- You file your tax return with the tax authority of your canton. The deadline is set by the canton: in Zurich it is 31 March of the following year.
- Crypto goes in the list of securities and other assets, at its value on 31 December. Staking rewards and other crypto income go in the same return.
- Automatic exchange of crypto data with other countries (CARF) starts on 1 January 2027 at the earliest. Parliament has not yet approved the partner states.
- Undeclared crypto can mean back taxes for up to ten years plus a fine, usually equal to the tax evaded. A first voluntary disclosure avoids the fine.
This page covers when and how to report crypto to the Swiss tax authorities. How the tax is calculated is on personal tax and business tax. Deadlines differ by canton, so we use the canton of Zurich as an example. It is general information, not tax advice; the dates in your own canton’s forms come first.
Deadline calendar
The dates below are for tax year 2025, filed in 2026, as published by the canton of Zurich and the federal authorities. Other cantons have their own dates.
| Date | What | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 31 December 2025 | Valuation date: the value of your crypto on this day counts for wealth tax for 2025 | Individuals |
| 31 March 2026 | Tax return 2025 due in the canton of Zurich, unless you asked your communal tax office for an extension before then | Individuals (Zurich) |
| 30 September 2026 | Last day to ask online for an extension of the company tax return to 30 November | Companies (Zurich) |
| 30 November 2026 | Extended deadline for the company return; later extensions only in exceptional cases | Companies (Zurich) |
| 1 January 2027 at the earliest | Possible start of CARF due diligence and data collection by Swiss crypto providers | Crypto providers |
Individuals: step by step
Do you have to file?
The tax authority asks taxpayers to file by public notice, by letter or by sending the form. If you are liable to tax but received neither a letter nor a form, you must still file (Art. 124(2) DBG). You must fill in the return truthfully and completely, sign it and send it with the required attachments on time.
Crypto in the return
- List each cryptocurrency you held on 31 December in the list of securities and other assets (Wertschriften- und Guthabenverzeichnis). The canton of Zurich says crypto goes under “other assets” (übrige Guthaben), with the name of the cryptocurrency.
- Value each coin at its value on 31 December: the ESTV Kursliste value where the coin is listed, otherwise the year-end price of the trading platform you used.
- Add evidence. Zurich asks for a printout of your wallet (“digitale Brieftasche”) showing the balance at the end of the tax period.
- Declare taxable income, such as staking rewards, airdrops or mining income, at its value in Swiss francs when you received it.
- Gains from selling crypto held as private assets are not declared as income, because they are tax-free. If you trade professionally, gains and losses go in the return as self-employment income instead.
Crypto does not carry Swiss withholding tax, so there is nothing to reclaim for it in the securities list.
Extension
In the canton of Zurich, if you cannot file by 31 March, you ask your communal tax office (Gemeindesteueramt) for an extension before the deadline. Some communes let you do this online. If you file late because of military or civilian service, absence abroad, illness or other serious reasons, the delay is excused if you file within 30 days after the reason ends (Art. 124(4) DBG).
The year you arrive or leave
If you are liable to tax for only part of the year, income tax covers only the income of that period, and wealth tax is levied on the corresponding part of the year, based on your wealth at the end of your tax liability. More on moving.
Companies
Companies file their return with the tax authority of the canton where they have their seat. In the canton of Zurich a company can ask online, until 30 September, for an extension to 30 November. Zurich grants a later extension only in exceptional cases and only on a written request; it says that too much work or missing documents are not exceptional reasons. Check the deadline printed on your company’s form, and the rules of your own canton.
What providers will report (CARF)
Switzerland has adopted the legal basis for the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). Under it, Swiss crypto service providers collect data on their customers and report it to the ESTV, which exchanges it with partner states. Parliament approved the international agreement and the changes to the law in its final vote of 26 September 2025. The State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF) says:
- Switzerland will apply CARF from 1 January 2027 at the earliest. The Federal Council can only activate the agreement after parliament has approved the partner states.
- In 2026 the CARF rules do not apply, so Swiss providers have no CARF due diligence duties, and Switzerland will receive no crypto data from abroad for 2026.
- The ESTV will publish its guidance on CARF only after the decision on implementation.
The list of partner states is business 25.052 in parliament. The Federal Council proposed 74 partner states on 6 June 2025, including all EU countries and the United Kingdom. The Council of States approved both draft decrees on 10 September 2025. On 28 September 2026 the National Council approved the second draft, on the review mechanism, but voted not to take up the first, the decree on introducing the exchange with the partner states. That draft has gone back to the Council of States and was with its committee at the time of writing (October 2026). The start date therefore remains open.
Separately, the amended Common Reporting Standard for financial accounts has applied in Switzerland since 1 January 2026, as planned. According to the SIF, it adds rules on certain e-money products and central bank digital currencies, and extends “financial assets” to certain crypto-assets.
Records to keep
- Self-employed people and companies must keep their books, records and other documents related to their activity for ten years (Art. 126(3) DBG).
- Private individuals. We found no fixed retention period for private records in the federal act. The tax authority can open a procedure for back taxes up to ten years after the end of a tax period (Art. 152 DBG), so we suggest keeping year-end statements, wallet printouts, and records of staking rewards and airdrops (date, amount, value in Swiss francs) for at least that long.
- Evidence of private status. If the tax authority checks whether you trade professionally, it looks at holding periods, volume, financing and derivatives. Records of when you bought and sold each coin help you show this.
Penalties and voluntary disclosure
| Situation (federal tax) | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Return not filed despite a reminder, or other procedural duty not met | Fine up to CHF 1,000; up to CHF 10,000 in serious cases or repeat offenses (Art. 174 DBG) |
| Tax evaded, for example crypto or crypto income not declared, intentionally or through negligence | Back tax plus interest (Art. 151), and a fine normally equal to the tax evaded: one third for minor fault, up to three times for serious fault (Art. 175) |
| First voluntary disclosure | No fine, if no tax authority knew about it, you cooperate fully and you try seriously to pay the back tax (Art. 175(3)) |
| Any later voluntary disclosure | Fine reduced to one fifth of the tax evaded (Art. 175(4)) |
| Time limits | A back-tax procedure can start up to 10 years after the tax period; the back tax must be set within 15 years (Art. 152) |
The table shows the federal rules; for cantonal and communal tax, the cantonal tax law applies. Once CARF starts, foreign tax authorities will receive data on their residents’ accounts at Swiss providers, and the ESTV will receive data on Swiss residents from partner states.
Sources
- Kanton Zürich: Steuererklärung Privatpersonen (deadline and extension) (last checked October 2026)
- Kanton Zürich: Steuererklärung Unternehmen (extension) (last checked October 2026)
- Kantonales Steueramt Zürich: Steuerliche Behandlung von Kryptowährungen (ZStB 16.5) (last checked October 2026)
- ESTV: Arbeitspapier Kryptowährungen und Initial Coin/Token Offerings, 14 December 2021 (PDF) (last checked October 2026)
- Fedlex: Bundesgesetz über die direkte Bundessteuer (DBG), Art. 124, 126, 151, 152, 174 and 175 (last checked October 2026)
- SIF: Automatischer Informationsaustausch über Kryptowerte (last checked October 2026)
- SIF: Fragen und Antworten zum AIA über Kryptowerte (updated 18 May 2026, PDF) (last checked October 2026)
- SIF: Federal Council dispatch on the 74 CARF partner states (6 June 2025) (last checked October 2026)
- Swiss Parliament: Business 25.052, AIA über Kryptowerte mit den relevanten Partnerstaaten (last checked October 2026)
This page is general information, not tax advice. Rules, amounts and dates change, so check the official sources above and the forms from your own canton before you act.