Glossary

A

Address

Public identifier of a wallet on a blockchain, comparable to an account number. Tokens can be sent to it without knowing who owns it. Some cantons, such as Graubünden, ask for it to be stated in the tax return.

AHV/AVS

Old-age and survivors' insurance. Its contributions, together with those for disability insurance and income compensation, apply to earned income, including that of a professional trader or of a miner classified as self-employed.

Airdrop

Free distribution of tokens to holders or users. For tax purposes, income from movable assets at the value on receipt.

B

Back taxes

Procedure by which the administration claims the tax not collected on undeclared items, up to ten years back, with interest. Separate from the fine for tax evasion, which may be added.

Blockchain

Distributed ledger, maintained by a network of computers, which records transactions publicly and in a way that cannot be falsified.

Business assets

Assets allocated to a self-employed activity. Their gains and losses are included in income. The opposite of private wealth.

C

Capital gain

Positive difference between the sale price and the purchase price of an asset. Tax-exempt for private wealth in Switzerland.

CARF

Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework. OECD standard organising the automatic exchange of information on crypto-assets between tax administrations. Adopted by Switzerland, with the legal basis in force since 1 January 2026.

Circular no. 36

Circular of the Federal Tax Administration of 27 July 2012 defining the criteria for professional securities trading. Applied by analogy to cryptocurrencies.

Custodian

Service provider that holds digital assets on behalf of third parties, for a fee. The fees it charges for managing staked tokens are in principle deductible.

D

DBG, StHG

Federal Act on Direct Federal Taxation, and Federal Act on the Harmonisation of Direct Taxes of the Cantons and Communes (LIFD and LHID in French). The two basic texts of Swiss tax law.

DeFi

Decentralised finance. A set of protocols that operate without an intermediary, making it possible to lend, borrow, exchange or provide liquidity. Complex for tax purposes; covered in level 3.

Delegator

Holder who entrusts their tokens to a validator rather than running the infrastructure themselves. Falls within private wealth management; their rewards are passive investment income.

E

Ex officio assessment

Estimate by the administration of the taxable items of a taxpayer who has not provided the necessary documents. Almost always unfavourable, and hard to challenge.

Exchange platform

Service for buying, selling and exchanging tokens, and generally for holding them. Provides the position and income statements used as supporting documents.

F

Federal Tax Administration (FTA)

The Confederation's tax authority (in French AFC, in German ESTV), which publishes the tax prices, the circulars and the reference working paper on cryptocurrencies.

H

Hard fork

Split of a blockchain into two incompatible chains. Holders may receive tokens on the new chain. The Swiss Tax Conference treats it as a type of airdrop: income at the value on receipt if a price exists, zero otherwise.

Hybrid token

Token combining the characteristics of several categories, for example a means of payment and access to a service. The Federal Tax Administration recognises that they exist without setting a general treatment.

I

ICO, ITO

Initial Coin Offering, Initial Token Offering. Fundraising by issuing new tokens. The nature of the token issued determines its tax treatment.

ICTax

The Federal Tax Administration's online price list, where the tax prices of securities and cryptocurrencies are published. A separate list is dedicated to tokens and covers more than eighty of them.

Income from movable assets

Yield produced by a movable asset: interest, dividends and, for cryptocurrencies, staking, lending, airdrops. Subject to income tax.

Investment token

Token representing a claim, a share or a right to income. Taxed like the underlying asset it represents.

L

Lending

Lending tokens to a platform or a protocol in return for interest. The interest is income from movable assets, taxable as interest income (art. 20 para. 1 let. a DBG): the Federal Tax Administration confirmed this on 19 October 2026 for lending pools.

Leverage

Technique of amplifying a position beyond the capital committed, through borrowing or derivatives. Using it is a strong indication of professional trading.

Liquidity pool

Reserve of tokens made available to a decentralised exchange protocol, in return for a share of the fees. Valuation and classification of the income are covered in level 3.

List of securities

Appendix to the tax return listing movable assets and their yields (état des titres in French, Wertschriftenverzeichnis in German). This is where cryptocurrencies are declared in most cantons; some, such as Vaud, put them with cash and precious metals.

M

Market value

Market value of an asset on a given date. Basis of valuation for wealth tax.

Mining

Validating transactions through computing power, rewarded in tokens. Taxable income, from self-employment when carried out professionally. Occasional mining on a personal computer is in principle a hobby.

N

NFT

Non-fungible token. Represents a unique item: a work of art, a collectible, a ticket. Movable assets at market value, often the acquisition price.

P

Payment token

Token designed as a means of exchange, with no claim against an issuer. Bitcoin, Ether, most common cryptocurrencies. Movable assets.

Private key

Secret code that gives control over an address and the tokens it holds. Losing it means losing the tokens; for a private investor, the loss is not deductible.

Private wealth

Assets held as a personal investment. Capital gains on them are tax-exempt, and losses are not deductible.

Professional securities trading

Tax classification of a person whose trading activity goes beyond the management of private wealth. Their gains become taxable income subject to AHV/AVS contributions, and their losses become deductible.

Proof of stake, proof of work

The two main validation mechanisms for blockchains. Proof of stake rewards staking, proof of work rewards mining.

S

Safe harbour

Zone of certainty defined by circular no. 36: five criteria which, if all met at once, guarantee classification as a private investor.

Security number

Swiss identifier (Valorennummer) assigned to tradable securities. The cryptocurrencies on the Federal Tax Administration's list have one, which in some cantons determines the section of the tax return.

Seed phrase

Sequence of words used to restore a wallet and its private keys. Never disclose it, not even to the administration: a balance statement and, where applicable, the public address of the wallet are sufficient as supporting documents.

Stablecoin

Token whose value is pegged to an official currency, usually the dollar. Declared like any other token, at its equivalent value in francs.

Staking

Locking up tokens to take part in validating a network, rewarded with tokens. Income from movable assets via a pool; possibly self-employment if you run your own validator.

Supporting document

Document used to check a declared figure: platform statement, wallet screenshot, blockchain explorer export, valuation table. To be kept for ten years.

Swap

Direct exchange of one token for another. No tax consequence for a private investor, but it counts towards the annual transaction volume.

T

Tax period

Calendar year covered by a tax return. The return for the 2026 tax period is filed in 2027.

Tax price

Official value of an asset as at 31 December, published by the Federal Tax Administration in its price list (ICTax). Authoritative for wealth tax.

Token

Unit of value recorded on a blockchain. Generic term covering cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, utility and investment tokens, and NFTs.

U

Utility token

Token giving access to a service or an application. Movable assets as long as it has a market value.

V

Validator

Participant who validates the transactions of a proof-of-stake blockchain. Running your own validator may constitute self-employment.

Voluntary disclosure

Procedure that allows a person, once in a lifetime, to report undeclared items without a fine, in return for paying the back taxes and interest for ten years. Only possible as long as the administration is unaware of the facts.

W

Wallet

Software or device used to hold and use tokens. A “hot” wallet is connected to the internet, a “cold” wallet is not. Both must be declared.

Withholding tax

35% tax deducted at source on Swiss interest and dividends, recoverable through the tax return. Generally does not apply to income from cryptocurrencies.

Wrapped token

Token representing another token on a different blockchain, for example a “wrapped” bitcoin usable on Ethereum. Declared at the value of the token it represents.