- →
-
Contact Form
-
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 fixed-price 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 3–6 weeks, or in 5–10 working days via a ready-made Vorratsgesellschaft.
Single payment covers Notar, Handelsregister filings, virtual Sitz, Swiss-resident director arrangement and our service fee.
GmbH/AG + Sitz + Swiss banking + Treuhänder under one roof.
Standard formation 3–6 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. 772–827 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 | 3–6 weeks | SMEs, holdings |
| AG | CHF 100,000 (CHF 50,000 paid up) | 4–8 weeks | Holdings, listed groups, regulated |
| Zweigniederlassung | Parent-dependent | 4–8 weeks | Foreign multinational presence |
| Vorratsgesellschaft | CHF 20,000+ (paid) | 5–10 days | Need immediate trading |
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, deposit CHF 20,000 (GmbH) or CHF 50,000 (AG). 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: typically CHF 1,500–3,500 depending on canton and capital.
The Notar files the company with the cantonal Handelsregister. Processing: 5–15 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 CHF 100,000 turnover (CHF 250,000 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.
| Scenario | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| GmbH via standard formation | 3–6 weeks |
| AG (joint-stock) | 4–8 weeks |
| Zweigniederlassung of foreign company | 4–8 weeks |
| Vorratsgesellschaft — transfer | 5–10 working days |
Standard GmbH: 3–6 weeks. AG: 4–8 weeks. Vorratsgesellschaft transfer: 5–10 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, fully paid in cash. AG: CHF 100,000 with CHF 50,000 paid at formation.
Yes — at least one signatory must be Swiss-resident. Most international clients arrange a Swiss-resident Treuhänder; we provide this service.
11.8%–20.5% combined depending on canton. Zug ~11.8% is the most commonly chosen for international SMEs.
Subject to the Swiss-resident director requirement, yes. Substance considerations matter for tax-residence determination.
UID-Nummer (automatic), MWST registration, bank account opening, Treuhänder engagement. Most clients are operational within 5–6 weeks.
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’re pricing 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: Zug 11.9%, Lucerne 12.4%, Geneva 14.7% 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 in the standard fee for both shelf-company purchase and new formation. Subsequent changes are billed at cost.
Switzerland maintains its own bilateral double-tax treaty network (specifics vary by country). Your consultant maps the relevant treaties for your operating profile during the initial scoping. Note that all modern treaties have been updated under the OECD Multilateral Instrument with anti-abuse principal-purpose tests, so genuine substance and commercial purpose matter for treaty entitlement.
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 offer a pricing-defined remedial path. 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 fixed-fee proposal:
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 fixed-fee model globally for Swiss corporate setup. Optional add-ons (virtual office, accounting retainer, payroll, sector licences, transfer-pricing documentation) are quoted line-item separately so there is no scope creep on the headline incorporation or transfer fee.
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: Zug 11.9%, Lucerne 12.4%, Geneva 14.7% 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 EUR 750M 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.