Company car tax in Switzerland: the 0.9 % rule for electric cars and the salary certificate explained

In Switzerland, the taxable private use of an electric company car is calculated exactly like that of a petrol or diesel car: 0.9 % of the purchase price per month, including optional extras and excluding VAT, so 10.8 % a year, with a minimum of CHF 150.– a month. The amount goes in item 2.2 of the salary certificate, box F is ticked, and it already covers the electricity for everyday driving that the employer pays for.

If you have come from the UK, the Netherlands or Germany, forget CO2 bands and electric-car discounts: Switzerland has one flat rate for every drivetrain. This guide explains the calculation step by step, leasing, employee contributions, the effect of a more expensive EV, the logbook alternative and, above all, what the rule means for charging at home. That last point is where Voltaback supports more than 200 client companies.

Key points

• Rate: 0.9 % a month of the purchase price excluding VAT, extras included, minimum CHF 150.– a month.
• Reporting: item 2.2 of the salary certificate (Lohnausweis / certificat de salaire) and box F ticked (commute included).
• Leasing: the cash price stated in the lease contract, excluding VAT, even after a buyout.
• Electricity: the rule assumes the employer pays the energy for everyday driving. An employee who pays for their own charging does not lower their private share.
• Alternative: a logbook, if private kilometres are low and fully documented.

How is the 0.9 % private share calculated?

The official guidance on completing the salary certificate (Wegleitung zum Lohnausweis), issued by the Federal Tax Administration (ESTV / AFC) and the Swiss Tax Conference (SSK / CSI), sets one flat rate for the whole country. If the employer bears all the costs of the car, and the employee pays only fuel or energy for longer private trips at weekends or on holiday, the private share (Privatanteil / part privée) is 0.9 % of the purchase price per month.

What counts in the base

• Purchase price of the car including all optional extras: paint, driver assistance packs, tow bar, wheels.
• Excluding VAT: the 8.1 % Swiss VAT is taken off.
• Minimum CHF 150.– a month, which matters for cars under about CHF 16'667.–.

According to the SSK, the 10.8 % annual rate reflects the running costs, without depreciation, of a car in the same price bracket. It applies regardless of the actual private mileage.

Official examples

Sources: ESTV, salary certificate guidance 2026, margin notes 21 to 23 and SSK, salary certificate FAQ 2026.

How it compares with other countries

The point for expats: in Switzerland, choosing an EV does not lower the percentage. Because EVs often cost more, the private share in francs is usually higher.

What goes on the salary certificate?

Item 2.2 and box F

The private share is reported in item 2.2 "private share of company car". Box F is also ticked: "free transport between home and work". According to SSK FAQ 2.2.1, the 0.9 % flat rate covers the commute as well as private use.

What this means for the employee: with box F ticked, they cannot deduct commuting costs in their own tax return. Someone living in Zug and working in Zurich cannot claim their commuting kilometres.

Cars with no private share

If private use is severely restricted, for example by fixed racking for tools, no private share is reported. This is the typical case for tradespeople's vans. Box F is still ticked if the vehicle is used for the commute.

Cross-border commuters

For cross-border commuters, for example employees in Geneva living in neighbouring countries, the private share is still 0.9 % a month, even where customs rules in the country of residence limit private use: there is no restriction in Switzerland (SSK FAQ 2.2.9). A logbook is the alternative. Tax in the country of residence is a separate question.

Leasing, buyout and employee contributions

Leased cars

For a leased car, the base is not the sum of the lease payments but the cash purchase price stated in the lease contract, excluding VAT, or the vehicle price stated in the contract. For a rental car, the market value at the start of the rental applies.

The base does not fall when the lease ends: if the employer buys the car at its residual value or signs a follow-on lease, the original contract value still applies (SSK FAQ 2.2.7). Accounting, input VAT and deductibility of lease payments are covered in our article on leasing an electric company car.

The employee pays part of it

If the employee pays the employer a contribution for private use, only the part borne by the employer is reported. The SSK FAQ gives three cases for a CHF 50'000.– car (private share CHF 5'400.– a year):

If instead the employee pays the dealer directly for extras beyond the car policy budget, the full purchase price remains the base, because the car legally belongs to the employer (SSK FAQ F 4).

Electric or combustion: what changes?

Worked example

An employee in Basel chooses between two cars of the same class, prices excluding VAT, extras included:

Tax and social security

The private share is a benefit in kind. It is taxable and, as a rule, subject to social security contributions like cash salary. In 2026 the employee pays 5.3 % for old-age, disability and income-compensation insurance (AHV/IV/EO, AVS/AI/APG) and 1.1 % for unemployment insurance, 6.4 % in total; the employer pays the same. Source: Federal Social Insurance Office, contribution rates 2026.

On the CHF 1'080.– difference, that is roughly:

• CHF 69.– in social contributions for the employee, and the same for the employer;
• about CHF 270.– more income tax at a 25 % marginal rate, depending on the municipality and income.

Lower energy costs per kilometre offset part of this, and some cantons tax EVs less: Zurich, for example, exempts battery-electric cars from its annual vehicle tax. The full four-year comparison is in our article on fleet total cost of ownership, and the wider tax picture in our article on taxation of electric company cars.

What the private share covers: electricity included

This is the most misunderstood point, and the one that costs employees most.

The principle: the employer pays energy for everyday driving

The 0.9 % flat rate assumes the employer bears all costs of the car. The employee pays only fuel or energy for longer private trips at weekends or on holiday. Electricity for the commute and ordinary private use is therefore a cost the employer normally bears. Reimbursing it creates no additional taxable benefit.

Paying for your own charging does not reduce the private share

The guidance has one exception: if the employee bears a considerable share of the costs, such as maintenance, insurance, fuel and repairs, nothing is reported in item 2.2 and item 15 refers the matter to the tax assessment. But it states explicitly that bearing only the cost of fuel or of charging an electric vehicle is not enough. Source: ESTV, salary certificate guidance 2026.

In practice, an employee who charges at home at their own expense pays twice: tax and contributions on the full private share, and their own electricity bill.

How much is at stake

At 15,000 km a year and 18 kWh per 100 km, the battery takes in about 2,700 kWh, or about 3,000 kWh at the meter once charging losses are included. Using the 2026 cantonal median household prices published by the Federal Electricity Commission (ElCom):

The real price depends on the municipality and the employee's contract: night tariff, solar, self-consumption community. Source: ElCom electricity prices.

Lump sum or actual cost

The employer can reimburse this electricity in two ways: the lump sum in the SSK model expense regulations (Spesenreglement / règlement des frais), at most CHF 60.– a month and reported in item 13.2.3, or actual cost, meaning measured kWh multiplied by the real tariff. In Vaud and Basel-Stadt, our example already exceeds the CHF 720.– a year of the lump sum. Both methods are explained in our article on reimbursing home charging in Switzerland.

Voltaback measures every charging session and applies the employee's real tariff. Voltaback relies on the home's MID-certified meter, not on a standalone cable meter, and the company never receives drivers' location data. Amounts arrive each month in an export ready to import into your payroll software: home charging reimbursement.

A home wallbox paid by the employer

A wallbox paid by the employer that becomes the employee's property is treated in practice as a taxable benefit, reported on top of the private share. If it remains the employer's property and is returned on leaving, it looks more like a work tool, though no official text confirms this yet. Have your approach confirmed by the tax administration of your company's seat canton.

The alternative: a logbook

Instead of the flat rate, the employer can report actual private use if a logbook (Bordbuch / carnet de bord) is kept. Private kilometres, commute included, are multiplied by the mileage rate of 75 centimes. Official example: 8,500 private km × CHF 0.75 = CHF 6'375.–.

SSK FAQ 2.2.8 sets strict requirements:

• kept daily, completely and without gaps;
• in a fixed form, no loose sheets;
• for an electronic logbook, every later change must be documented;
• for each trip: date, person or company visited with location, kilometres driven.

According to the FAQ, box F is not ticked under the actual-use method. A logbook pays off with an expensive car, high business mileage and a short commute. When it beats the flat rate, and how to keep one without manual entry, is covered in our article on company car logbooks.

Checklist for HR and payroll

1. Base: purchase price excluding VAT with extras, or the cash price in the lease contract.
2. Method: 0.9 % flat rate or a compliant logbook, chosen for the year.
3. Contributions: deduct what the employee pays the employer for private use.
4. Certificate: item 2.2, box F depending on the method, remarks in item 15 where needed.
5. Electricity: set out home charging reimbursement in your expense regulations.
6. Wallbox: decide who owns it before paying for it.
7. Communication: explain to employees what the private share covers, so nobody pays for their own charging.

More on electric company cars for your team is on our page for HR managers.

A correct private share and reimbursed charging

The 0.9 % private share is simple to calculate, but it rests on an assumption many companies overlook: the employer pays for the energy. With an electric car, that means reimbursing home charging at the right price, without paperwork.

To set up this reimbursement in your company, contact the Voltaback team.