Menu
Skip to content 
Switzerland is a very investor-friendly country! Suppose you take CHF 5,000 and doubled them to CHF 10,000 by means of shares. Gain on the sale of shares not taxed in Switzerland. This is an exception in the tax laws and is intended to give citizens an opportunity to increase their assets. But beware, there are pitfalls!
Find out how you can save tax with your shares! Have a good time.
Yes, capital gains on shares and bonds are not taxed in Switzerland. At least as long as you have a conservative strategy. So it is worthwhile Buy and hold strategy and to be a long-term investor. After all, anyone who is constantly trading, reorganising their portfolio and using wild options will come under the spotlight of the authorities.
Then it can happen that you as Classified as a professional investor will. This has a number of consequences and is therefore mentioned first when it comes to saving tax with your shares.
So tactic number 1: Avoid not being classified as a professional investor.
Not to be a professional Trader and thus have tax disadvantages, you should note the following:
Your key to success! Discover our top recommendations from real testimonials.
You followed the above tips and were not classified as a professional trader? Very good, so your price gains are tax free in Switzerland.
Shares to be declared in tax return Switzerland-wide: Enter the shares you hold in the "List of securities". Here you will find a Instruction, how to fill in your share tax return throughout Switzerland.
Securities are recognised by the authority, but the Capital gains are not offset against your assets for tax purposes. You enter all items in your tax return, even if you have already sold them during the year. However, taxes are only due on interest, dividends or subscription rights. This is where the withholding tax on your income comes into play.
What you already did at Purchase of shares, ETF's etc., the so-called Stamp duties. These will be deducted by your broker directly when you buy or trade and will be listed in the invoice.
Who would like to save taxes not only with shares, but still further Tipps for its Tax return should take a look at our free eBook:
The Swiss do not tax capital gains. However, this does not mean that it is not necessary to pay tax on shares in Switzerland. This is because Swiss tax authorities tax share profits if you are categorised as a commercial trader.
If you follow a conservative investment strategy, you will almost automatically adhere to the tips above. As a private investor, taxes on your shares, ETFs etc. only apply to distributions and income such as dividends. Price gains will not be credited to you and do not increase your tax burden.
With these investor-friendly laws, you really can't complain in Switzerland! So now it's time invest long-termavoid fees and collect dividends!
Which Swiss broker do you invest with? In addition to taxes, fees can also be saved significantly. For this purpose we have investigated and compared various Swiss providers.
Your Schwiizerfrank team!
"Intelligent people learn from the mistakes of others".
We have compiled our top selection for you from all our tests and experience reports:
25 responses
Good day,
What happens if I have realised capital gains on American shares such as Apple and Nvidia. For example, I made CHF 1000 + and also received a dividend totalling CHF 60.
Do I now have to declare this CHF 60 in my tax return or the capital gain? I invest according to time and need, so I am a normal private investor who is not employed but also has a profession.
Many thanks
Hello Ahmet,
You must include all shares in your tax return. Capital gains and distributions are recognised there anyway.
However, capital gains are not taxed for investors in Switzerland. Dividends are taxed.
Good day
What is the situation here with Bitcoin and co? If you sell bitcoins and therefore make a profit, are you immediately categorised as a trader? Also with shares etc? So how should you sell the cryptocurrency?
Lg
Hello Felix,
In Switzerland, this applies to securities in general, including Bitcoin.
A staggered sale over several years could make sense if there is too much volume.
I am planning to move to Zurich for work, but have two problems when It comes to my retirement plan. First I would plan to save 30,000-40,000 CHF for the next 6-7 years, as I am single and have little expenses accompanied by a good job. If invested in a stock portfolio of maybe 8-15 stocks and held them for an average of 3 years at a time would I be classified as a professional investor? I would plan to maintain a leverage ratio of 25% (i.e. for every CHF of equity I would have .33 CHF of debt this would be (1.33-1)/1.33=25%). Secondly, I worry that after 15-20 years I could have a large amount saved and if I suspected a market crash I might sell all of my investments in one year to protect against a crash to buy them back again over the next year or two. This could potentially lead to accumulated gains far greater than my income although the average holding period would potentially be 5-15 years at this stage. Could either of these two events/strategies have me classified as a professional investor?
Hi Isaac,
as I am not a tax expert, I cant guarantee you anything and will not advise on that. In my opinion your case is a normal savings/investing scenario, so there is no need to be worried. Exception: the leveraging aspect looks a bit aggresive/professional.
Hello
Thanks a lot for your great info! How are share price gains on foreign shares taxed? So Apple, Microsoft, Tesla etc.?
My understanding of the article is that it only concerns Swiss shares!
Thanks for the great info on your website!
Best regards
Hello Raphael
It doesn't matter. As long as you are taxable here, capital gains are not taxed. In the case of distributions, however, the situation is different.
Love!
I have just sold a bunch of RSU from my company that I held on for a few years.
This transaction alone was in the six figure range and definitely above my annual income.
Now I would like to invest this capital on ETF shares for long-term gains (something like 5 to 10 years).
Do you think this could cause the tax office to flag me as a professional investor?
Hello zämä
Thank you for the good overview and tips.
However, I'm not quite sure what the situation is with forex and CFD trading - i.e. mainly day trading. When I close the positions, I don't have any securities that I would have to declare as capital at the end of the year in my tax return. Of course, it is common practice in day trading to open a few (small) positions and close them again after a short time. Consequently, the volume of trades would also be large, even if the amount is often small. And as far as I know, there is no 'capital gains' item on the tax return that I can proactively declare. How are taxes (-authority) actually handled there?
Of course, it is noticeable when you have much more assets at the end of the year than would be possible with your main income minus the normal costs. Nevertheless, it would be interesting if someone had an idea.
Thank you and greetings
Anita
Hello Anita
Day trading falls precisely into this category. Such a case quickly becomes critical from a tax point of view and is closely examined by the tax office.
The bad thing is that once you are classified as a professional trader, this applies for life and tax-free share gains will no longer be possible.
However, the tax office will not immediately put you in this category, but (hopefully) only in absolutely appropriate cases.
Quick question - I have a very long-term strategy with only a few companies. I would like to liquidate the portfolio in a few years and expect a return in the higher six-figure range. This would of course massively exceed my annual income. In this case, do I run the risk of being taxed accordingly?
Hello Urs
Since you invested for the long term, it should not be a problem. After all, it wasn't trading and it doesn't happen every year. So I personally wouldn't worry about it. If in doubt, talk to a tax advisor.
Oh and: Congratulations 🙂
Hello, I have two different stock portfolios that I would like to put together for reasons of diversification. specifically, I have a portfolio with 80,000 euros and 37,000 euros. In addition, there are other investments of about 20,000 euros. I would like to dissolve the depot of 37,000 euros and put the money in the large depot. I hold most of the shares for more than 6 months.
PS Euro figures are due to the fact that I have the deposits in Germany.
Hello Toni, do you have a specific question in this regard? As a rule, it is easy to transfer a securities account. If you want to sell securities and you comply with the above points, you do not have to worry about taxes.
Exactly. Only when you make an annual profit of at least CHF 50,000 through investment income or capital gains do you need to look into this topic again.
What is the understanding of the holding period with respect to partial sales?
Example: I buy 5 shares of company A on 01.02. and on 01.03. another 5 shares of this company. How many shares of company A may I sell on 01.08. so that this point is fulfilled? None, 5 or 10?
Hi Jakob, pure gut feeling/judgement: In theory, every trade counts, but people probably pay more attention to the overall picture than to the exact details. One "small trade" will not immediately make you look like a professional trader. If you trade all the time and earn the majority of your income with it, it will certainly look different.
Hello
I have a tax question maybe you can help me:)
What does it look like if I invest on a crowdfunding platform, for example? For example, I invest CHF 10,000 in "Product X" and after six months I get CHF 12,000 back from this investment. How is this taxed in Switzerland?
Hello Sazu
here it depends very much on how and where you have invested. A Swiss crowdlending platform? Then take a look here: https://www.mme.ch/de/magazin/crowdfunding_aus_steuerlicher_sicht/
If it's a capital gain - you don't have to pay tax on anything!
I intend to quit my job and live off dividend income. I can easily comply with all other rules. Does dividend income also count towards the 50% rule, so does that automatically make me a professional trader? Or does only capital gains really count there?
Hello Sven
here a discussion with a specialized tax advisor would certainly be useful. I believe not that this automatically classifies you as a professional trader. However, this in combination with frequent trading etc. can of course bring the attention of the authorities. Also, a tax advisor may find a way how you can optimize your tax contributions, as these should not be low for you.
Love and congrats on your plan!
How is for an Austrian this
situation to see.will after österr.
tax net.
I am interested in the switzerland a
open an account and move stock exchange work to switzerland.
Mfg.f. m.n
Hello Friedrich
I am not familiar with taxes in Austria. But during a short Google research I came across this:
Avoid double taxation - this is how it works
"In Austria, investors can have the foreign withholding tax credited against up to 15 per cent of the investment income. You then only pay the difference up to the withholding tax rate to the Austrian tax authorities, i.e. 10 per cent (for account and savings account interest) or 12.5 per cent (for all other investment income). As a rule, your own broker will do this automatically if they are based in Austria." Here is the link to the source: https://www.testsieger.at/wertpapiere/steuer/
The best thing to do is to do some more research on the subject yourself or seek out a tax advisor who specializes in this area.