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Investing in Switzerland

Tax-free capital gains, withholding tax, pillar 3a and the AHV reference age for long-term investors in Switzerland. Amounts in Swiss francs; every figure with its source and an as-of date.

Key figures

0%Tax on private capital gainsGains on securities held as private assets are tax-free at federal and cantonal level; professional securities dealers are the exception.Source: Art. 16 Abs. 3 DBG (Fedlex) ·
35%Withholding tax on dividends and interestDeducted at source, refunded in full when the income is declared in the tax return; the income itself is taxed as ordinary income.Source: Art. 13 Abs. 1 VStG (Fedlex) ·
CHF 7,258Pillar 3a maximum per year, with a pension fundDeductible from taxable income; unchanged from 2025. Gaps from 2025 onwards can be bought back for up to ten years.Source: ESTV – Höchstabzüge Säule 3a ·
CHF 36,288Pillar 3a maximum per year, without a pension fundSelf-employed without a second pillar: 20 % of earned income up to this cap.Source: ESTV – Höchstabzüge Säule 3a ·
65AHV reference ageFor men and, from the 1964 cohort, for women; women born in 1962 reach it in 2026 at 64 years and six months.Source: Art. 21 Abs. 1 AHVG (Fedlex) ·

How gains are taxed

Switzerland does not tax capital gains on private assets: whoever sells shares or ETF units at a profit owes nothing on the gain, at federal or cantonal level. The exception is anyone the tax office classifies as a professional securities dealer, for instance because of high leverage and rapid turnover. Dividends and interest, by contrast, count as ordinary income and are taxed at the personal rate together with wages. Accumulating funds are taxed on their retained income as well, as if it had been distributed.

The 35 % withholding tax on Swiss dividends and interest is not a final tax but an advance: anyone who declares the income in the tax return gets it back in full. On top of income tax, every canton levies an annual wealth tax on net assets, with rates and allowances that differ by canton — there is no federal wealth tax.

Example: selling an equity ETF with a CHF 3,000 gain
GainCHF 3,000
TaxableCHF 3,000
Tax (0%)CHF 0.00
Source: Art. 16 Abs. 3 DBG (Fedlex) ·

Pension

  • The AHV reference age is 65 for men and, from the 1964 cohort, for women; the transition raises it by three months per cohort, so women born in 1962 retire in 2026 at 64 years and six months.
  • The 13th AHV pension is paid for the first time in December 2026 and every December after that, amounting to one twelfth of the year's old-age pension.
  • Pillar 3a contributions are deductible up to the annual maximum; since 2025 missed contributions can be bought back for up to ten years, the first buy-back for the 2025 gap being possible in tax year 2026.
Source: BSV – Frauenrentenalter (AHV 21), BSV – 13. AHV-Rente, BSV – Die dritte Säule

Latest changes in Switzerland

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