Working for yourself in Switzerland is easier to start than most people expect and harder to get right than they hope. Registering a business can take days, but the status you choose decides how you are insured, what you pay in contributions and whether the authorities treat you as an employee of your biggest client. If you plan to freelance in Switzerland as an EU or EFTA citizen, whether as a consultant, a designer or a tradesperson, this article gives you the sequence and the numbers published by the AHV information centre, the SME portal of the Confederation and the Federal Tax Administration (FTA).
Can you freelance in Switzerland as an EU citizen?
Yes. The free movement agreement lets EU and EFTA citizens take up independent activity. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) says that someone who enters Switzerland to work as a self-employed person receives a B permit valid five years, provided they prove that they actually carry on the activity. You cannot begin before the required documents have been filed. For the permit steps, see Swiss residence permit for EU citizens.
British citizens without acquired rights fall under the third-country regime. Admission must serve the economic interests of the country, the business must be viable and the income sufficient and independent (article 19 of the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act). A separate UK quota applies: 3,500 permits in 2026, of which 2,100 B and 1,400 L, and the request goes through the cantonal migration office. See moving to Switzerland from the UK.
How does the AHV fund recognise you as self-employed?
It is your AHV compensation fund that decides, case by case. You are self-employed in the eyes of the AHV if you:
- work in your own name;
- bear the economic risk;
- organise your work freely;
- generally have several clients.
You apply for recognition to an AHV compensation fund (forms are on independant-suisse.ch or via EasyGov.swiss). The fund looks at your actual situation. If you work for only one client, the fund will usually treat you as an employee, and the client will then owe the employer's contributions. That is the single most common trap.
What do freelancers pay in AHV contributions?
You pay the AHV/AI/APG contributions yourself, in full. In 2026 (state at 1 January):
- 10.0% of income from CHF 60,500 a year (AHV 8.1%, AI 1.4%, APG 0.5%);
- a sliding scale from 5.371% to 9.321% for income between CHF 10,100 and CHF 60,500;
- a minimum contribution of CHF 530 a year below CHF 10,100;
- an administration charge from the fund, at most 5% of contributions due.
Instalments are provisional, then recalculated on the income fixed by the tax authority. If you stop working before the reference age, you contribute as a person without gainful activity. If you keep working after it, you still contribute, with an allowance of CHF 16,800 a year (the reference age is 65, with special rules for women born before 1964). See AHV number in Switzerland.
Whether a mix of freelance missions, a part-time job and a foreign client makes you self-employed is a question for the compensation fund, and the answer changes your contributions. Moovy can help you prepare the evidence the fund asks for and the questions to put to it, but only the fund decides.
How do you start as a freelancer, step by step?
- Settle your permit and registration at the commune. As an EU citizen, you register within 14 days and file the proof of your independent activity.
- Prepare evidence of the activity: clients, quotes or invoices, a business lease if any, website or advertising. The AHV fund and the migration office look at these.
- Ask the AHV fund to recognise your status.
- Choose your form and, if needed, the notary for a GmbH or AG.
- Check the thresholds: commercial register at CHF 100,000 of turnover for a sole proprietorship (unless you are a liberal profession or farmer), VAT registration at CHF 100,000.
- Arrange your insurance: accident, loss of earnings, health (see health insurance in Switzerland) and pension.
- Open a business or personal bank account (see bank account in Switzerland).
If you also work in an EU country, European coordination rules decide where you contribute, so ask your compensation fund.
What are you not covered for?
Self-employed people have no unemployment insurance and no compulsory occupational pension (second pillar). Accident cover is not automatic either. Arrange these yourself:
- Accident insurance, through your health fund or an accident insurer.
- Loss-of-earnings insurance for illness.
- Pension provision, such as pillar 3a, or voluntary membership of a pension fund.
Ending a self-employed activity does not entitle you to unemployment benefits, so keep a financial cushion. See working in Switzerland as an EU citizen.
Which legal form should you choose to freelance in Switzerland?
The SME portal lists the characteristics of each form.
- Sole proprietorship (raison individuelle, Einzelfirma): the simplest, suited to activities bound to their owner, such as craftspeople or doctors. You are personally liable, and the profit is added to your income for income tax.
- GmbH / Sàrl: for small and medium businesses and family firms. Minimum capital CHF 20,000 (article 773 of the Code of Obligations).
- AG / SA: for larger capital needs. Minimum capital CHF 100,000, of which at least 20% of each share and CHF 50,000 in total must be paid in at creation (articles 621 and 632).
A GmbH or AG is established by a notarised deed (articles 629 and 777) and a capital deposit certificate. Both limit your liability.
When must you register the business and VAT?
- Commercial register: always for a GmbH or AG. For a sole proprietorship, once the turnover of the previous financial year reaches CHF 100,000, except liberal professions and farmers who do not run a commercial-form business (article 931); below that, registration is optional. You register through the cantonal register or EasyGov.swiss.
- VAT: register with the FTA if your annual turnover, in Switzerland and abroad, reaches CHF 100,000; below that you are exempt from the obligation (article 10 VAT Act). The answer arrives within days of your request.
What taxes does the business pay?
A sole proprietor adds the profit to personal income and pays income tax on it (see taxes in Switzerland for new residents). A GmbH or AG pays profit tax: 8.5% of net profit for the direct federal tax (article 68), plus cantonal and communal tax. As an official example, the canton of Geneva announces a total effective rate (canton, commune and Confederation) of 13.99% in the City of Geneva since the 2020 reform, calculated with the communal surcharges of 2015; it varies a little by commune. Ask your canton's tax office for the rate that applies to you.
What mistakes should freelancers avoid?
- Working for a single client. The fund may treat you as an employee.
- Forgetting the gaps in insurance: no unemployment, no automatic accident cover.
- Underestimating final contributions, which are recalculated on your assessed income.
- Starting before the permit and registration are in order.
- Assuming one rule for the country. Registers and professional authorisations vary by canton.
Contribution scales, thresholds and cantonal taxes change from year to year. Before you choose a legal form or sign your first contract, have your situation confirmed by a fiduciary (fiduciaire, an accountant) or a tax adviser in your canton.