Switzerland levies Mehrwertsteuer (MWST) — known as TVA in French and IVA in Italian — at a standard rate of 8.1% as of 2025. That rate was increased from 7.7% on 1 January 2024 as part of the AHV 21 pension reform approved by Swiss voters in September 2022. Alongside the standard rate, Switzerland operates a special accommodation rate of 3.8% for hotel and lodging services and a reduced rate of 2.6% for food, books, newspapers and medicines. This calculator handles all three bands: choose “Add MWST” to build a gross price from a net amount, or “Remove MWST” to find the net amount embedded in a tax-inclusive price, with the full CHF breakdown shown immediately.
How it works
MWST arithmetic uses a single multiplier:
- Add MWST — gross = net x (1 + rate). The MWST element is net x rate.
- Remove MWST — net = gross / (1 + rate). The MWST element is gross minus net.
At the standard rate the multiplier is 1.081. Switch to the 3.8% hotel rate and the multiplier becomes 1.038; at 2.6% it is 1.026. The calculator also reports the effective rate on the gross (MWST amount / gross x 100), which is always slightly lower than the headline rate — at 8.1% the effective gross rate is approximately 7.493%.
Worked example
A Swiss IT consultancy issues an invoice for CHF 5,000 of professional services. Adding 8.1% MWST:
- Net: CHF 5,000.00
- MWST at 8.1%: CHF 405.00
- Gross (total payable): CHF 5,405.00
A hotel guest checks out with a CHF 540 bill that already includes the 3.8% accommodation MWST. To find the net rate and MWST element, enter 540 in “Remove MWST” mode at 3.8%:
- Gross entered: CHF 540.00
- MWST at 3.8%: CHF 19.77
- Net (excl. MWST): CHF 520.23
A supermarket receipt shows CHF 207.00 for groceries (2.6% reduced rate). The MWST inside that price is 207 / 1.026 minus 207 reversed, giving approximately CHF 5.25 of MWST on a net base of CHF 201.75.
Switzerland MWST rate table
| Rate | Category | Typical goods and services |
|---|---|---|
| 8.1% | Normalsatz (standard) | Electronics, clothing, cars, software, restaurants, professional services, advertising |
| 3.8% | Sondersatz (accommodation) | Hotel overnight stays, bed-and-breakfast, short-term lodging |
| 2.6% | reduzierter Satz (reduced) | Groceries, non-alcoholic drinks, books, newspapers, medicines, seeds, animal feed, mains water |
| 0% | steuerbefreit (exempt) | Exports, medical care, education, certain financial and insurance services |
All three positive rates were raised simultaneously on 1 January 2024: the standard rate went from 7.7% to 8.1%, the hotel rate from 3.7% to 3.8%, and the reduced rate from 2.5% to 2.6%.
Every figure this tool produces is calculated in your browser — no amounts or personal data are ever sent to a server.