VAT Schemes

Every Swiss VAT return rests on two independent choices: when VAT is declared (the reporting basis) and how the amount owed is calculated (the reporting method).

1. When: the reporting basis

• Agreed consideration (default): VAT is declared for the period in which the invoice is issued.
• Received consideration (on application): VAT is declared for the period in which the customer pays.

2. How much: the reporting method

• Effective method (default): VAT at the statutory rates on turnover, minus the input VAT on purchases and investments.
• Net tax rate method (on application, within turnover and tax limits): a fixed sector rate applied to gross turnover replaces the input VAT deduction.
• Flat tax rate method (reserved for public bodies and related institutions, including associations and foundations): the same principle, with no turnover limit.

Any reporting basis can be combined with any method. For example, a consultancy might report on received consideration under the net tax rate method, while a business with large purchases or investments usually stays on the effective method.

In practice, the reporting basis decides which documents drive the return: invoices issued and received, or payments received and made, as they appear on bank statements. The method decides whether input VAT has to be tracked invoice by invoice.

In French: mode de décompte and méthode de décompte. In German: Abrechnungsart and Abrechnungsmethode.