How employee shares, options, expectancies and phantom (non-genuine) participations are taxed and certified for Swiss direct federal tax purposes, for employers running a plan and for employees who hold one.
Switzerland · tax year 2026 · changed 3 Sept 2026
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1. Classify the instrument
Determine whether the plan gives genuine employee participations (employee shares, expectancies on employee shares, employee options) or non-genuine ("unechte") participations. Circular No. 37 states that monetary benefits from the granting of non-genuine employee participations are taxable at the moment they accrue (Art. 17c DBG), that the entire monetary benefit is subject to income tax as earned income, and that consequently no tax-free private capital gain can arise from them.https://www.estv.admin.ch/dam/estv/de/dokumente/dbst/kreisschreiben/dbst-ks-2020-1-037-d-de.pdf.download.pdf/dbst-ks-2020-1-037-d-de.pdf
2. Fix the moment of taxation and the valuation
Circular No. 37 governs the moment of taxation in its section 3 and following, and for the conversion of foreign-currency values refers to the average closing bid/ask rate on the day of grant, of acquisition or of realisation of the monetary benefit, noting that in certain cases and in agreement with the competent tax authority a departure from this is possible. For blocked employee shares, apply the discount stated in the first table above.https://www.estv.admin.ch/dam/estv/de/dokumente/dbst/kreisschreiben/dbst-ks-2020-1-037-d-de.pdf.download.pdf/dbst-ks-2020-1-037-d-de.pdf
3. Prepare the certificate under the MBV
Circular No. 37 states that employers are in principle free in the design of the certificate, so long as it meets the minimum requirements of the MBV, and that model certificates are found in the annex to the Circular. The ESTV publishes those model certificates and worked examples as annexes, including the electronic model certificate.Source (annex with model certificates): https://www.estv.admin.ch/dam/de/sd-web/OANb5cjm0TAe/dbst-ks-2020-1-037-d-anhang5-de.pdf and overview of all annexes: https://www.estv.admin.ch/de/kreisschreiben-direkten-bundessteuer
4. Deliver the certificate
Circular No. 37 states that the employer must give the certificate to the employee as an annex to the salary certificate, or enclose it with the withholding-tax statement (Art. 10 MBV), and that diverging cantonal rules are reserved.https://www.estv.admin.ch/dam/estv/de/dokumente/dbst/kreisschreiben/dbst-ks-2020-1-037-d-de.pdf.download.pdf/dbst-ks-2020-1-037-d-de.pdf
5. Send the certificate directly to the cantonal tax authority where required
The Circular states that direct delivery to the cantonal tax authority of the employee's canton of residence is always necessary where the monetary benefit from employee participations is realised after the end of the employment relationship (Art. 15 MBV). It also describes the cross-border cases, in particular the employee moving from Switzerland abroad (Art. 8 MBV), where participations are granted in one country and realised in another, typically employee options, expectancies on employee shares or non-genuine participations.https://www.estv.admin.ch/dam/estv/de/dokumente/dbst/kreisschreiben/dbst-ks-2020-1-037-d-de.pdf.download.pdf/dbst-ks-2020-1-037-d-de.pdf
6. Complete the salary certificate
Enter the income from employee participations in the field named in the second table above and attach the MBV certificate for the tax year concerned, as instructed on the ESTV salary-certificate documentation.https://www.estv.admin.ch/de/lohnausweis-rentenbescheinigung
This Guide covers the income-tax treatment of employee participations granted by an employer to an employee, and the certification duties that go with them, as set out by the Federal Tax Administration (ESTV) in Circular No. 37 on the taxation of employee participations (version of 30 October 2020) and in the Lohnausweis (salary certificate) documentation. It concerns the employer, who must value, certify and report the benefit, and the employee, who must declare it. Figures are for tax year 2026. The ESTV pages relied on below state the discount rule and the certification duties without limiting them to a named tax year; the salary-certificate FAQ used here is the ESTV version published for salary certificates from the 2026 tax period.
Employers that grant employee participations and the people who receive them in an employment relationship. Circular No. 37 states that the following are not treated as employees for these purposes: entrepreneurs within the meaning of Art. 363 CO, mandataries, brokers and general agents within the meaning of Art. 394 ff. CO, and shareholders who are in no employment relationship. The Circular also covers the case where a Swiss parent company bears the costs of a seconded employee and thereby becomes the de facto employer. It does not settle cantonal tax rates or cantonal filing dates, and it expressly reserves diverging cantonal rules on how the certificate is delivered.
Discount rule and taxation point (mitarbeiterbeteiligungen source) (https://www.estv.admin.ch/dam/estv/de/dokumente/estv/steuerpolitik/parlamentsgeschaefte/2-direkte-bundessteuer/2-13-mitarbeiterbeteiligungen.pdf.download.pdf/2-13-mitarbeiterbeteiligungen.pdf)
| What | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Source | all figures below | https://www.estv.admin.ch/dam/estv/de/dokumente/estv/steuerpolitik/parlamentsgeschaefte/2-direkte-bundessteuer/2-13-mitarbeiterbeteiligungen.pdf.download.pdf/2-13-mitarbeiterbeteiligungen.pdf |
| Discount on blocked employee shares, per blocking year | "Einschlag von jährlich 6 %" | Page's wording: the value of the shares is reduced by a discount of 6 % per year; the page adds that this restriction relevant to the tax base applies not only to direct federal tax but also in the cantons via the Tax Harmonisation Act |
| Maximum period over which that discount runs | "während maximal zehn Jahren" | Same sentence of the page; the page states the discount applies for a maximum of ten years |
| Taxation point for employee shares | at acquisition | Page's wording: for employee shares, taxation at the moment of acquisition is retained |
Salary-certificate reporting (FAQ 2026 source) (https://www.estv.admin.ch/dam/de/sd-web/36S9l-hXKaLr/dbst-form-lohna-faq-2026-de.pdf)
| What | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Source | all figures below | https://www.estv.admin.ch/dam/de/sd-web/36S9l-hXKaLr/dbst-form-lohna-faq-2026-de.pdf |
| Salary-certificate field for income from employee participations | Ziffer 5 | FAQ: the entire income from employee participations is to be entered in Ziffer 5 of the salary certificate, and a certificate under the Employee Participation Ordinance (MBV) must be completed |
| Reporting where part of the income is allocated abroad | entire income still in Ziffer 5 | FAQ: even where part of this income has to be allocated abroad, the entire income must still be shown there; in an export case the employer must send the tax administration a certificate on the employee participation (Art. 8 MBV) |
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