Electric car taxes in Switzerland for company fleets: federal automobile tax and cantonal vehicle tax (2026)

In Switzerland, an electric company car pays two separate taxes: the federal automobile tax of 4 %, charged once at import and payable by electric cars since 1 January 2024, and the annual cantonal motor vehicle tax, whose amount depends entirely on the canton where the car is registered. For the same electric SUV, the annual tax ranges from zero in Zurich to over CHF 900.– in Fribourg.

This guide is for fleet managers and finance teams, many of them new to the Swiss system, who need a clear map of 26 cantonal regimes. It explains both taxes, compares the main cantons with sources, works through a 20-car fleet and sets out where the planned federal levy on electric vehicles stands. It also shows that the real cost variable of an electric fleet is not tax but energy, which Voltaback measures and reimburses at actual cost for more than 200 client companies.

Key points in 30 seconds

• Automobile tax (Automobilsteuer / impôt sur les véhicules automobiles): 4 % of the vehicle's value, once, included in the purchase price. Electric cars are no longer exempt since 2024.
• Cantonal vehicle tax (Motorfahrzeugsteuer / taxe cantonale): 26 different systems, based on weight, power, CO2 or energy label.
• Zurich still exempts fully electric cars; Vaud exempts new ones for 24 months; Geneva taxes heavy electric cars noticeably more.
• Federal levy on electric vehicles: under discussion, nothing decided.
• Motorway vignette: CHF 40.–, a third, separate charge.

Three charges not to confuse

Fleet managers barely see the automobile tax: the importer pays it and it is built into the list price. The cantonal tax, on the other hand, is invoiced every year to the registered keeper and hits the operating budget.

If you come from another country, note the contrast. Many European countries combine a registration tax with an annual road tax set nationally. In Switzerland the annual tax is purely cantonal, so the same car can cost very different amounts a few kilometres apart.

The 4 % automobile tax: end of the exemption in 2024

The Confederation charges an automobile tax of 4 % of the vehicle's value on passenger cars, as well as on minibuses and vans up to 1,600 kg. Almost all the revenue comes from imports. Source: BAZG, automobile tax.

Electric cars were exempt from the tax's introduction in 1997. The Federal Council lifted the exemption from 1 January 2024 by amending the Automobile Tax Ordinance. The reason was budgetary: lost revenue reached about CHF 78 million in 2022 and could have accumulated to CHF 2.1 to almost 3 billion by 2030, at the expense of the national roads and agglomeration transport fund (NAF / FORTA). Source: Federal Department of Finance, explanatory report of 8 November 2023.

Example: for a car with a taxable value of CHF 50'000.–, the tax is CHF 2'000.–. It is part of the purchase price and therefore of the depreciable base. The wider tax treatment is covered in our guide to electric company car taxation.

Cantonal vehicle tax: 26 cantons, 26 systems

Each canton sets its own annual vehicle tax. Some use total weight, others power, others CO2 emissions or the energy label. The trend is clear: full exemptions for electric cars are disappearing in favour of tariffs based on weight and power.

• Zurich (ZH): fully electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are exempt from the vehicle tax (Verkehrsabgabe); hybrids pay according to their vehicle category. Source: Canton of Zurich.
• Vaud (VD): tax based on weight and power with a CO2 bonus or surcharge. New electric passenger cars first registered in Switzerland since 1 January 2024 pay no tax for 24 months; other electric vehicles pay the weight-and-power tax reduced by 90 %. Source: Canton of Vaud.
• Geneva (GE): after the cantonal vote of 3 March 2024, combustion and hybrid cars are taxed on CO2 per kilometre, and only relatively light electric cars get an advantage. On 15 June 2026 the first-instance administrative court (TAPI) confirmed that a heavy electric car can pay more than a low-emission combustion car. Source: Geneva judiciary, press release of 22 June 2026.
• Bern (BE): tax on total weight, with a separate tariff for battery vehicles and a bonus for efficient cars in the year of first registration and the following three years.
• Ticino (TI): formula (unladen weight × 0.1 + kW × Kv) × K, with Kv = 0.2 for electric and 2.4 for petrol. No full exemption.
• St. Gallen (SG): new tax from 2026, CHF 182.– per 1,000 kg plus CHF 1.27 per kW, with a bonus or surcharge by energy label; electric cars now pay. Source: Canton of St. Gallen.

Comparison: what an electric SUV pays by canton

The Touring Club Switzerland (TCS) compares cantonal taxes each year for a few sample models. For a powerful electric SUV (Tesla Model Y Performance) and a small electric city car (Dacia Spring), the 2026 annual amounts are:

Source: TCS, motor vehicle tax comparison, February 2026.

Two lessons. First, weight and power make the difference: in Geneva, a lighter model pays about a sixth of a heavy SUV. Second, a new car may be temporarily exempt (24 months in Vaud), so always check the cantonal road traffic office's calculator.

Worked example: 20 electric cars in Zurich, Zug, Basel or Geneva

A company gives 20 sales employees a powerful electric SUV with a taxable value of CHF 50'000.– each.

Automobile tax (once, included in the price): 20 × CHF 2'000.– = CHF 40'000.–.

Annual cantonal vehicle tax (TCS 2026 basis, excluding temporary exemptions):

Between Zurich and Geneva, the gap is CHF 14'400.– a year for the same fleet. With small electric cars, the Geneva bill would fall to CHF 2'400.–. Model choice often matters more than the canton.

For perspective: home charging for these 20 cars, at 15,000 km a year, costs about CHF 16'600.– a year at the 2026 Swiss median price of 27.7 Rp./kWh. Energy therefore exceeds the cantonal tax in almost every canton.

Fleets across several cantons: which canton taxes?

The tax is due in the canton of registration, which is in principle where the car is normally kept and where its keeper has its seat or residence. A company headquartered in Zug that assigns cars to a Geneva branch should in principle register them in Geneva.

This is not a free optimisation lever: registering the whole fleet in a cheap canton with no real link to where the cars are kept exposes the company to correction by the cantonal road traffic office. Budget the tax per entity and per canton instead.

Leasing and employees' private cars: who pays?

With leasing, the cantonal tax is invoiced to the keeper entered on the vehicle registration document (Fahrzeugausweis / permis de circulation), usually the lessee, meaning the company. The lease contract decides who ultimately bears it; in fleet contracts it usually stays with the lessee. See our article on electric company car leasing and tax.

For employees' private cars used for business trips, the employee pays the cantonal tax. The company covers it indirectly through the mileage allowance of CHF 0.75 per km set by the model expense regulations (Spesenreglement) of the Swiss Tax Conference (SSK / CSI).

For the company, the cantonal vehicle tax is a deductible business expense.

Hybrids versus fully electric cars

Plug-in hybrids rarely benefit from the advantages reserved for fully electric cars:

• in Zurich, they pay according to their category, with no exemption;
• in Ticino, their Kv is 1.4 (petrol-electric) or 1.9 (diesel-electric), against 0.2 for electric;
• in Geneva, they are taxed on CO2, like combustion cars;
• in Vaud, the 24-month exemption applies only to cars with a purely electric drive.

For a fleet weighing hybrids against electric cars, this tax gap adds to the energy cost gap. Our guide to fleet electrification sets out a transition method.

What next? The federal levy on electric vehicles

Electric cars do not pay mineral oil tax, which funds a large share of road infrastructure. To make up for this, the Federal Council opened a consultation on 26 September 2025 on a levy on electric vehicles, with two equivalent options:

1. a levy on distance driven, charged per kilometre;
2. a tax on charging electricity, collected at the charge point.

It requires an amendment to the Federal Constitution and therefore a popular vote. A start around 2030 has been mentioned. As of today, nothing is decided: not the option, the amount or the date. Source: Federal Roads Office (ASTRA / OFROU), levy on electric vehicles.

For fleets, the second option would raise the price of every kWh charged, including at home. Accurate measurement per car would become even more valuable.

The real saving lever: energy, not tax

The cantonal vehicle tax is set when you choose the model and canton, then hardly moves. Electricity is paid every month, at prices that vary sharply by municipality: in 2026 the median is 21.9 Rp./kWh in Zug, 24.8 Rp. in Zurich, 24.9 Rp. in Geneva and 33.2 Rp. in Basel-Stadt. Source: ElCom, electricity prices.

This is the line Voltaback makes transparent. The 100 % software platform, compatible with more than 48 car brands, measures every kWh charged at home and reimburses it at the real tariff of the employee's contract. Voltaback relies on the home's MID-certified meter, not on a standalone cable meter. The company never receives drivers' geolocation, in line with the revised Data Protection Act (nDSG / nLPD).

Estimate this line with the home charging cost simulator and build it into your fleet TCO.

Manage the real cost of your electric fleet

Taxes on electric cars remain modest and predictable in most cantons. Charging energy often exceeds the cantonal tax, and its price changes from one municipality to the next. Measurement per car gives you the exact figure every month.

To manage your cars and costs from one tool, discover the Voltaback fleet manager space or contact the Voltaback team.