Key points at a glance
- If you use your private car for business, you claim a rate per kilometer. Since January 1, 2026, the rate recognized for tax purposes is CHF 0.75 per kilometer (previously CHF 0.70).
- You must be able to prove your business kilometers - easiest with a logbook: date, start, destination, purpose and distance.
- If the car is part of your business assets, all car costs are business expenses. For private use, you add back a private share of 0.9% of the purchase price per month.
- Trips you re-bill to customers are part of your revenue - and, if you are registered for VAT (MWST), part of the taxable consideration.
Private car or company car?
As a self-employed person, you first need to decide where your car belongs. What counts is what you mainly use it for: anything used entirely or mainly for your self-employed business is a business asset (Art. 18 para. 2 DBG, Federal Act on Direct Federal Taxation, in German). So if more than half of the kilometers you drive are for business, the car belongs to the business - otherwise it stays among your private assets.
This determines how you claim the costs:
| Car as a private asset | Car as a business asset | |
|---|---|---|
| What is a business expense? | business kilometers × mileage rate | all car costs: depreciation, insurance, fuel, servicing |
| Private use | your own business, nothing to account for | add back the private share |
| Proof | logbook for business trips | receipts; logbook only if you calculate the private share based on actual use instead of the flat rate |
Claiming trips with your private car
For trips with your private car, you book a fixed amount per kilometer. It covers fuel, wear and tear, insurance and maintenance. Since January 1, 2026, the rate under the federal Professional Expenses Ordinance (in German; annex no. 2) has been CHF 0.75 per kilometer; the Swiss Tax Conference has updated its model expense regulations (in German) to the same amount. The canton of Zurich, for example, also specifies 75 centimes per business kilometer from the 2026 tax period in its directive for the self-employed (ZStB 17.1, in German). Cantons may differ in the details - if in doubt, ask your tax office.
Example: electrician with a private car
Reto runs a small electrical business as a sole proprietorship (Einzelfirma). He mostly uses his car privately but regularly drives to customers. In 2026, he logs 4'800 business kilometers. He books 4'800 km × CHF 0.75 = CHF 3'600 as a business expense. His logbook documents the trips.
The logbook: what goes in it
You must be able to document any expense that reduces your taxes. For business trips, this means every trip should be verifiable. A good logbook records for each trip:
- the date,
- start and destination,
- the business purpose, for example "installation at customer Meier" or "materials from the wholesaler",
- the kilometers driven - for a round trip, the full distance.
Ideally, log your trips the same day. Lists reconstructed from memory later are tedious to put together and less convincing if the tax office has questions. The logbook is part of your business records and, like receipts, must be kept for 10 years under the Swiss Code of Obligations (Art. 958f CO).
Company car: the private share
If the car belongs to the business, you book all its costs as expenses. But since you also drive it privately, you add back a private share. The flat rate is 0.9% of the purchase price (excluding VAT) per month, at least CHF 150 per month - i.e. 10.8% per year (Directive ZStB 17.1 of the canton of Zurich). This flat rate has applied since 2022 and also covers your commute. Instead of the flat rate, you can calculate the private share based on actual use, using a complete logbook.
Example: a delivery van with a purchase price of CHF 40'000 excluding VAT results in a private share of CHF 360 per month or CHF 4'320 per year.
If you are registered for VAT and have deducted input tax on the car, you must also account for the private share in your VAT return. The Federal Tax Administration FTA (ESTV) explains this in VAT Info 08 "Private shares" (in German).
Employees: mileage allowance as expenses
If your employees use their own car for work, you must reimburse their costs (Art. 327b CO). The usual approach is a per-kilometer allowance set out in your expense regulations (Spesenreglement). Since 2026, the Tax Conference's model expense regulations provide for CHF 0.75. A lower rate agreed in the contract is not automatically invalid - but it must cover the actual costs. Expenses that reimburse actual outlays are not salary and are not subject to social security contributions.
Re-billing trips to customers
If you agree with a customer that you will charge for travel, list it as a separate line item on the invoice - for example "Mileage 12.03.2026: Bülach → Winterthur, 52 km at CHF 0.85". You set the rate you charge customers yourself; it can be higher than the tax rate.
If you are registered for VAT, re-billed travel costs are part of the consideration for your service and subject to VAT (Art. 24 of the Value Added Tax Act, VATA). A tax-exempt "pass-through item" (Durchlaufposten) only exists if you pay something in your customer's name and for their account - which is not the case with your own car.
How it works in Easly
In Easly's "Mileage" area, you record a trip in seconds - and your logbook is ready at the end of the year:
- Enter start and destination, and the distance fills in automatically: The address search finds the places, and Easly suggests the distance based on the route (OpenStreetMap). "Round trip" doubles it.
- Select a customer: The destination is filled in with the customer's address. You always enter the reason for the trip; the trip type is optional.
- Rate prefilled: You set the mileage rate once in the settings - CHF 0.75 for 2026. You can adjust it for each trip.
- Filter and export: By customer, period or keyword; Easly shows the number of trips and the total kilometers and amount. You can download the filtered list - for example the whole year - as an Excel file.
- Re-bill to customers: On the invoice, you add the customer's unbilled trips as "mileage items" with date, route, kilometers and rate. Each trip can only be billed once.
- In the income statement: The trips are included automatically as "Vehicle/travel costs (mileage)".
Frequently asked questions
Which mileage rate applies in 2026?
Since January 1, 2026, the federal Professional Expenses Ordinance has set CHF 0.75 per kilometer for private cars; previously it was CHF 0.70. The Tax Conference's model expense regulations and, for example, the Zurich directive for the self-employed use the same rate. Cantonal variations are possible.
Do I have to keep a logbook?
For business trips with your private car, yes: the tax office can ask you to prove your business kilometers. With a company car, you only need one if you want to calculate the private share based on actual use rather than with the flat rate of 0.9% per month.
Do I have to charge VAT on re-billed trips?
If you are registered for VAT, yes. Travel costs you re-bill to a customer are part of the consideration for your service (Art. 24 VATA) and are taxed at the same rate.
Can I also manage a company car in Easly?
The mileage feature is designed for trips with your private car. You record the costs of a company car - fuel, servicing, insurance - as receipts in the category "Vehicle & travel expenses". Easly doesn't calculate the private share; you or your accountant (Treuhand) book it separately.
Information as of: see above. Sources: Federal Act on Direct Federal Taxation (Art. 18 DBG, in German), Professional Expenses Ordinance (SR 642.118.1, annex no. 2, version of September 10, 2025, in force since January 1, 2026, in German), Directive of the Zurich Cantonal Tax Office on the private share of car costs (ZStB 17.1, valid from the 2026 tax period; in German), Swiss Code of Obligations (Art. 327b and 958f CO), Value Added Tax Act (Art. 24 VATA) and VAT Info 08 of the FTA (in German). Cantonal practice may differ. This article is not a substitute for tax advice.