Swiss profit tax on companies for tax year 2026, from the law and ESTV publications. Covers who is taxable (seat or effective management, Swiss branches), the federal profit tax of 8.5% of net profit after tax (DBG art. 68, about 7.83% of profit before tax), how cantonal and communal profit tax i…
Switzerland · tax year 2026 · changed 25 Jun 2026
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Sources read 23 Oct 2026 for tax year 2026
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| Item | Rate or amount | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal profit tax, AG, GmbH, cooperative | 8.5% of net profit. Taxes are deductible (DBG art. 59 para. 1 let. a), so this is 8.5/108.5, about 7.83%, of profit before tax | 2026 | DBG art. 68 |
| Federal profit tax, associations, foundations, other legal persons | 4.25% of net profit; profit under CHF 5,000 not taxed | 2026 | DBG art. 71 |
| Federal capital tax | None (DBG art. 73 to 78 repealed from 1 January 1998) | 2026 | DBG |
| Loss carry-forward, federal and cantonal | 7 business years | 2026 | DBG art. 67; StHG art. 25 para. 2 |
| Participation reduction: qualifying holding | At least 10% of share capital, or of profit and reserves, or a market value of at least CHF 1 million | 2026 | DBG art. 69; StHG art. 28 para. 1 |
| Participation reduction: flat administration cost | 5% of participation income (actual cost may be shown instead) | 2026 | DBG art. 70 para. 1 |
| Participation reduction on capital gains | Holding sold was at least 10% and held at least one year | 2026 | DBG art. 70 para. 4 |
| Patent box (cantonal only) | Up to 90% reduction of qualifying patent profit; cantons may give less | 2026 | StHG art. 24b |
| R&D super deduction (cantonal only, optional for cantons) | Up to 50% on top of the actual Swiss R&D expense | 2026 | StHG art. 25a |
| Notional interest deduction (cantonal only) | Allowed only where the combined cantonal, communal and other rate in the cantonal capital is at least 13.5%; Zurich is the only canton that has it | 2026 | StHG art. 25abis; ESTV, Besteuerung der juristischen Personen, 5.1.2.5 |
| Relief cap on patent box, R&D and notional interest together | 70% of taxable profit before loss offset, excluding net participation income | 2026 | StHG art. 25b |
| Zurich: simple cantonal profit tax rate | 7% of taxable net profit (a cut to 6% was rejected by voters on 18 May 2025) | 2026 | ESTV Kantonsblatt Zürich, Feb 2026, § 71 StG; zh.ch vote result; Regierungsrat proposal 5939, § 71 at 6% |
| Zurich city: multipliers for legal persons | Canton 95%, commune 119%, church 10.03% of the simple tax | 2026 | ESTV, Steuersatz und Steuerfuss, 3.4.2 |
| Zurich: simple capital tax rate | 0.75 per mille of taxable equity; 90% of equity on participations, patents and group loans may be deducted | 2026 | ESTV Kantonsblatt Zürich, § 81a and 82 StG |
| Pillar Two minimum tax | 15% of the GloBE profit, for groups with revenue of EUR 750 million or more | 2026 | BV art. 197 no. 15; MindStV art. 8 and 10 |
| Withholding tax on dividends | 35% | 2026 | VStG art. 13 para. 1 let. a |
| Late payment interest, federal taxes | 4.0% (2025: 4.5%); 0.0% credit interest on voluntary prepayments of federal tax | 2026 | ESTV, 11 September 2025 |
A Swiss company pays profit tax at three levels: the Confederation (direkte Bundessteuer), the canton and the commune. The federal rate is fixed in law. The cantonal and communal tax is a simple rate set by cantonal law, multiplied by the canton's and the commune's yearly multiplier (Steuerfuss). Only the cantons levy a capital tax. The canton assesses and collects both its own tax and the federal tax (DBG art. 104 and 105 para. 3).
Related skills, linked rather than repeated:
ch-transfer-pricing.ch-cross-border.ch-cantonal-tax.ch-vat-return. Setting up an AG or GmbH: ch-company-formation.ch-federal-income-tax, ch-cantonal-tax).| Item | Rate or amount | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal profit tax, AG, GmbH, cooperative | 8.5% of net profit. Taxes are deductible (DBG art. 59 para. 1 let. a), so this is 8.5/108.5, about 7.83%, of profit before tax | 2026 | DBG art. 68 |
| Federal profit tax, associations, foundations, other legal persons | 4.25% of net profit; profit under CHF 5,000 not taxed | 2026 | DBG art. 71 |
| Federal capital tax | None (DBG art. 73 to 78 repealed from 1 January 1998) | 2026 | DBG |
| Loss carry-forward, federal and cantonal | 7 business years | 2026 | DBG art. 67; StHG art. 25 para. 2 |
| Participation reduction: qualifying holding | At least 10% of share capital, or of profit and reserves, or a market value of at least CHF 1 million | 2026 | DBG art. 69; StHG art. 28 para. 1 |
| Participation reduction: flat administration cost | 5% of participation income (actual cost may be shown instead) | 2026 | DBG art. 70 para. 1 |
| Participation reduction on capital gains | Holding sold was at least 10% and held at least one year | 2026 | DBG art. 70 para. 4 |
| Patent box (cantonal only) | Up to 90% reduction of qualifying patent profit; cantons may give less | 2026 | StHG art. 24b |
| R&D super deduction (cantonal only, optional for cantons) | Up to 50% on top of the actual Swiss R&D expense | 2026 | StHG art. 25a |
| Notional interest deduction (cantonal only) | Allowed only where the combined cantonal, communal and other rate in the cantonal capital is at least 13.5%; Zurich is the only canton that has it | 2026 | StHG art. 25abis; ESTV, Besteuerung der juristischen Personen, 5.1.2.5 |
| Relief cap on patent box, R&D and notional interest together | 70% of taxable profit before loss offset, excluding net participation income | 2026 | StHG art. 25b |
| Zurich: simple cantonal profit tax rate | 7% of taxable net profit (a cut to 6% was rejected by voters on 18 May 2025) | 2026 | ESTV Kantonsblatt Zürich, Feb 2026, § 71 StG; zh.ch vote result; Regierungsrat proposal 5939, § 71 at 6% |
| Zurich city: multipliers for legal persons | Canton 95%, commune 119%, church 10.03% of the simple tax | 2026 | ESTV, Steuersatz und Steuerfuss, 3.4.2 |
| Zurich: simple capital tax rate | 0.75 per mille of taxable equity; 90% of equity on participations, patents and group loans may be deducted | 2026 | ESTV Kantonsblatt Zürich, § 81a and 82 StG |
| Pillar Two minimum tax | 15% of the GloBE profit, for groups with revenue of EUR 750 million or more | 2026 | BV art. 197 no. 15; MindStV art. 8 and 10 |
| Withholding tax on dividends | 35% | 2026 | VStG art. 13 para. 1 let. a |
| Late payment interest, federal taxes | 4.0% (2025: 4.5%); 0.0% credit interest on voluntary prepayments of federal tax | 2026 | ESTV, 11 September 2025 |
How to get a cantonal rate. For any canton: simple rate under the cantonal tax law x (cantonal multiplier + communal multiplier + church multiplier where the canton taxes companies for church). Some cantons state an effective rate instead of a multiplier (the ESTV table marks these). The ESTV publication Steuersatz und Steuerfuss, 1 January 2026 lists the 2026 multipliers for each cantonal capital; the canton sheets (ESTV Kantonsblätter for Zurich) give the simple rate. Other communes have other multipliers. Then convert the statutory rate to an effective rate on profit before tax, because all three taxes are deductible:
effective rate = total statutory rate / (1 + total statutory rate)
For Zurich city in 2026 this gives: 7% x 224.03% = 15.68% cantonal, communal and church; plus 8.5% federal = 24.18% statutory, about 19.47% of profit before tax (example 1).
Start from the accounts. Taxable net profit is the balance of the income statement, plus amounts charged to it that are not business-justified expense (including open and hidden profit distributions), plus income not credited to it, including capital, revaluation and liquidation gains (DBG art. 58 para. 1; StHG art. 24 para. 1). The company files its signed annual accounts with the return (DBG art. 125 para. 2).
Deductible. Business-justified expense, including (DBG art. 59 para. 1; StHG art. 25 para. 1):
Not deductible: bribes, fines and financial penalties with a punitive purpose (DBG art. 59 para. 2). Depreciation must be business-justified and booked (DBG art. 62). Provisions are allowed for existing obligations, risks on current assets and other imminent risks, plus future R&D orders to third parties up to 10% of taxable profit, at most CHF 1 million (DBG art. 63).
Not taxable. Capital contributions by shareholders, including share premium; moving the seat within Switzerland; inheritance and gifts (DBG art. 60). Interest on debt that is in substance equity is added back (DBG art. 65; see ch-transfer-pricing).
Losses. Losses of the seven business years before the tax period may be set off, so far as not already used (DBG art. 67 para. 1; StHG art. 25 para. 2). In a restructuring, older losses may be set off against contributions that cover a deficit and are not capital contributions (DBG art. 67 para. 2). There is no loss carry-back.
Participation reduction (Beteiligungsabzug). This is a reduction of the tax, not an exemption of the income. The profit tax is reduced in the proportion that net participation income bears to total net profit (DBG art. 69; StHG art. 28 para. 1):
The cantons apply the same reduction to cantonal and communal tax (StHG art. 28 para. 1).
STAF measures, cantonal and communal tax only (introduced 1 January 2020; none apply to federal tax):
Hidden reserves on entry and exit. A company that moves assets, functions or its seat into Switzerland may disclose hidden reserves tax-free and depreciate them; self-created goodwill over ten years (DBG art. 61a; StHG art. 24c). Hidden reserves on holdings of at least 10% may not be disclosed this way (DBG art. 61a para. 1). Moving out triggers tax on untaxed hidden reserves (DBG art. 61b). See ch-cross-border.
Capital tax (cantonal only). Taxable equity is paid-in capital, open reserves and reserves from taxed profit, plus hidden equity (StHG art. 29 para. 2 let. a and art. 29a). Cantons may reduce the tax on equity attributable to participations, patents and group loans (StHG art. 29 para. 3) and may credit profit tax against capital tax (StHG art. 30 para. 2).
Minimum tax (Pillar Two). Where the effective tax rate of a large group's Swiss entities falls below 15%, Switzerland charges a Swiss top-up tax, the QDMTT (schweizerische Ergänzungssteuer) (BV art. 197 no. 15 para. 1 let. b; MindStV art. 1 and 8). The GloBE Model Rules apply directly (MindStV art. 2). The top-up tax is not deductible from federal or cantonal profit tax (MindStV art. 7).
ch-transfer-pricing and ch-cross-border). A Swiss company holding at least 10% of the share capital directly may instead have the dividend paid without deduction, under the notification procedure, provided it would be entitled to the refund: the paying company files the official form with the ESTV within 30 days after the dividend falls due (VStV art. 26a).Cantonal penalties follow the cantonal tax law and are broadly parallel.
ch-cross-border.ch-transfer-pricing.ch-cross-border.Facts: Alpha AG has its seat in the city of Zurich. It trades goods, has no participations, patents or R&D, and no losses brought forward. Its 2026 profit before any tax is CHF 1,000,000. Zurich levies church tax on legal persons, at a multiplier of 10.03% in the city.
Capital tax comes on top: 0.75 per mille x 224.03% of taxable equity. Alpha has no participations, so no capital tax reduction applies.
name: Zurich city trading company, profit before tax CHF 1,000,000 (2026)
inputs:
profit_before_tax: 1000000
federal_rate: 8.5
zh_simple_rate: 7
zh_canton_multiplier: 95
zh_city_multiplier: 119
zh_church_multiplier: 10.03
steps:
- federal_only_effective_pct: round(federal_rate / (100 + federal_rate) * 100, 2)
- cantonal_statutory_pct: zh_simple_rate * (zh_canton_multiplier + zh_city_multiplier + zh_church_multiplier) / 100
- total_statutory_pct: federal_rate + cantonal_statutory_pct
- net_profit_after_tax: round(profit_before_tax / (1 + total_statutory_pct / 100), 2)
- federal_tax: round(net_profit_after_tax * federal_rate / 100, 2)
- cantonal_tax: round(net_profit_after_tax * cantonal_statutory_pct / 100, 2)
- total_tax: federal_tax + cantonal_tax
- effective_rate_pct: round(total_tax / profit_before_tax * 100, 2)
expected:
federal_only_effective_pct: 7.83
cantonal_statutory_pct: 15.6821
total_statutory_pct: 24.1821
net_profit_after_tax: 805269.04
federal_tax: 68447.87
cantonal_tax: 126283.10
total_tax: 194730.97
effective_rate_pct: 19.47
The edge case: the 19.47% holds only for the city of Zurich. A company in another Zurich commune uses that commune's multiplier and church multiplier; a company with excess equity may also claim the Zurich notional interest deduction, which this example leaves out.
Facts: Beta Holding AG, Swiss, owns 20% of the share capital of Gamma AG, a Swiss company. In 2026 Gamma pays Beta a dividend of CHF 500,000. Beta's taxable net profit for 2026 (after deducting its taxes) is CHF 600,000, including the dividend. Financing cost attributable to the Gamma holding is CHF 20,000. Beta uses the flat 5% for administration.
The cantonal and communal tax is reduced in the same proportion (StHG art. 28 para. 1); use the canton's rate as in example 1.
name: Holding company, CHF 500,000 dividend from a 20% participation, federal (2026)
inputs:
dividend: 500000
financing_cost: 20000
admin_pct: 5
taxable_net_profit: 600000
federal_rate: 8.5
vst_rate: 35
steps:
- admin_cost: pct(dividend, admin_pct)
- net_participation_income: dividend - financing_cost - admin_cost
- tax_before_reduction: pct(taxable_net_profit, federal_rate)
- reduction_ratio_pct: round(net_participation_income / taxable_net_profit * 100, 2)
- reduction: round(tax_before_reduction * net_participation_income / taxable_net_profit, 2)
- federal_tax_due: tax_before_reduction - reduction
- vst_if_withheld: pct(dividend, vst_rate)
expected:
admin_cost: 25000.00
net_participation_income: 455000.00
tax_before_reduction: 51000.00
reduction_ratio_pct: 75.83
reduction: 38675.00
federal_tax_due: 12325.00
vst_if_withheld: 175000.00
The edge cases: if Beta held 5% worth CHF 1.2 million, the dividend would still qualify (market value of CHF 1 million or more), but a capital gain on selling that 5% would not (DBG art. 70 para. 4 let. b). How financing cost is allocated to a holding is ESTV practice not read for this skill; the figure here is an input.
| Source | URL | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| DBG, SR 642.11, version in force 2 September 2026, art. 49 to 72, 79, 80, 104, 105, 120, 124, 125, 130, 151, 161 to 164, 174, 175, 181, 181a | https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1991/1184_1184_1184/de | 2026-10-23 |
| StHG, SR 642.14, version of 1 January 2025 (current for 2026), art. 24 to 31 | https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1991/1256_1256_1256/de | 2026-10-23 |
| MindStV, SR 642.161, version of 1 January 2026, art. 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 20, 27, 28d, 28e, 40, 40a, 42 | https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2023/841/de | 2026-10-23 |
| Federal Constitution, SR 101, art. 197 no. 15 (minimum tax, 15%, EUR 750 million) | https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1999/404/de | 2026-10-23 |
| EFD ordinance on due date and interest of federal tax, SR 642.124, art. 1 and 3 | https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1993/717_717_717/de | 2026-10-23 |
| VStG, SR 642.21, version of 1 January 2025, art. 13, 16, 20, 24 | https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1966/371_385_384/de | 2026-10-23 |
| VStV, SR 642.211, version of 1 January 2025, art. 26a | https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1966/1585_1641_1624/de | 2026-10-23 |
| ESTV, Steuersatz und Steuerfuss (law as at 1 January 2026), 3.4.2 multipliers in the cantonal capitals 2026 | https://www.estv2.admin.ch/stp/ds/e-steuersatz-steuerfuss-de.pdf | 2026-10-23 |
| ESTV, Besteuerung der juristischen Personen (law as at 1 January 2026, April 2026) | https://www.estv2.admin.ch/stp/ds/d-besteuerung-juristischen-personen-gesamter-text-de.pdf | 2026-10-23 |
| ESTV, Kantonsblatt Zürich (February 2026), § 64b, 65a to 65c, 71, 81a, 82 StG | https://www.estv2.admin.ch/stp/kb/zh-de.pdf | 2026-10-23 |
| ESTV, Vergütungs- und Verzugszinssätze ab 2026 (11 September 2025) | https://www.estv.admin.ch/de/newnsb/58uetWbVftSvrQqxHgivI | 2026-10-23 |
| Kanton Zürich, Geschäftsbericht 2025, Volksabstimmungen (18 May 2025: Steuergesetz change of 4 November 2024, 149,962 yes, 179,439 no) | https://www.zh.ch/de/steuern-finanzen/kantonsfinanzen/geschaeftsbericht-rechnung/geschaeftsbericht-2025/volksabstimmungen.html | 2026-10-23 |
| Kanton Zürich, Antrag des Regierungsrates 5939 of 15 November 2023 (Steuergesetz change: § 71 simple profit tax rate from 7% to 6%; rejected 18 May 2025) | https://www.zh.ch/bin/zhweb/publish/regierungsratsbeschluss-unterlagen./2023/1315/5939_Steuergesetz_%C3%84nderung.pdf | 2026-10-23 |
| Kantonales Steueramt Zürich, ZStB 133.1, Aufforderung 2027 (deadline for 2026 returns) | https://www.zh.ch/content/dam/zhweb/bilder-dokumente/themen/steuern-finanzen/steuern/vertreter/steuerbuch/zstb-nr-133-1/ZStB-Nr-133-1_Aufforderung-2027.pdf | 2026-10-23 |
Not yet confirmed: an official ESTV table of 2026 effective profit tax rates for every canton (the ESTV "Steuerbelastung" series for companies was not found; the skill gives the method and works Zurich city only); the Zurich due dates and instalments for cantonal and communal profit tax; the Zurich 2026 notional interest rate (tied to the 10-year Confederation bond yield, set by ordinance, not read); the ESTV practice for allocating financing cost to participations (Kreisschreiben not read); each canton's patent box and R&D percentages other than Zurich; the date the UTPR will apply.
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