- For companies, taxable profit follows the commercial accounts. Crypto with a representative market price may be valued above cost.
- The federal profit tax is 8.5% of net profit. Cantonal and communal profit taxes come on top and differ by canton.
- For VAT, block rewards alone are not a payment for a service. Transaction fees paid to a validator are, and are taxed at the standard rate of 8.1%.
- A business that exchanges, holds or transfers crypto for customers is a financial intermediary. Unless it holds a FINMA license, it must join a self-regulatory organization (SRO) for anti-money-laundering supervision.
This page covers companies and self-employed people in Switzerland that hold, accept or earn crypto. Private individuals are on personal tax, and the deadlines are on filing and deadlines. It is general information, not tax advice.
Crypto in the accounts
Taxable profit follows the profit and loss account prepared under commercial law (Art. 58(1) DBG), unless a tax rule requires a correction. The ESTV adds that expenses not booked in the commercial accounts cannot be claimed for tax. Its tax information of October 2023 says that crypto held as business assets is valued at its book value under tax and commercial law, and that crypto with a representative stock market price may be valued above its purchase price (Art. 960b of the Code of Obligations).
- Self-employed people. All income from self-employment, such as mining and staking run as a business, is taxable, and so are gains on selling business assets, including coins and tokens (Art. 18(1) and (2) DBG). Their crypto business assets are subject to wealth tax at book value.
- Companies that validate or mine. The rewards are part of the company’s net profit (Art. 58 DBG).
- Token issuers. For issuers of asset tokens with a contractual basis, the funds received count as taxable income and are shown as income when the tokens are issued. An airdrop organizer can usually deduct the tokens it gives away as a business expense.
- Employees paid in crypto. The employer reports the value in Swiss francs at the time of payment on the salary certificate.
Profit tax
| Tax (2026) | Rate | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Federal profit tax for companies and cooperatives | 8.5% of net profit (Art. 68 DBG) | Confederation |
| Cantonal and communal profit tax | Differs by canton and commune | Canton and commune |
We have not listed cantonal rates because each canton publishes its own. Check the tax authority of the canton where the company has its seat.
VAT
Switzerland is not in the EU, so EU VAT rules and the EU Court of Justice ruling on bitcoin (Hedqvist, C-264/14) do not apply directly. The standard Swiss VAT rate is 8.1% (Art. 25 VAT Act). The ESTV’s VAT guide on the object of the tax (MWST-Info 04, section 2.7.3.5, version from 3 September 2026) covers validation on a blockchain:
- Block rewards. If validation is paid only with new coins created automatically by the network, nobody spends an asset to receive a service. The block reward is therefore not consideration for VAT, and validation paid this way is not a business activity for VAT.
- Transaction fees. A fee paid by the sender to the validator creates a taxable service relationship. Validation for a recipient in Switzerland is an electronic service taxed at the standard rate.
- Pools and hosting. Between a miner and a mining pool, and between a staking pool and its participants, there are services relevant for VAT. Running nodes for someone else, such as cloud mining, is in principle a taxable service.
We could not find the ESTV’s published position on exchanging crypto for Swiss francs, or on accepting crypto as payment, in a source we could read in full. The VAT Act exempts transactions in legal tender (Art. 21(2)(19)(d)), and crypto is not legal tender. If your business accepts crypto, ask the ESTV or a tax adviser how to treat it.
If your business provides crypto services
Under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, anyone who professionally accepts or holds assets belonging to others, or helps to invest or transfer them, is a financial intermediary (Art. 2(3)). Exchanging, holding or transferring crypto for customers usually falls under this. Such a business must join a self-regulatory organization (Art. 14), which then supervises it (Art. 12); banks and other FINMA-licensed institutions are supervised by FINMA. It must identify its customers. For exchange transactions with virtual currencies that are not part of a lasting business relationship, identification is required from CHF 1,000. Some activities need a FINMA license, for example a bank license, a fintech license or a license as a securities firm. The rules are on regulation.
Swiss crypto service providers will also have to collect customer data and report it to the ESTV under the CARF rules, but not before 1 January 2027. In 2026 these rules do not apply. See filing and deadlines.
Sources
- ESTV: Arbeitspapier Kryptowährungen und Initial Coin/Token Offerings, 14 December 2021 (PDF) (last checked October 2026)
- ESTV: Steuerinformation Kryptowährung, October 2023 (PDF) (last checked October 2026)
- Fedlex: Bundesgesetz über die direkte Bundessteuer (DBG), Art. 18, 58 and 68 (last checked October 2026)
- Fedlex: Mehrwertsteuergesetz (MWSTG), Art. 21 and 25 (last checked October 2026)
- ESTV: MWST-Info 04 Steuerobjekt, section 2.7.3.5 (last checked October 2026)
- Fedlex: Geldwäschereigesetz (GwG), Art. 2, 12 and 14 (last checked October 2026)
- Fedlex: Geldwäschereiverordnung-FINMA (GwV-FINMA), Art. 51a (last checked October 2026)
- FINMA: Crypto services at a glance (last checked October 2026)
- SIF: Automatischer Informationsaustausch über Kryptowerte (last checked October 2026)
This page is general information, not tax advice. Rules and rates change, so check the official sources above and your canton’s tax authority before you act.