Nothing owed, nothing to file. The Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) abolishes the zero-return requirement for Form 9 with immediate effect.
Dr. Mira Bazlen
Senior Tax Advisor
Christina Stocker
Tax Counsel
Michael Widmer
Junior Tax Consultant
The FTA simplifies the reporting of the Securities Transfer Tax: taxpayers who do not owe any Securities Transfer Tax for a reporting period will no longer be required to submit the official form (Form 9 / Form 9 FL).
What has changed?
The obligation to submit a zero return for Securities Transfer Tax has been abolished with effect from 22 June 2026. Taxpayers are now only required to submit the official form if Securities Transfer Tax is actually due for the relevant reporting period.
This change forms part of the package of 28 measures to reduce the regulatory burden on the Swiss economy adopted by the Swiss Federal Council on 26 November 2025 and has already been implemented by the FTA in practice. Other tax-related measures included in the package, such as simplifications regarding VAT, withholding tax and issuance stamp duty, are currently still under consultation.
Who is affected?
Securities Transfer Tax is levied on the trading and intermediation of Swiss and foreign securities and must be remitted by securities dealers. Securities dealers include, among others:
Banks and bank-like financial institutions;
Swiss companies and asset managers that professionally trade in or broker securities; and
Swiss holding and capital companies that report taxable securities with a book value of CHF 10 million or more on their balance sheet.
What remains unchanged?
Pursuant to Article 24 para. 1 of the Ordinance on Stamp Duties (StV), securities dealers remain obliged to file and pay the Securities Transfer Tax within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter using the official form, without being requested to do so. An annual filing using the official form remains available upon request if the annual Securities Transfer Tax does not exceed CHF 5'000.
Section 54 of FTA Circular Letter No. 12 (KS 12) previously required the form 9 to be submitted in all cases, regardless of whether any tax was due. This requirement has now been abolished. KS 12 will be updated accordingly in due course.
Our assessment
The abolition of the zero return obligation reduces the administrative burden for affected businesses and is therefore a welcome development. However, the substantive obligations remain unchanged: if Securities Transfer Tax is due for a reporting period, it must still be declared and paid within 30 days after the end of the relevant calendar quarter or financial year.
Securities dealers should therefore continue to review their transactions on a timely basis and maintain appropriate documentation demonstrating whether Securities Transfer Tax is due or not. Proper internal documentation facilitates the provision of evidence to the FTA and enhances legal certainty.
We would be pleased to assist you with any questions regarding Securities Transfer Tax and the correct reporting and payment procedures vis-à-vis the FTA.
