest. A line in motion. | ! |
| 13 | Filing | Cantonal · generally 31 March | Extensions are routine and easy to obtain. The tax period is the calendar year. | — |
| 14 | Records | Keep complete · 10 years recommended | Purchase dates, receipts, wallet mapping. The trader question of line 04 is answered from your own history — either way. | — |
Working draft · all 14 lines pending professional review · sign-off dates will appear per lineStart with line 04 →
Document requestThe tax office asks for recordsRoutine, with a deadline. Before answering, check whether past years are an issue — the order decides the immunity.Deadline on letter
Activity questionsFrequency, volumes, financingThe professional-trader review starts as a harmless questionnaire. Answers become the file — understand the line first.Classification running
Back-tax proceedingsProceedings have been openedFor the elements covered, the penalty-free door is shut. From here, with representation — every filing counts.Closed
No letter yetThe one-time doorFirst time, on your own initiative, full cooperation: no fine — only back tax and interest, up to ten years.Voluntary
Published pages · Switzerland
Read in the order trouble arrives.
Rule
The trader line
Five safe-harbour criteria separate 0% from progression plus social security. Switzerland's most expensive classification question.
→ RuleThe wealth tax
Tax-free does not mean declaration-free: year-end rates, self-custody, the securities register.
→ DecisionThe penalty-free disclosure
Once in a lifetime without a fine. What the one door demands — and what it closes behind it.
→ AnalysisCrypto AEOI: the deferred wave
Legal basis in force, application postponed. What is fixed, what moves — and what EU platforms already collect.
→