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ShelfCompanies24 has been forming Swiss companies for international founders since 1995. Our Zug team handles every step of company formation in Switzerland on a single agreed service contract, from picking the right legal form and canton through Notar, Handelsregister registration, federal and cantonal tax registration, and your first Swiss bank account. Most clients are trading inside 3 to 6 weeks, or in 5 to 10 working days via a ready-made Vorratsgesellschaft.
Our service covers Notar, Handelsregister filings, virtual Sitz, Swiss-resident director arrangement.
GmbH/AG + Sitz + Swiss banking + Treuhänder under one roof.
Standard formation 3 to 6 weeks. German/French/Italian-speaking case managers.
Qualified electronic signature, Swiss consulate, or delegate to our Zug Notar via Vollmacht.
We draft the Statuten, file Handelsregister, register MWST, organise Swiss-resident director.
The Swiss GmbH is the workhorse for SMEs and modest-capital structures. Governed by Art. 772 to 827 of the Swiss Obligationenrecht (Code of Obligations).
The Swiss AG is the joint-stock form, used for capital-raising, holding, banking and listed groups.
| Form | Min. capital | Formation time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| GmbH | CHF 20,000 | 3 to 6 weeks | SMEs, holdings |
| AG | CHF 100,000 (CHF 50,000 paid up) | 4 to 8 weeks | Holdings, listed groups, regulated |
| Zweigniederlassung | Parent-dependent | 4 to 8 weeks | Foreign multinational presence |
| Vorratsgesellschaft | CHF 20,000+ (already paid) | 5 to 10 days | Need immediate trading |
Registering a company in Switzerland follows a fixed order: entity and canton, Statuten, capital deposit, notarial deed, Handelsregister, then UID and MWST. A GmbH runs 3 to 6 weeks end to end and an AG 4 to 8 weeks, against 5 to 10 working days for a ready-made Vorratsgesellschaft. The eight steps below are the ones we run for you.
Confirm legal form (GmbH vs. AG), member structure, business activity, banking preferences, and critically, choose the canton of registered Sitz. Cantonal tax differential is material: Zug (~11.8%) vs. Geneva (~14%) vs. Zurich (~19.7%).
The articles are drafted by our Notar, in German, French or Italian (or bilingual with English). Provisions on share transfers, governance, exit clauses.
Open a Kapitaleinzahlungskonto at a Swiss bank and deposit CHF 20,000 in full (GmbH) or at least CHF 50,000 (AG, being 20% of each share and never below CHF 50,000). Bank issues confirmation attached to the notarial deed.
The founder(s) appear before the Swiss Notar. Foreign founders can sign at any Swiss consulate, via qualified electronic signature, or delegate to our Zug Notar via Vollmacht. Notar fees are set by the cantonal tariff and scale with the share capital.
The Notar files the company with the cantonal Handelsregister. Processing: 5 to 15 working days depending on canton. Federal publication in SHAB. The company appears in the public register at zefix.ch.
The Handelsregister entry triggers issuance of the UID-Nummer (Unternehmens-Identifikationsnummer, the universal Swiss business identifier). Cantonal and federal tax authorities are notified automatically. MWST registration follows separately.
VAT registration is mandatory above turnover (for non-profits and certain sectors). Voluntary below. We file the MWST-Anmeldung with the Federal Tax Administration.
Convert Kapitaleinzahlungskonto to operating account. Swiss banks have tightened KYC dramatically post-2018 (FATCA, CRS, AEoI). We match clients to the right bank: UBS, Raiffeisen, ZKB, Migros Bank for traditional banking; private banks for higher-net-worth structures.
The canton of registered Sitz is the biggest single decision in a Swiss formation, because it sets most of the tax bill and some of the practical friction. Zug is the most common international choice: combined effective tax of about 11.7%, a deep Treuhänder ecosystem and a fintech cluster whose advisers already understand cross-border structures. Lucerne is comparable at about 11.7%, with Nidwalden near 12% and Schwyz near 14%.
Zurich sits higher, at about 19.5% combined, and buys something different: the densest banking and talent market in the country, which matters if you need a local team or a commercial banking relationship with scale. Geneva, at about 14.7%, is the choice for commodity trading, international organisations and French-language operations. The process itself does not change from canton to canton, the notarial deed and the Handelsregister filing are the same; only the rate, the register office and the processing queue differ.
| Scenario | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| GmbH via standard formation | 3 to 6 weeks |
| AG (joint-stock) | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Zweigniederlassung of foreign company | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Vorratsgesellschaft, transfer | 5 to 10 working days |
Most people who ask us how to start a business in Switzerland are not Swiss. The demand splits roughly evenly between founders inside Switzerland and founders in the United States, with Germany and the United Kingdom next. Nothing in Swiss company law restricts ownership by nationality or residence, and a single foreign shareholder can hold the whole of a GmbH or an AG.
Two requirements do apply and neither is optional. At least one person with signature authority must be resident in Switzerland, which most international founders meet through a Swiss-resident Treuhänder we arrange. And the share capital must be real money in a Swiss blocked account before the deed is executed: capital of CHF 20,000 paid in full for a GmbH, or at least CHF 50,000 of an AG’s share capital. Beyond that you sign at a Swiss consulate, with a qualified electronic signature, or by giving our Zug Notar a Vollmacht, and you do not need to travel. Allow 3 to 6 weeks for a GmbH.
A GmbH takes 3 to 6 weeks from instruction to a company that can trade, and an AG 4 to 8 weeks. The notarial deed itself is quick; the time sits with the cantonal Handelsregister, which processes registrations in 5 to 15 working days depending on canton, and with the capital deposit and KYC that precede it. A ready-made Vorratsgesellschaft avoids all of that and transfers in 5 to 10 working days.
For tax efficiency: Zug or Lucerne. Zug is the most popular international choice, low tax (~11.8%), modern fintech ecosystem, deep Treuhänder support. For banking concentration: Zurich. For international finance: Geneva.
CHF 20,000 for a GmbH, paid into a blocked capital account in cash before the notarial deed and released once the Handelsregister entry is made. An AG needs share capital of CHF 100,000, of which at least 20% of the nominal value of each share, and never less than CHF 50,000, must be paid up at formation. A ready-made Swiss company already has its capital paid in, so nothing further is required from the buyer.
Partly. Shareholders may live anywhere and need no Swiss nationality. The company itself, though, must be capable of being represented by at least one person resident in Switzerland: Article 718 paragraph 4 of the Code of Obligations for an AG, and Article 814 paragraph 3 for a GmbH. There is no exemption procedure, so foreign owned companies normally appoint a Swiss resident director or Treuhänder with signing authority. A residence or work permit is a separate immigration question.
Between about 11.7% and 20.5% combined, depending on the canton and commune of the registered Sitz. The federal layer is fixed at 8.5% on profit after tax, effectively 7.83%, and the cantonal and communal layers do the rest: Zug and Lucerne around 11.7%, Nidwalden about 12%, Schwyz about 14%, Geneva about 14.7%, Zurich about 19.5%. MWST is 8.1% standard with 3.8% and 2.6% reduced rates, and participation relief effectively removes tax on qualifying subsidiary dividends.
Day to day, yes, provided the Swiss-resident signature requirement is met. What you cannot ignore is where the company is managed. Swiss tax residence follows effective management, and so does the equivalent test in the country you actually run it from, so a company directed entirely from abroad can be claimed there as a local tax resident. A passive holding faces a lighter substance test than an active trading business. We map this before incorporation, not after.
UID-Nummer (automatic), MWST registration, bank account opening, Treuhänder engagement. Most clients are operational within 5 to 6 weeks.
Choose the legal form and the canton, then either form a new company or take over a pre-formed one. A new GmbH needs Statuten, capital of CHF 20,000 in a blocked account, a notarial deed and a cantonal Handelsregister entry, which together run 3 to 6 weeks. A ready-made Vorratsgesellschaft skips the wait and transfers in 5 to 10 working days. Either route needs a Swiss-resident signatory and a registered Sitz, and we provide both.
Yes, and the GmbH is the usual vehicle. The company needs a registered Sitz in a canton, a Swiss-resident signatory and a bank account. MWST registration follows once turnover crosses the threshold, and a Swiss company charges 8.1% standard MWST. Payment acceptance for an online shop is arranged with the bank or a payment provider rather than through the Handelsregister, and we introduce both. Selling into the EU brings EU VAT obligations of its own.
Ready to register your Swiss GmbH or AG? Contact our Swiss desk.
Switzerland is one of several jurisdictions where ShelfCompanies24 maintains pre-formed entities and active formation services. Why pick Switzerland for your GmbH/Sàrl specifically? Premium banking, cantonal tax competition is the headline reason, but it pays to understand the trade-offs against the alternatives. Below are concrete differentiators that matter when you are weighing a structure decision against the actual operating profile of your business.
Cross-border corporate structuring in 2026 is governed by a tighter web of rules than in any previous decade. Three forces shape every decision:
For Switzerland specifically: Federal 8.5% (effective 7.83% on profit) + cantonal/communal: Lucerne 11.66%, Zug 11.71%, Geneva 14.70% combined effective.
Issues we routinely see when prospects come to us after attempting the process directly with local providers in Switzerland:
Yes. A name change is filed with the Handelsregister via a directors’ resolution and a routine filing, typically clears in 5 days. We include up to one name change as standard for both shelf-company purchase and new formation.
Not the EU ones. Switzerland is outside the EU and the EEA, so the Parent-Subsidiary and Interest and Royalties Directives do not apply directly. It has its own network of more than 100 comprehensive double taxation agreements, published by the State Secretariat for International Finance. Article 9 of the Switzerland to EU agreement then delivers equivalent relief, zero withholding between associated Swiss and EU companies, on a direct holding of at least 25% held for two years.
Client information is held under contractual non-disclosure plus the professional-secrecy obligations applicable to corporate-service providers in our home jurisdiction. We do not share client identity or transaction details with third parties beyond what is statutorily required (KYC reporting, beneficial-owner-register filings, AML/CTF reporting where triggered). Our internal access to client files is logged and access-restricted by need-to-know.
Material tax changes (rate moves, new minimum-tax regimes, treaty amendments) get communicated to active clients with our analysis of impact. Where the change is structural, for example the OECD Pillar Two implementation in Switzerland or a domestic tax-base reform, we proactively flag clients whose structures may need restructuring and set out the remedial steps. The client is not left to discover material regulatory change from their accountant or from media reports.
A GmbH/Sàrl is a separate legal entity Swiss-tax-resident with its own corporate tax filings and beneficial-owner record. A branch is an extension of a foreign parent, the foreign parent is the legal entity, the Switzerland branch books local-source income but the parent’s overall tax liability cascades. Most foreign owners pick a GmbH/Sàrl for liability ring-fencing and clean tax accounting; branches are sometimes preferred where the parent has specific group-relief or treaty considerations that depend on common legal personality.
Engaging us for your Swiss new GmbH/Sàrl formation covers the following deliverables under one service:
The deliverable scope is identical regardless of whether you are based in the EU, the US, the UK, the Middle East, or APAC, we operate the same service globally for Swiss corporate setup. Optional add-ons (virtual office, accounting retainer, payroll, sector licences, transfer-pricing documentation) are scoped separately, so the incorporation or transfer work stays exactly as agreed.
Different jurisdictions are stronger for different commercial activities. Switzerland consistently performs well for international operators in:
None of these are exclusive, a Swiss GmbH/Sàrl can engage in any lawful commercial activity, but choosing a jurisdiction where the activity has a deep operating ecosystem (talent pool, regulatory familiarity, banking and supplier networks) materially shortens the time from incorporation to first revenue. Tell us your activity profile and we will confirm whether Switzerland is the right fit before we begin.
Switzerland’s double-tax treaty network varies by counterparty country and is a critical factor in how a Swiss GmbH/Sàrl should be structured. The OECD Multilateral Instrument has updated most modern treaties since 2017 to embed a Principal Purpose Test (PPT), treaty benefits are denied where a structure was set up primarily for tax advantage rather than genuine commercial purpose, so substance and operational reality matter more than ever.
Common Swiss GmbH/Sàrl patterns we see: regional hub for cross-border trade, IP holding with treaty-protected royalty flows where applicable, local trading and asset-holding entity, and finance/distribution arms serving group operations elsewhere. Each pattern has its own substance and transfer-pricing implications which your consultant will map before structuring.
The 2026 corporate-law and tax landscape in Switzerland: ~12-21% incl. cantonal headline corporate tax. Federal 8.5% (effective 7.83% on profit) + cantonal/communal: Lucerne 11.66%, Zug 11.71%, Geneva 14.70% combined effective.
Beyond the headline number, three regulatory currents shape every Swiss structuring decision in 2026: OECD Pillar Two and the local Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax (QDMTT) for groups above €750 million consolidated revenue; the EU’s progressive AML/CTF tightening (AMLD6 and AMLR transitioning into the Anti-Money-Laundering Authority’s direct supervision); and the Handelsregister’s ongoing migration toward digital-only filing and real-time beneficial-owner reconciliation. Smaller entities below the Pillar Two threshold continue under the regular Swiss tax regime, but reporting obligations to the Handelsregister apply to every entity regardless of size.
We track these regulatory currents continuously and flag anything material to active clients within working days of the change being announced. You do not need to monitor Switzerland regulatory news yourself, that is part of what we provide for the annual retainer.
Three deadline buckets: Handelsregister confirmation/return (typically annual, on the company’s accounting reference date), corporate tax return (filed via the Switzerland tax authority following the financial year-end, usually 6-12 months after period close), and VAT/sales-tax returns (monthly or quarterly cadence depending on turnover, where applicable). Beneficial-owner-register updates are event-triggered (filing required when ownership changes) rather than calendar-based.
Penalty consequences vary by jurisdiction but typically follow a pattern: small late-filing fee for short delays, larger automatic penalty for sustained non-filing, and ultimately strike-off from the Handelsregister for prolonged non-compliance. Strike-off voids the company and may require court application to restore. Our retainer service handles the full filing calendar so this never happens to a client on our books.
Three layers determine the after-tax dividend: Switzerland corporate tax already paid at the GmbH/Sàrl level on profits (~12-21% incl. cantonal); Switzerland withholding tax on outbound dividends, which depends on the recipient country and treaty position (often reduced or eliminated by treaty); and recipient-country tax on the dividend in the parent’s hands (often subject to participation exemption at the recipient level). Your consultant maps this end-to-end in the initial scoping so the after-tax economics are clear before incorporation.