Four VAT returns a year mean four interruptions to the business for many SMEs. Since 1 January 2025 there is an alternative: anyone with annual turnover of no more than CHF 5,005,000 can file VAT annually on request. One form a year instead of four.
The catch rarely gets top billing: the annual return is tied to compulsory instalments. Pay an instalment late or not in full and you owe default interest. In certain cases you can also lose the approval for annual filing. Here is who can use it, which dates apply, how the instalments work and when the switch pays off.
Who is allowed to file annually
Two conditions have to be met. First the turnover threshold: annual turnover may not exceed CHF 5,005,000. Second your payment record. The FTA only grants annual filing if previous returns were submitted on time and paid in full, and it expects the same going forward. The last three years are decisive.
That makes it clear who will not get it: anyone regularly late in the past has to show two or three clean years first. The annual return is not a tool for stretching payment problems.
Newly registered businesses are not excluded. They have 60 days from receiving their VAT number to apply for annual filing.
A common piece of misinformation online: the annual return did not start in 2026, and it is not due six months after year-end. It has been in force since 1 January 2025, and both filing and payment are due by the end of February of the following year. Rely on the FTA's own information here, not on blog posts.
The deadlines across the year
Annual filing has four dates per year, even though you only declare once: the return for the previous year and, under the effective method, three instalments.
Annual return: deadlines through the year
The instalments are set by the FTA and are available in the FTA portal from April. You can adjust them up or down there until ten days before the due date. Where payment is late, default interest is owed on the instalments as well as on the annual return.
Two things cause trouble in practice. First, the application deadline falls in the same month as the previous year's return: the end of February. Because the VAT tax period generally corresponds to the calendar year, this deadline applies regardless of when your financial year ends. Realise in March that you want to switch and you wait until the next tax period. Second, the end of February is not only the filing date but also the payment date. The final payment has to reach the FTA by then.
The application: end of February in the FTA portal
The application runs through the FTA portal and has to be submitted no later than 60 days after the start of the tax period. Because the VAT tax period generally corresponds to the calendar year, that means the end of February.
Important: the application applies to the current tax period, not retroactively to the last one. So if you want to file annually for 2026, the application has to be in by the end of February 2026. Annual filing changes nothing about the declaration itself. Corrective returns, annual reconciliations and deadline extensions all remain possible, exactly as with quarterly filing.
The instalments: an obligation, not an option
Filing annually means paying instalments during the year. That is not a choice but part of the approval. The FTA sets the instalments, and they are available in the FTA portal from April.
The number depends on your accounting method:
- Effective method and flat tax rate method: three instalments, due on 30 May, 30 August and 30 November.
- Net tax rate method: one instalment, due on 30 August.
The amount is based on the tax claim of the last tax period. The minimum instalment is CHF 500 under the effective and flat tax rate methods and CHF 1,000 under the net tax rate method.
If your year is running very differently from the last one, you can adjust the instalments up or down in the FTA portal until ten days before the due date. This adjustment is the single most important lever in the whole procedure. A weak year without lowering the instalments ties up liquidity at the FTA for no reason. A strong year without raising them means a correspondingly larger final bill at the end of February.
One thing matters here: the instalments are a provisional collection of tax. If the actual tax claim is higher than the total of the instalments paid on time, the difference only falls due with the annual return. No additional compensatory or default interest accrues on that difference until the regular payment date at the end of February.
An example: based on the previous year, the FTA sets three instalments of CHF 1,000 each. At year-end the actual tax claim comes to CHF 7,000. The CHF 3,000 already paid is credited, and the remaining CHF 4,000 falls due with the annual return. If it is paid by the end of February, no default interest accrues on it.
It is different if an instalment that has fallen due is paid late or not in full. Default interest is owed on it. There is, however, no separate compensatory interest on the difference between the instalments and the final annual return. If the instalments add up to more than the actual tax claim, the surplus is paid out. Remuneration interest is generally only paid if the FTA does not pay out the surplus within 60 days of receiving the return.
You will find the current default and remuneration interest rates on the FTA's «Paying VAT» page.
When the FTA withdraws the approval
Annual filing can end in several ways. A single late instalment does not automatically mean you lose the approval.
You can revoke annual filing yourself through the FTA portal, no later than 60 days after the start of the tax period. The FTA revokes the approval for the next tax period if you exceed the turnover threshold in three consecutive tax periods.
The approval is revoked for the tax period after next in particular if the FTA had to assess the tax owed at its discretion because a return was not filed, if a claim went to debt collection because payment was missing or obviously insufficient, or if you reduced the instalments too far.
«Too far» is defined: if you request a reduction yourself, the total of the instalments may not fall below 50 percent of the actual tax claim under the effective and flat tax rate methods. Under the net tax rate method the limit is 35 percent. So anyone who cuts their instalments sharply in order to pay the VAT only with the final return puts the approval at risk.
Late or incomplete instalment payments still have consequences: default interest accrues on the outstanding amount from the due date. Losing annual filing, however, is not the automatic consequence of a single late payment.
Full details are in the FTA's publication on the annual return and in VAT Info 15, section 2.1.
Annual or quarterly: which fits better
| Feature | Annual | Quarterly | Half-year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Only one return per year | Yes | No | No |
| Usable without an FTA application | No | Yes | net rate only |
| No turnover threshold | up to CHF 5,005,000 | Yes | net rate limits |
| No compulsory instalments | No | Yes | Yes |
| Input tax surplus returns continuously | No | Yes | twice a year |
| Corrections and extensions possible | Yes | Yes | Yes |
The matrix shows the real trade: you give up flexibility and get less administration. If you regularly have input tax surpluses, because you invest heavily or export, the annual return is a bad deal. Your credit then sits with the FTA until February instead of flowing back quarterly.
Conversely it pays off when your turnover is stable, you regularly owe a tax claim, and the administrative effort per return actually weighs. For many small service businesses using the net tax rate, that is exactly the position: one instalment in August, one return in February, done.
What the annual return does not solve
One misunderstanding is worth clearing up: filing annually does not mean bookkeeping annually. Turnover and input tax still have to be recorded continuously and correctly. Starting in February to sort a whole year of receipts only postpones the problem and makes it bigger.
This is exactly where Infinity, the Swiss AI accounting, comes in. Live Accounting connects your bank account and suggests bookings in real time, which you only confirm. Live Capture reads receipts from a photo, including the VAT rate, from the app while you are out as well. That keeps the books current through the year, and the February return takes minutes. More on the page with all of Infinity's features.
If you want to start with the fundamentals, you will find them in our guide to VAT for the self-employed.
Frequently asked questions about the annual VAT return
From what turnover is the annual VAT return possible?
It is open to businesses with annual turnover up to CHF 5,005,000. In addition, previous returns must have been filed on time and paid in full, with the last three years being decisive.
By when do I have to apply?
No later than 60 days after the start of the tax period, which with the calendar year means the end of February. The application runs through the FTA portal. Newly registered businesses have 60 days from receiving their VAT number.
How many instalments do I have to pay?
Three under the effective and flat tax rate methods, due on 30 May, 30 August and 30 November. One under the net tax rate method, due on 30 August.
Can I change the amount of the instalments?
Yes, up or down in the FTA portal until ten days before the due date. A reduction to less than 50 percent of the total tax claim counts as too far under the effective and flat tax rate methods, and less than 35 percent under the net tax rate method.
What happens if I miss a deadline?
Late payment incurs default interest. If you fail to file the return on time, or fail to pay it on time and in full, the FTA revokes annual filing for the tax period after next.
One return a year, without a pile of paper in February
The annual return takes three forms off your hands, but not the bookkeeping. With Infinity it stays current: connect your bank account, confirm the AI suggestions, and have the figures ready when the deadline arrives.
Try Infinity free for 14 days, no credit card required. More on the page for freelancers and the self-employed.