Crypto tax in Switzerland

The Federal Tax Administration (ESTV) set out its practice in a working paper of December 14, 2021, and the cantons largely follow it, as the CMS guide to Swiss crypto taxation explains. Buying and selling crypto held as private wealth is treated like a transaction in a foreign currency: the gain is a tax-free capital gain, and a loss cannot be deducted.

Exchanging one crypto asset for another is not a taxable event for a private investor either, as Coinpro notes. That puts the Swiss position close to the German one after the one-year holding period, except that Switzerland has no holding period at all.

Cantons and municipalities levy a wealth tax, and crypto assets count as taxable movable assets at their market value at year end. The ESTV publishes tax values each year for about 50 cryptocurrencies, among them BTC, ETH and XRP. For a token without such a value, the purchase price applies. The rate and the tax-free allowance depend on the canton.

The ESTV applies its circular no. 36 of July 27, 2012, written for securities trading, to crypto by analogy. Short holding periods, high volumes, borrowed money and derivatives used for other purposes than hedging point to professional trading. A professional trader pays income tax and social security contributions on all gains, and can deduct losses from other income in return.

Income from staking through a pool is taxable capital income, mining is taxable income, and airdrops count as investment income under the working paper. Switzerland has also enacted the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework: providers collect data from January 1, 2027, and the first automatic exchange is expected in 2028. The CARF page describes what is reported.

Finance Loop is the meeting place for investors and wealth managers who hold crypto next to shares and bonds, and for the tax advisers who work for them. Its masterclass Bitcoin for Investors covers portfolio fit, access routes and custody models, and the German and Austrian tax rules have their own pages for comparison. Finance Loop connects the finance, IT and AI communities at events in Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin and Hamburg.

Not as a private investor. Gains on crypto held as private wealth are tax-free capital gains. A trader the tax office classifies as professional pays income tax and social security contributions on them.

Yes. Crypto holdings are declared at their market value at year end and taxed with the rest of the net wealth. The ESTV publishes the values for about 50 cryptocurrencies, and the rate depends on the canton.

Yes. Rewards from staking through a pool are taxable capital income. A validator who runs the activity outside a pool can be treated as self-employed, depending on the facts.