Family Office in Switzerland: Rules, Costs and Tax in 2026
Switzerland has no family office licence: the Financial Institutions Act does not apply to people who manage only the assets of persons with whom they have family or business ties, while multi-family offices that manage client assets commercially need a FINMA licence. Taxes are levied by the Confederation, the cantons and the communes, and foreign nationals who do not work in Switzerland can opt for expenditure-based (lump-sum) taxation in cantons that still offer it (not Zurich). A University of St. Gallen study with UBS and the Swiss Single Family Office Association (June 2026) estimates about 300 single family offices in Switzerland with around CHF 785 billion in assets in 2025. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Best for: Families who want a single family office in an established wealth centre (about 300 single family offices, according to a University of St. Gallen study) without a family office licence, and who accept federal plus cantonal taxes and cantonal decisions on residence.
At a glance
| Licence | No licence: FinIA excludes managing solely assets of people with family or business ties |
|---|---|
| Minimum wealth | No wealth minimum in the FinIA exemption; it turns only on family or business ties |
| Who counts as family | Relatives in the direct line and to the 4th collateral degree, spouses, partners, co-heirs |
| Serving several families | FINMA portfolio manager licence plus supervision by a supervisory organisation |
| Law and courts | Swiss federal law and FINMA; taxes at federal, cantonal and communal level |
| Substance | No rule found for single family offices; licensed managers need Swiss domicile |
| Holding vehicles | AG, GmbH, foundations; no Swiss trust, foreign trusts recognised (Hague) |
| Corporate tax | Federal 8.5% of net profit plus cantonal and communal tax (average just under 9%, 2026) |
| Family office tax | No family office tax regime found; participation deduction for stakes of at least 10% |
| Personal income tax | Federal top rate 11.5% (2026) plus cantonal and communal tax; lump-sum option, not Zurich |
| Inheritance tax | Cantonal only, none in Obwalden and Schwyz; spouses and descendants exempt in most cantons |
| Wills and succession | Spouse or partner and descendants get half their intestate share as a protected portion |
| Residence | No investor visa found; cantonal tax route (Zurich: about CHF 1 million tax a year) |
| Time to set up | No official figure found |
| Official fees | CHF 420 to register an AG or GmbH, CHF 210 a foundation; no family office licence fee |
Compare: Switzerland vs DIFC · Switzerland vs ADGM · Switzerland vs DMCC · Switzerland vs Saudi Arabia · Switzerland vs Singapore · Switzerland vs Hong Kong · Switzerland vs GIFT City · Switzerland vs UK · Switzerland vs Luxembourg · Switzerland vs Mauritius · Switzerland vs USA · Switzerland vs Monaco · Switzerland vs Liechtenstein · Switzerland vs Malta · Switzerland vs QFC · Switzerland vs Bahrain · Switzerland vs Cyprus · Switzerland vs Jersey · Switzerland vs Greece · Switzerland vs Guernsey · Switzerland vs Italy · Switzerland vs Forest City · Switzerland vs Germany · Switzerland vs Portugal · Switzerland vs Spain · Switzerland vs France · Switzerland vs South Africa · Switzerland vs Canada · Switzerland vs Australia · Switzerland vs Ireland · Switzerland vs Turkey · Switzerland vs Japan · Switzerland vs Cayman Islands · Switzerland vs Bahamas · Switzerland vs BVI · Switzerland vs Bermuda
Licence and who qualifies
How is a family office licensed in Switzerland?
No family office licence or registration was found in Swiss law or on FINMA's licensing pages. Article 2(2)(a) of the Financial Institutions Act (FinIA) says the Act does not apply to 'persons who manage solely the assets of persons with whom they have business or family ties', and a FINMA presentation on the portfolio manager regime lists single family offices and private trust companies directly or indirectly controlled by persons with family ties among the exemptions, whereas portfolio managers acting on a commercial basis must be licensed by FINMA. Article 3 of the Financial Institutions Ordinance (FinIO) treats companies or units of a group as having business ties insofar as they provide financial or trustee services to other companies or units of the same group. The English FinIA wording was read on lawbrary.ch (a private copy) and the German wording in a Federal Council pre-print of the bill, because the current text on fedlex.admin.ch could not be opened. [1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10]
What is the minimum wealth for a family office in Switzerland?
The FinIA exemption and Articles 3 and 4 FinIO depend only on business or family ties and set no minimum family wealth, and FINMA's description of the exemption names none; no wealth threshold for a single family office was found in the sources opened. Separate tax-based minimums apply to expenditure-based taxation and to residence for fiscal reasons (see personal tax and residency). [1, 2, 8, 11]
Who counts as family?
Article 4 of the Financial Institutions Ordinance (FinIO) treats as having family ties: relatives by blood or marriage in the direct line and up to the fourth degree in the collateral line, spouses and registered partners, co-heirs and legatees until the estate is divided, remaindermen and residuary legatees, and persons living in a permanent partnership with the portfolio manager or trustee. A manager that manages assets for members of one family also counts as having family ties if it is directly or indirectly controlled by a family member, or by a trust, foundation or similar structure set up by one, even if public-benefit or not-for-profit institutions are also beneficiaries. Text read on lawbrary.ch (version 2024.03) and in German in the Federal Council's pre-print of the ordinance (AS 2019 2376), not on fedlex.admin.ch. [1, 2, 8, 11]
Can one office serve several families?
A family office that manages assets for people with whom it has no family or business ties falls outside the FinIA exemption, and if it acts on a commercial basis it must be licensed by FINMA as a portfolio manager before it starts. FINMA treats the activity as commercial if gross earnings exceed CHF 50,000 a year, there are more than 20 contractual partners a year, or it has unlimited power of disposal over others' assets of more than CHF 5 million at any time. The manager must also be supervised by a FINMA-authorised supervisory organisation (SO), which confirms affiliation before the licence application can be sent to FINMA; FINMA had licensed 1,532 portfolio managers and trustees by 28 February 2025. [1, 3, 10, 12, 13, 14]
Law, substance and vehicles
Which law and courts apply?
Switzerland is a federal state: financial institutions such as portfolio managers fall under the federal Financial Institutions Act and FINMA supervision, and taxes are levied at federal, cantonal and communal level, so the tax bill depends on the canton and commune. Swiss law has no trust of its own, but foreign trusts have been recognised in Switzerland since the Hague Trust Convention took effect on 1 July 2007. [3, 4, 15, 16]
What substance is required?
No office, staff or spending rule for a single family office was found in the FinIA exemption or on FINMA's pages. A licensed portfolio manager (for example a multi-family office) must show Swiss domicile, be entered in the commercial register, be suitably organised with adequate risk management and internal controls, and have adequate financial guarantees, and its managers must have a good reputation, guarantee irreproachable business conduct and hold the required professional qualifications. [1, 3, 10]
Which holding vehicles are available?
Capital companies (such as the company limited by shares, AG, and the limited liability company, GmbH), cooperatives, and foundations (federal profit tax 4.25%), including family foundations. There is no Swiss trust: the Federal Council dropped the project on 15 September 2023 and Parliament closed the motion in February 2024, but foreign trusts are recognised under the Hague Trust Convention, in force for Switzerland since 1 July 2007. [15, 16, 17]
Tax
What is the corporate tax rate?
The federal profit tax is 8.5% of net profit, and because the tax paid is deductible the effective federal rate is lower. Nearly all cantons and communes add their own profit tax and a capital tax; the FTA says cantonal and communal profit taxes average just under 9% of profits in 2026, with a fairly even picture across cantons. The OECD 15% minimum tax applies only to groups with consolidated turnover of at least EUR 750 million: the Swiss domestic top-up tax since 1 January 2024 and the income inclusion rule since 1 January 2025. [4, 17, 18]
Are there tax incentives for family offices?
No tax regime specific to family offices was found in the FTA's publications. A family office company pays ordinary profit tax, and a company holding at least 10% of another company's share capital or of its profits and reserves can use the participation deduction, which indirectly exempts the dividends it receives. The FTA's guide on legal entities covers family foundations within its rules for foundations, which pay federal profit tax at 4.25% (profits under CHF 5,000 are exempt). [4, 17]
Is there personal income tax?
The federal income tax has a top rate of 11.5%, reached in 2026 at taxable income of CHF 941,400 for married people and CHF 794,000 for others; cantons and communes add income tax and a wealth tax, and the FTA says direct taxes take almost one-fifth of individuals' income on average in 2026. Foreign nationals who take up residence for the first time (or after at least ten years abroad) and do not work in Switzerland can opt for expenditure-based (lump-sum) taxation; the federal minimum tax base is CHF 435,000 for tax year 2026 (CHF 434,700 in 2025). Zurich, Basel-Stadt, Schaffhausen and Appenzell Ausserrhoden have abolished it, and Basel-Landschaft allows it only in the year of arrival. [4, 5, 18, 19, 20]
Is there inheritance or estate tax?
There is no federal inheritance tax; inheritance and gift taxes are cantonal, and all cantons except Obwalden and Schwyz levy an inheritance tax. ch.ch says spouses, registered partners and descendants (children and grandchildren) are normally exempt, while the FTA's brochure (law as of 1 January 2020) says this applies in most cantons and shows, for example, Vaud and Appenzell Innerrhoden taxing descendants with allowances. On 30 November 2025 Swiss voters rejected the 'Initiative for a Future', which proposed a federal tax of 50% on estates and gifts above CHF 50 million, by 78.3% to 21.7% with a turnout of 42.9%, according to the Federal Department of Finance. [21, 22, 23, 24, 25]
Succession and residence
How do wills and succession work?
A spouse or registered partner and children (or their descendants) are protected heirs who cannot be fully excluded: they are entitled to half of their intestate share, while siblings and cousins are not protected. Within these limits, a will or a contract of succession decides who inherits; an unmarried partner inherits only if named in one. The revised law of succession in force since 1 January 2023 lets people dispose freely of a larger part of their estate, according to the Federal Council. [26, 27, 28]
Can the family get residence?
No investor visa was found in official sources. Third-country nationals who will not work apply to the cantonal immigration authorities and must show sufficient financial resources and health and accident insurance; a canton can admit them for important public interests, including significant cantonal fiscal interests (Art. 30(1)(b) Foreign Nationals and Integration Act with Art. 32(1)(c) OASA). Zurich's directive in force from 9 October 2026 expects about CHF 1 million in tax a year, confirmed in advance by the tax authority, close existing ties to Zurich, no gainful activity except managing one's own assets, and the family's centre of life moving to Zurich; retirees aged 55 or over with special personal ties to Switzerland and sufficient funds are a separate route. [7, 29]
Time and fees
How long does set-up take?
Not found in official sources.
What are the official fees?
Indicative: under the federal Ordinance on Commercial Register Fees, in force since 1 January 2021, registering a new company limited by shares (AG) or limited liability company (GmbH) costs CHF 420 and a new foundation CHF 210, as the Canton of Zurich's commercial register page also shows (accessed 19 October 2026). No family office licence fee exists because no family office licence was found; FINMA fees for a portfolio manager licence were not found in the sources opened. [30, 31]
Private trust company
Does a private trust company need a licence in Switzerland?
No PTC licence or registration category was found: a PTC can fall outside licensing through the general exemption in the Financial Institutions Act. Article 2(2)(a) FinIA says the Act does not apply to persons who manage solely the assets of persons with whom they have business or family ties, and FINMA's trustee page says such legally exempt activities, for example managing only the assets of persons with family ties, are disregarded when it assesses whether a trustee acts commercially. Article 4(2) and (3) of the Financial Institutions Ordinance (FinIO) treat a trustee that manages assets for persons with family ties as itself having family ties if it is directly or indirectly controlled by a third party with family ties to them, or by a trust, foundation or similar structure set up by such a person, even if public-benefit or not-for-profit institutions are also beneficiaries. Family ties under Article 4(1) FinIO cover relatives by blood or marriage in the direct line and up to the fourth degree in the collateral line, spouses and registered partners, co-heirs and legatees until the estate is divided, remaindermen and residuary legatees, and persons living in a permanent partnership with the trustee; under Article 3 FinIO, group companies that provide trustee services to other companies of the same group have business ties. Jürg Frick of Homburger (IFLR, December 2021) says trustees acting within the framework of a PTC are covered by the exemption, while noting that FINMA seems to tend to require a priori powers (letting the controlling third party intervene before the trustee acts), which he calls critical from a legality and due process point of view. A trustee that is not exempt needs a FINMA licence only if it acts commercially: gross income over CHF 50,000 a year, business relationships with more than 20 contracting parties in a calendar year, or trust assets over CHF 5 million at any time (FINMA). No change to these rules in 2024 to 2026 was found, but FinIA and FinIO were read in private copies (lawbrary.ch, LexFind) and the official texts on fedlex.admin.ch were not opened. [1, 8, 11, 32, 33, 34]
Who supervises it, and what must it file?
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) licenses trustees that act commercially. A PTC within the family-ties exemption is outside the Financial Institutions Act, so it needs no FINMA licence and no supervision by a supervisory organisation, and no PTC registration with FINMA or notification to it was found in FinIA, FinIO or on FINMA's pages. [1, 32]
What local requirements apply?
No local requirement specific to PTCs was found: the exemption in Article 2(2)(a) FinIA and Article 4 FinIO depends only on family or business ties and on control, and does not require the PTC to be administered by, or have its office with, a licensed trustee. Whether an exempt PTC must join a self-regulatory organisation under the Anti-Money Laundering Act was not confirmed in the sources opened. [1, 11, 33]
What are the official fees?
No official PTC fee found, because an exempt PTC is not licensed or registered by FINMA. Indicative general company fees: under the federal Ordinance on Commercial Register Fees, in force since 1 January 2021, registering a company limited by shares (AG) or a limited liability company (GmbH) costs CHF 420 and a foundation CHF 210 (Annex items 1.3 and 1.6, version of 1 January 2021; later amendments not checked). [30, 35]
Pros and cons
Pros
- A single family office that manages only the assets of persons with family or business ties falls outside the Financial Institutions Act and needs no FINMA licence.
- Large existing community: about 300 single family offices with around CHF 785 billion in assets in 2025, according to a University of St. Gallen study.
- No federal inheritance tax, and spouses and descendants are exempt from cantonal inheritance tax in most cantons; a 50% federal inheritance tax proposal was rejected on 30 November 2025 with 78.3% voting no.
Cons
- Serving unrelated families on a commercial basis needs a FINMA portfolio manager licence and supervision by a supervisory organisation.
- Taxes depend on the canton and commune, and expenditure-based (lump-sum) taxation is not available in Zurich, Basel-Stadt, Schaffhausen or Appenzell Ausserrhoden.
- No investor visa was found; residence for non-working non-EU principals is a cantonal decision, and Zurich expects about CHF 1 million in tax a year for its fiscal-interest route.
