In this article
On this page you will find the main news concerning the new Swiss VAT rates, came into force on 1 January, 2024, as well as the latest current requirements and forecasts for the future.
Mandatory online VAT reporting from 2025 on
The Federal Tax Administration reports that as of January 1, 2025, all Swiss companies subject to VAT will have to process the announcement of the start of liability and the submission of the statement in the VAT area electronically via the ePortal.
Upgrade to Banana Accounting Plus, Advanced plan
Banana Accounting Plus, Advanced plan, offers all the functionalities required to prepare the online VAT Statement.
Compared to the previous versions, Banana Accounting Plus also brings several improvements and new features; the Advanced plan in particular includes functions that automate and speed up bookkeeping, designed precisely for those who need to take care of several tasks and do not have much time.
The new VAT 2024 extension, built into the Advanced plan, allows you to set up VAT Report with both 2018 and 2024 rates.
If you have old versions or the Professional plan, switching to the Advanced plan now is definitely the most efficient way to be ready for the VAT change.
Message for users of Banana Accounting Plus, Professional or Free plans
The Swiss VAT 2018 extension does not allow you to set up VAT Reports with the new rates. It is therefore automatically replaced with the 2024 extension, which allows you to set up VAT Reports with both 2018 and 2024 rates.
If you have the Professional plan or the Free plan of Banana Accounting Plus, a message will appear in the VAT Return dialog announcing that as of July 1, 2024, the Advanced plan will be required.
There are two options:
- Switch to the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus, and use the 2024 VAT extension even after July 1, 2024.
- Continue with the Professional or Free plan, manually reinstalling the 2018 VAT extension to get VAT Reports until the end of 2023. For 2024, you can create the VAT Summary on Banana (VAT journal by rate type) and then fill out the VAT Report manually.
The next paragraphs explain the steps you need to take for the different options.
Message of incompatibility for Banana 9 users
The Swiss VAT 2018 extension does not allow you to set up VAT Reports with the new rates. It is therefore automatically replaced with the 2024 extension, which allows you to set up VAT REports with both 2018 and 2024 rates.
Banana Accounting 9 and earlier versions are no longer updated. Banana 9 allows the installation of the new 2024 VAT extension, but you will be notified that the extension is not compatible.
There are two options:
- Switch to the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus, and use the VAT 2024 extension right away.
- Continue using Banana Accounting 9, manually reinstalling the 2018 VAT extension to get VAT Reports until the end of 2023. For 2024, you can create the VAT Summary on Banana (VAT journal by rate type) and then fill out the VAT Report manually.
The steps you need to take for the different options are explained below.
Reinstalling the Swiss VAT Extensions 2018
The 2018 VAT extensions (effective method and net tax rate method) are still available and you can file Report until 2023, with VAT the 2018 VAT rates. You can continue working as before, but you have to install the extension manually. It is simple:
- Extensions menu > Manage Extensions
- Search for the 2018 VAT extension you are interested in (actual method or net tax rate method).
- Click on the Install button.
- In the Extensions menu you will see the command related to the 2018 VAT Report.
Managing VAT without the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus
If you are using Banana Accounting Plus with a plan other than Advanced, or if you have Banana Accounting 9 (or an earlier version), you can still manage VAT:
- You can reinstall and continue using the Swiss VAT 2018 extension (see above).
- You can update the VAT Codes table with the new codes, either manually or by following these steps:
- Download the 2024 VAT Codes Table file
- From the Actions menu > Import to accounting > VAT Codes.
- Choose the name of the file you downloaded.
- You can also enter VAT transactions using the new rates.
- You can get the VAT Summary (also called VAT Journal) and check.
- You must then manually enter the data in the VAT Summary hard copy for each rate or on the FTA ePortal.