Jurisdictions · Compare
Dubai (DIFC) vs Switzerland Family Office Compared (2026)
Our view
A Swiss office managing only the assets of people with family or business ties needs no FINMA licence and has no wealth minimum. DIFC licenses the office and asks for USD 50 million in family net assets, confirmed every year. The UAE has no personal income tax and no inheritance tax in its official tax list. Its corporate tax is 9% above AED 375,000, with 0% only on qualifying income, and the FTA says an unregulated family office's wealth and fund management income does not qualify. Switzerland adds cantonal and communal taxes, including a wealth tax, to federal ones, and all cantons except Obwalden and Schwyz tax inheritances, though most exempt spouses and descendants. Residence is a 10-year Golden Visa in the UAE and a cantonal decision in Switzerland.
Key differences
- Licence: a Family Office licence from the DIFC Registrar in DIFC, against no FINMA licence in Switzerland for an office managing only the assets of people with family or business ties.
- Minimum wealth: USD 50 million in family net assets, confirmed every year, in DIFC, against none in the Swiss exemption.
- Corporate tax: 9% above AED 375,000, with 0% only on qualifying income (not an unregulated family office's wealth and fund management income), in the UAE, against 8.5% federal profit tax plus cantonal and communal profit tax averaging just under 9% in 2026 in Switzerland.
- Personal tax: no income tax on individuals in the UAE, against a federal top rate of 11.5% plus cantonal and communal income and wealth taxes in Switzerland, where foreign nationals who do not work there can opt for lump-sum taxation in cantons that still offer it.
- Inheritance: none in the official UAE list of taxes, against cantonal inheritance tax in Switzerland in all cantons except Obwalden and Schwyz, with spouses and descendants exempt in most cantons.
- Residence: a 10-year Golden Visa from AED 2 million in the UAE, against no investor visa found in Switzerland, where the canton decides and Zurich expects about CHF 1 million in tax a year.
Side by side
| Topic | Dubai (DIFC) | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | Family Office licence from the DIFC Registrar; no DFSA licence | No licence: FinIA excludes managing solely assets of people with family or business ties |
| Minimum wealth | USD 50 million in family net assets, confirmed every year | No wealth minimum in the FinIA exemption; it turns only on family or business ties |
| Who counts as family | A living ancestor and their descendants, or descendants of an ancestor up to three generations back, with spouses, stepchildren and adopted children | Relatives in the direct line and to the 4th collateral degree, spouses, partners, co-heirs |
| Serving several families | Registrar's approval to serve several families (USD 50 million each); a DFSA licence to give them financial services | FINMA portfolio manager licence plus supervision by a supervisory organisation |
| Law and courts | DIFC laws; English-language DIFC Courts | Swiss federal law and FINMA; taxes at federal, cantonal and communal level |
| Substance | No minimum staff or spending rule found; 0% tax status needs adequate substance | No rule found for single family offices; licensed managers need Swiss domicile |
| Holding vehicles | Company, foundation, trust, prescribed company (SPV) | AG, GmbH, foundations; no Swiss trust, foreign trusts recognised (Hague) |
| Corporate tax | UAE corporate tax: 0% up to AED 375,000, 9% above | Federal 8.5% of net profit plus cantonal and communal tax (average just under 9%, 2026) |
| Family office tax | 0% only on qualifying income, not unregulated wealth management; foundations can be transparent | No family office tax regime found; participation deduction for stakes of at least 10% |
| Personal income tax | None | Federal top rate 11.5% (2026) plus cantonal and communal tax; lump-sum option, not Zurich |
| Inheritance tax | None in the official UAE list of taxes | Cantonal only, none in Obwalden and Schwyz; spouses and descendants exempt in most cantons |
| Wills and succession | Non-Muslim wills registered with the DIFC Courts Wills Service | Spouse or partner and descendants get half their intestate share as a protected portion |
| Residence | 10-year Golden Visa from AED 2 million in property or investments | No investor visa found; cantonal tax route (Zurich: about CHF 1 million tax a year) |
| Time to set up | No official figure found | No official figure found |
| Official fees | USD 12,000 Family Office Licence under the 2023 rules (may be yearly), plus company fees | CHF 420 to register an AG or GmbH, CHF 210 a foundation; no family office licence fee |
