EV charging subsidies for businesses in Switzerland (2026): what cantons and communes really pay

There is no federal subsidy for company EV charging in Switzerland: support comes only from cantons, municipalities (communes / Gemeinden) and some electricity utilities, and the programmes change often. Most of them target residential buildings; few cover company car parks.

If you arrive from a country with national grants, this is the main surprise. This article sets out, canton by canton, what applies in November 2026, with conditions and links to official pages: Basel-Stadt, Ticino, Geneva, Vaud and Zurich. It also covers tax (depreciation, input VAT), two employee cases and how to build a business case without any grant. At Voltaback, home charging software for fleets, we see the same pattern with many clients: the biggest lever is not the subsidy but the right number of charge points.

Key points in 30 seconds

• Confederation: no grants for vehicles or for company charging stations.
• Open to companies: mainly Basel-Stadt (basic infrastructure) and Ticino (chargers for staff); Vaud was in 2025.
• Geneva: residential buildings only.
• Zurich: the CHF 50 million programme has been fully used since October 2026.
• Almost everywhere: apply before work starts, or you lose the grant.
• Tax: charging infrastructure is depreciated and the 8.1 % VAT is recoverable as input tax.

Why there is no federal grant

Switzerland has neither a federal purchase bonus for electric cars nor a federal contribution to company charging stations. The Confederation focuses on information and coordination, for example through the LadenPunkt programme of SwissEnergy (EnergieSchweiz), which offers guides and planning tools.

Since 1 January 2024, electric cars are also no longer exempt from the 4 % automobile tax (Automobilsteuer). Source: Federal Office for Customs and Border Security, automobile tax.

Energy policy for buildings is a cantonal matter. So the cantons fund charging infrastructure, usually through their energy subsidy programmes, with very different priorities.

Cantonal programmes in 2026 at a glance

Details follow. All amounts can change: check the current status before each project.

Basel-Stadt: the most generous scheme for company car parks

Through its "Aktion Ladeinfrastruktur", Basel-Stadt funds the basic infrastructure of car parks. Both individuals and legal entities may apply, so a company that owns its site qualifies.

• Rate: 60 % of eligible costs, VAT included.
• Cap per charge point: CHF 1'300.– in a private car park, CHF 3'500.– in a publicly accessible one, CHF 7'500.– at a car-sharing location.
• Conditions: at least level C1 under the SIA 2060 bulletin, a separate meter for charging electricity, work by certified professionals. Charging stations themselves are not funded.
• Duration: July 2024 to end 2030.

For a company with 20 spaces in a private underground car park, that can mean up to CHF 26'000.– for the basic infrastructure if costs are high enough. Basel-Stadt also supports EV purchases by businesses through its "Wirtschaft unter Strom" campaign.

Sources: Canton of Basel-Stadt, Aktion Ladeinfrastruktur, Canton of Basel-Stadt, electromobility.

Ticino: flat amounts for chargers at the workplace

Ticino has a CHF 11 million framework credit for electric mobility. Its implementing decree of 8 March 2023 provides flat amounts for chargers at home and at employers:

• CHF 500.– per single or double charger without load management;
• CHF 1'200.– per charger in an installation with central dynamic load management (SIA 2060 level D);
• CHF 4'000.– per bidirectional charger.

Employers qualify only if the charger is for their staff, and the company must have its registered office in Ticino; minimum power 3.7 kW. For installations with load management, apply before work starts; single chargers can be claimed within 30 days of the invoice.

Source: Canton of Ticino, implementing decree of 8.3.2023.

Geneva: residential only

Geneva subsidises the pre-equipment of shared car parks in residential buildings with at least 5 dwellings and a building permit dated before 2023: CHF 500.– per space for spaces 1 to 10, CHF 300.– for spaces 11 to 30, CHF 250.– beyond, capped at 50 % of costs and CHF 20'000.– per car park. On top, up to CHF 1'000.– per individual charger. Central load management is mandatory.

Company car parks are not eligible. Your employees living in a Geneva apartment block, however, can use it to equip their space. Source: Canton of Geneva.

Vaud: companies included in 2025, 2026 still open

Vaud's 2025 "private charging infrastructure" programme covered residential buildings and companies in buildings built before 2021. Conditions: at least 3 spaces equipped to level C1 or C2, central load management, a 100 % renewable electricity contract, and an application before any work. It funded the electrical infrastructure, not the chargers.

We could not confirm whether the programme continues in 2026 on the same terms. Ask the cantonal Directorate of Energy (DGE-DIREN) before signing a quote. Source: Canton of Vaud, 2025 form.

Zurich: programme exhausted

Zurich's charging infrastructure programme (CHF 50 million, April 2023 to October 2026) is fully committed. New applications are no longer accepted; pending ones go on a waiting list. Only the "Die Ladestation im Quartier" measure for municipalities remains (30 % of costs, max. CHF 3'000.– per space). The programme targeted residential buildings anyway, not company car parks.

Source: Canton of Zurich.

Zug and the other cantons

Zug, Bern, Aargau, Lucerne, St. Gallen and other cantons run energy subsidy programmes in which charging sometimes appears, often for apartment buildings. Amounts and conditions change every year. The cantonal energy office gives the binding answer.

Municipalities and utilities

Beyond the cantons, some cities fund charging through their municipal energy funds, and some utilities offer their own schemes: contributions to basic infrastructure, discounted charging solutions or advice.

These offers are local and change often. Ask your municipality and your network operator, for example ewz, EKZ, WWZ, IWB or SIG, before you sign. Also check whether municipal and cantonal grants can be combined: some programmes deduct other contributions.

Tax: depreciation and input VAT

Even without a grant, the tax system shares part of the cost.

Depreciation under ESTV leaflet A 1995

Charging infrastructure is a fixed asset and is depreciated. The Federal Tax Administration's leaflet A 1995 (Merkblatt A 1995) has no specific category for chargers. The classification depends on whether the installation is part of the building or a separate fixture:

For straight-line depreciation on acquisition cost, the rates are halved. Built-in basic infrastructure (cables, busbar) tends to follow the building; a wallbox tends to be treated as equipment. Confirm the classification with your cantonal tax office.

Source: ESTV, leaflet A 1995 (German version published by the Canton of Schwyz).

For depreciation of the vehicles themselves, see our article on company vehicle depreciation.

VAT

VAT-registered companies recover the 8.1 % VAT (MWST / TVA) on hardware and installation as input tax, to the extent the installation is used for business. On a CHF 50'000.– quote excluding VAT, that is CHF 4'050.–.

Two cases involving employees

Free charging of an employee's own EV at work

For a company car, electricity at work is covered by the 0.9 % monthly private-use share. For an employee's own EV there is no explicit rule: the salary certificate (Lohnausweis / certificat de salaire) guidelines list free workplace parking among benefits that need not be declared (Rz 72), but not charging.

In principle, therefore, treat it as a taxable benefit. Clarify the practice with your seat canton before offering free charging as a perk. Source: ESTV, salary certificate guidelines 2026.

A wallbox at the employee's home

If the company pays for a wallbox that becomes the employee's property, tax advisers treat it as a taxable benefit in kind to be declared on the salary certificate. If the wallbox remains company property and is taken back when the employee leaves, practice treats it more like a work tool; we found no official confirmation of this.

Source: aboutFLEET, tax obstacles to e-mobility.

In a condominium (Stockwerkeigentum / PPE), the owners' association decides: a charger counts as a useful construction measure requiring a majority of co-owners who also hold a majority of shares (Art. 647d of the Civil Code, ZGB). Change is coming for tenants and co-owners: motion 23.3936 was adopted in June 2025, and the consultation on the amendment to the Energy Act ran until 12 October 2026. Source: Federal Office of Justice.

For the cost of a home installation, see our article on home charger installation prices.

Building the business case without subsidies

For a fleet of cars and light vans, accept it up front: the business case must work without grants. Even in Basel-Stadt the subsidy covers only part of the basic infrastructure, never the chargers. And most programmes target residential buildings.

It all starts with one question: where do your vehicles sleep?

Four in five Swiss EV drivers charge where they live; barely 30 % charge occasionally at work. Source: TCS, 04.11.2025.

Example: 50 company cars in Zurich

A Zurich company has 50 electric company cars that spend the night at employees' homes. It is considering 25 AC points at head office. At around CHF 3'500.– per installed point, that is CHF 87'500.–, with no cantonal grant now that the Zurich programme is exhausted.

Those 25 points do not replace home charging: the cars are not in the car park at night. With 3 points for pool cars and visitors, the investment falls to CHF 10'500.–, a CHF 77'000.– difference on installation alone, before back-office and maintenance. The full five-year calculation is in our guide to installing workplace EV charging.

That money works harder in home charging: a suitable installation per vehicle and reimbursement at actual cost. Why a connected wallbox is not required: see our comparison of connected chargers for employees. If your municipality requires parking spaces to be prepared, the details are in our article on workplace charging obligations.

Tip: the charging installation simulator shows, vehicle by vehicle, which home installation is enough.

What Voltaback changes in practice

Without grants, every franc spent on charging has to be justified. Voltaback does not install chargers: the platform measures all of your fleet's charging (home, site, on the road) and reimburses home charging at actual cost, whatever hardware the driver has.

• No connected hardware to fund: 100 % software, more than 48 car brands connected. A suitable electrical installation at home is still needed, chosen to fit real needs.
• Measurement: Voltaback relies on the home's MID-certified meter, not on a standalone cable meter; 1.22 % relative error, audited by an independent third party.
• Real tariff: each kWh is valued at the employee's own contract (peak and off-peak, solar, self-consumption groups), not at an average.
• Data protection: ISO 27001 since 2 December 2025, compliant with the nDSG / nLPD; the company never receives drivers' location data.
• Telematics without a box: mileage, consumption, eco-driving, alerts and maintenance.
• Quotes: for the charge points you really need, use our installer quote service.

More than 200 companies, including major European groups, already reimburse their drivers' home charging with Voltaback.

Take the next step

Subsidies will fund little, if any, of the charge points for your car fleet. Your budget should therefore go where your vehicles actually charge. Book a demo: in 30 minutes you get the real charging cost of your fleet, the right number of points on site and a plan to reimburse home charging without unnecessary hardware.