Electric company cars in Switzerland: tax advantages and limits in 2026

In Switzerland, an electric company car has almost no tax advantage of its own at federal level: the 0.9 % monthly private share, depreciation rates, 8.1 % VAT and, since 1 January 2024, the 4 % automobile tax all work exactly as they do for a petrol or diesel car. The real advantages sit elsewhere: lower or zero cantonal vehicle tax in several cantons, no mineral oil tax, cheaper energy per kilometre, and home charging that can be reimbursed free of income tax and social security when it is documented.

This guide is for CFOs, HR and fleet managers, many of them expats used to very different company car rules at home. It walks through each tax item, explains the Swiss terms the first time they appear, and links to a detailed article for each point. It ends with the item most companies overlook, the electricity charged at employees' homes, which Voltaback measures and reimburses for more than 200 client companies.

Key points in 30 seconds

• Private share: 0.9 % of the purchase price excluding VAT per month, the same for electric and combustion cars. Because EVs often cost more, the private share is higher.
• Depreciation and leasing: no cap by powertrain or price, no special rule for EVs.
• Federal automobile tax: 4 % on electric cars too since 2024.
• Cantonal vehicle tax: the clearest advantage, but it depends on the canton of registration.
• Home charging: a lump sum of up to CHF 60.– a month, or measured actual cost, free of tax and AHV.

Overview: electric versus combustion

Swiss company car taxation has three layers: federal rules (salary certificate, VAT, automobile tax), cantonal rules (vehicle tax, approval of expense regulations) and the company's own expense regulations. The table below covers all three. Each line links to the article that explains it, so each fact lives in one place.

The short version: the Confederation treats an EV like any other company vehicle. The cantons and energy costs make the difference.

The 0.9 % private share: same rule, higher price

How it is calculated

If an employee may use the company car privately, the employer declares a private share of 0.9 % of the purchase price per month, including options and excluding VAT, with a minimum of CHF 150.– a month. It goes under item 2.2 of the salary certificate (Lohnausweis / certificat de salaire) and box F is ticked. The private share already includes the commute, so the employee loses the commuting deduction in their tax return.

Why the EV costs a little more here

There is no discount for electric cars, unlike in several other European countries. A comparable EV, however, often costs more. Example: an electric SUV at CHF 50'000.– excluding VAT gives a private share of CHF 450.– a month, or CHF 5'400.– a year. The petrol equivalent at CHF 42'000.– gives CHF 378.– a month, or CHF 4'536.– a year. The employee is taxed on CHF 864.– more income per year.

What the private share covers

The 0.9 % rule assumes the employer bears all costs of the car, and the employee only pays energy for longer private trips at weekends or on holiday (Guidance, margin no. 21). If the employee pays for everyday charging themselves, their private share does not go down: paying only the charging costs is explicitly not enough (margin no. 23). Source: Federal Tax Administration, salary certificate guidance 2026 (German).

The full calculation, the logbook alternative and cross-border commuters are covered in our article on the private share of an electric company car.

Depreciation: uniform rates, no cap

Swiss depreciation of a company vehicle depends neither on its powertrain nor on its price. The reference rates come from the Federal Tax Administration's (ESTV / AFC) Notice A 1995 for businesses: 40 % of book value for motor vehicles of all kinds (declining balance). On a straight-line basis, on acquisition cost, half the rate applies, i.e. 20 %. Cantons generally follow these rates, though some cantonal notices differ. Source: Notice A 1995, published by the canton of Schwyz (German).

There is no per-vehicle cap. An EV at CHF 60'000.– is depreciated on its full value, just like a combustion car. The only limit is general: the expense must be commercially justified. If a shareholder-director drives a luxury car, the cantonal tax office can treat part of it as a hidden profit distribution.

Battery, residual value and disposal gains are covered in our article on depreciating company vehicles.

Leasing: deductible instalments, reclaimable VAT

Many fleets in Zurich, Zug or Geneva run on operating leases. Lease instalments are commercially justified expenses and are fully deductible from taxable profit. There is no cap based on CO2 or price. The 8.1 % VAT on each instalment is reclaimable as input tax to the extent the car is used for taxable business.

For a leased car, the private share is based on the cash purchase price stated in the lease contract, excluding VAT. It does not change if the company buys the car out at the end of the lease.

Accounting under the Swiss Code of Obligations, Swiss GAAP FER and IFRS 16, a worked case with 20 cars and the lease versus buy question are in our article on company car leasing in Switzerland.

Automobile tax and cantonal vehicle tax

The 4 % automobile tax

Until the end of 2023, imported electric cars were exempt from the federal automobile tax. The Federal Council removed the exemption: since 1 January 2024 they pay 4 % of the import value, like all other cars. The tax is collected by the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (BAZG / OFDF) and is included in the list price. Source: Federal Council, press release of 8 November 2023.

Cantonal vehicle tax

This is where EVs keep an advantage, but it varies widely. There are 26 systems, and the trend is away from exemptions towards weight and power.

• Zurich: battery-electric and fuel-cell cars are exempt; hybrids are not. Source: Canton of Zurich, vehicle tax for electric vehicles (German).
• Geneva: a new system since 2025 that favours light EVs; a heavy EV can pay more than an efficient combustion car.
• Vaud: EVs are taxed on the ordinary scale and then receive a large reduction.
• Basel-Stadt and Zug: own scales, to check model by model with the cantonal road traffic office.

For a multi-site fleet, the rule is simple: the tax follows the canton where the car is registered, not the company's registered office. Canton-by-canton rules are in our article on automobile tax and cantonal vehicle tax.

Purchase incentives: none at federal level

There is no federal purchase subsidy for electric cars in Switzerland. Support, where it exists, is cantonal or municipal and changes often.

Ticino has one of the most complete programmes: a total credit of CHF 11 million supports EV purchases, charging stations, including those reserved for a company's employees, and the scrapping of polluting vehicles. Source: Canton of Ticino, electric mobility (Italian).

Elsewhere, programmes focus mainly on charging infrastructure: Zurich funds basic infrastructure in residential buildings, Geneva the equipment of residential car parks, Basel-Stadt charging in car parks. Check the current programme before ordering: budgets run out quickly.

VAT at 8.1 %: what the company reclaims

The standard VAT rate (MWST / TVA) has been 8.1 % since 1 January 2024. A VAT-registered company reclaims it as input tax on:

• the purchase price of the car or the lease instalments;
• servicing, tyres and comprehensive insurance invoiced with VAT;
• electricity invoiced to the company: chargers on site, public charging with a company card.

In return, private use of a company car by staff is a taxable supply. The Federal Tax Administration accepts the same flat 0.9 % per month, treated as VAT-inclusive. For a CHF 50'000.– car, the company declares CHF 450.– a month, of which about CHF 33.70 is VAT (450 × 8.1 / 108.1). Sources: Federal VAT Act and Federal Tax Administration, VAT notices (German).

For electricity charged at the employee's home, the bill is in the employee's name. Whether input VAT can be reclaimed on the reimbursement depends on your documentation: agree the method with your fiduciary.

Plug-in hybrid or fully electric

At federal level, a plug-in hybrid is treated like any other car: same private share, same depreciation, same automobile tax. Differences appear in two places.

• Cantonal vehicle tax: several cantons reserve exemptions or reductions for fully electric vehicles. In Zurich, hybrids are not exempt.
• Charging lump sum: the model expense regulations of the Swiss Tax Conference (SSK / CSI) refer to an "electric vehicle". No official text clearly extends the lump sum to plug-in hybrids. To be safe, treat the CHF 60.– as a BEV-only rule unless your seat canton confirms otherwise.

Actual-cost reimbursement works for any plug-in vehicle: you reimburse the measured kWh, whatever the powertrain.

Worked case: one electric and one petrol car for a year

An employee lives in Geneva and drives 15'000 km a year in a company car. Both cars are owned by the company.

Assumptions, step by step:

1. Electric: 18 kWh per 100 km gives 2'700 kWh into the battery, about 3'000 kWh at the meter with roughly 10 % charging losses.
2. Electricity price: Geneva 2026 median of 24.9 Rp./kWh excluding VAT (ElCom), about 26.9 Rp./kWh including VAT, so about CHF 810.–.
3. Petrol: 6.5 litres per 100 km gives about 975 litres at about CHF 1.80, so about CHF 1'760.–.

The EV costs more in depreciation and private share but saves about CHF 950.– of energy a year. The decisive variables are the negotiated purchase price and how the energy is paid for. To estimate the second for your fleet, use our home charging cost simulator.

The forgotten item: charging at employees' homes

In the example, about CHF 810.– of electricity a year goes through the employee's own meter, roughly CHF 68.– a month. Who pays it? If nobody organises it, the employee does, and their private share does not fall. There are two compliant methods.

The CHF 60.– monthly lump sum

The SSK model expense regulations (Spesenreglement / règlement des frais) allow a monthly lump sum of up to CHF 60.– for charging at the place of residence. It is declared under item 13.2.3 of the salary certificate and is not subject to withholding tax. It is simple but blunt: it overpays low-mileage drivers and underpays the rest. In Basel-Stadt, at 33.2 Rp./kWh, the same consumption would cost about CHF 90.– a month. Source: SSK model expense regulations 2026 (German).

Measured actual cost

This is the default rule of the SSK model: expenses are reimbursed at actual cost, against receipts. A documented per-kWh reimbursement is neither taxable salary nor subject to AHV/IV/EO social security contributions, provided each kWh and each tariff can be proven. Without approved expense regulations, it is declared under item 13.1.2 ("other actual expenses").

That is exactly what Voltaback does. The software measures each home charging session through the connected car (more than 48 brands), applies the real tariff of the employee's electricity contract, peak or off-peak, and produces a monthly export ready to import into your payroll software. Voltaback relies on the home's MID-certified meter, not on a standalone cable meter. The measurement has been audited by an independent third party, with a relative error of 1.22 %.

On data protection, the company never receives drivers' location data, in line with the revised Federal Act on Data Protection (nDSG / nLPD). Voltaback has been ISO 27001 certified since 2 December 2025. The fleet manager dashboard shows kWh, amounts and receipts per employee, with no box or hardware to install.

Both methods, wording for your expense regulations and the receipts you need are covered in our guide to reimbursing home charging.

What may change: the planned levy on electric vehicles

Electric cars pay no mineral oil tax, which funds a large part of the national roads. To close the gap, the Federal Council opened a consultation on 26 September 2025 on a levy on electric vehicles, with two options: a charge per kilometre driven or a tax on charging electricity. The consultation closed on 9 January 2026. Because the Federal Constitution must be amended, the people and the cantons will vote. The target start is around 2030.

Neither the amount nor the collection method is decided. For a four to five year fleet plan, assume the energy cost advantage of EVs may shrink towards the end of the period. Source: Federal Roads Office, levy on electric vehicles (German).

Managing the tax side of your electric fleet

Swiss taxation of electric company cars is neutral at federal level and mostly favourable at cantonal level. Where compliance and fairness between employees are really at stake is home charging: a single flat rate fits no canton and no mileage.

Voltaback measures and reimburses this charging at actual cost, with receipts ready for the salary certificate and without location tracking. To see how it works for your fleet, contact the Voltaback team.