VAT in Switzerland in 2026

Consultoria EHERO

6 minutos de lectura

In Switzerland, VAT is called Mehrwertsteuer (MWST) in German, taxe sur la valeur ajoutée (TVA) in French, and imposta sul valore aggiunto (IVA) in Italian. It has a standard rate of 8.1%, a reduced rate of 2.6%, and a special rate of 3.8% for accommodation, in force since January 1, 2024. These are set by Article 25 of the federal VAT law (Mehrwertsteuergesetz, MWSTG). And since Switzerland is not in the European Union, selling there from Spain is not an intra-EU distance sale: it is an export.

Rate	Percentage	Applies to
Standard (Normalsatz / taux normal)	8.1%	Everything not included in the reduced or special lists: clothing, footwear, electronics, cosmetics, alcoholic beverages, and food served in restaurants
Reduced (reduzierter Satz / taux réduit)	2.6%	Food (except alcoholic beverages), medicines, books, newspapers and magazines without advertising content — including digital — menstrual hygiene products since 2025, plants, cut flowers and seeds, animal feed and fertilizers, and water supplied through the mains
Special (Sondersatz / taux spécial)	3.8%	Accommodation, with breakfast included even if billed separately

Rates verified on September 11, 2026 against the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (ESTV) page «Schweizer Mehrwertsteuersätze» (estv.admin.ch).

What’s coming: the 8.5% vote in November

In 2026, no rate changes. What is in progress is the increase: on June 19, 2026 Parliament approved raising the standard rate from 8.1% to 8.5% and the accommodation rate from 3.8% to 4% starting in 2028, to partly fund the thirteenth old-age pension payment (AHV). The reduced rate stays at 2.6%. Since the Constitution must be amended, the increase needs approval from the people and the cantons in the vote on November 29, 2026.

The territory has a twist too. Liechtenstein and the German municipality of Büsingen are part of the Swiss VAT territory, with the same rates. By contrast, the Samnaun and Sampuoir valleys are outside the Swiss customs territory: for goods deliveries they count as foreign.

And if you sell through a marketplace that completes the sale on its platform, since January 1, 2025 Swiss law considers the platform to be the seller to the Swiss customer: you sell to the platform.

What happens with VAT when you sell from Spain to Switzerland

Switzerland is not in the European Union, so there is no one-stop shop or €10,000 threshold here. When you sell from Spain — or from any other EU country — to a customer in Switzerland or Liechtenstein, which shares the VAT territory with Switzerland, the sale is an export: it goes without VAT from your country, as long as you can prove the goods left the EU. Keep the invoice, the transport document, and the document proving export.

Swiss VAT is charged at the border as import VAT: 8.1%, or 2.6% for reduced-rate products, on the price plus transport and insurance to the destination and customs duties. For parcels, the Swiss postal operator or courier submits the customs declaration and usually charges the recipient that VAT together with its clearance fees. If the tax does not exceed CHF 5 per clearance — about CHF 62 of taxable base at 8.1% or CHF 193 at 2.6% — it is not charged.

You must register in Switzerland under the mail-order sales rule (Article 7.3.b of the Swiss VAT law). Count your small shipments, the ones that do not pay import VAT because it does not exceed CHF 5: when they generate CHF 100,000 in sales in a year, from the following month all your deliveries to Switzerland become Swiss domestic sales. From that moment:

you register for Swiss VAT, with a tax representative domiciled in Switzerland;
you charge Swiss VAT on the invoice for all your shipments, small and large, and you are listed as the importer, with the right to deduct the VAT paid at customs;
you put your name and your Swiss VAT number on the parcel label and attach the invoice with the Swiss VAT itemized on the outside, so the customer is not also charged import VAT.

How to set up WooCommerce to sell to Switzerland

WooCommerce country taxes work, but you need to tell the store that a Swiss order is an export. There are three settings:

0% VAT for Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Calculate taxes based on the customer’s shipping address and add, for each tax class you use, a 0% row with country code CH and another with LI. Make sure no row with the wildcard * applies your country’s VAT to them.
A clear notice of what the customer pays. If you ship DAP, the customer pays import VAT — 8.1% or 2.6% — the carrier’s clearance fees, and, where applicable, customs duties: say so on the shipping page and at checkout. If you ship DDP, you cover those costs and it is best to include them in the price. Since January 1, 2024, Switzerland no longer charges customs duties on industrial products; food and agricultural products are excluded from that removal.
A CHF 100,000 control. Add up what you sell to Switzerland in small shipments, those with up to about CHF 62 of taxable base at 8.1% or CHF 193 at 2.6%. From the month after you reach that amount, your sales to Switzerland carry Swiss VAT: you register and the CH and LI rows go from 0% to 8.1% or 2.6%.

Frequently asked questions

What is the standard VAT rate in Switzerland in 2026?

8.1%, in force since January 1, 2024. Alongside it there is a reduced rate of 2.6% for food, medicines, books and press, and a special rate of 3.8% for accommodation. The same rates apply in Liechtenstein, which shares the VAT territory with Switzerland.

Was Swiss VAT not 7.7%?

It was until December 31, 2023. On January 1, 2024, the three rates increased to finance old-age and survivors’ insurance (AHV): the standard rate from 7.7% to 8.1%, the reduced rate from 2.5% to 2.6%, and the accommodation rate from 3.7% to 3.8%. If a table still shows 7.7%, it is outdated.

I sell from Spain to Switzerland, what VAT do I charge?

No Spanish VAT: it is an export, exempt as long as you can prove the goods left the EU. Swiss VAT — 8.1% or 2.6% — is charged at customs on import, and for parcels the carrier usually charges it to the customer; if it does not exceed CHF 5, it is not charged. If you register in Switzerland as a mail-order seller, you charge it yourself on the invoice.

Do I need to register in Switzerland?

If you only ship from Spain, you must do so when your small shipments — those with CHF 5 or less in import VAT — generate CHF 100,000 a year. From the following month you register, with a tax representative in Switzerland, and charge Swiss VAT on all your shipments. Below that, it is voluntary. With a warehouse in Switzerland, also if you invoice CHF 100,000 a year worldwide.