Automatic Exchange of Crypto Tax Data: Switzerland's CARF Timeline

By Thomas Contin, Managing Partner

The OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) extends the automatic exchange of tax information to crypto-assets. Crypto service providers collect data on their clients and transactions and report them to the tax authority, which exchanges them with the countries where the clients are resident.

The Swiss legal basis

On 26 September 2025 Parliament approved the multilateral agreement on CARF and the amendment of the Federal Act on the International Automatic Exchange of Information in Tax Matters (AEOIA). The amendments to the AEOIA and its ordinance entered into force on 1 January 2026, together with the update of the Common Reporting Standard.

Crypto provisions postponed

On 26 November 2025 the Federal Council decided that the provisions on crypto-assets would not apply in 2026. The reason is that Parliament has not yet approved the list of partner states: the committee of the National Council suspended its deliberations in November 2025. CARF will therefore apply at the earliest from 1 January 2027, with a first exchange the following year, and Switzerland will receive no crypto data from abroad for 2026.

The Federal Council's dispatch of June 2025 proposed 74 partner states, including all EU Member States, the United Kingdom and most G20 countries. The United States, China and Saudi Arabia are not among them.

Who will have to report

Reporting crypto-asset service providers: exchanges, brokers, some wallet providers and other businesses that carry out exchange transactions for clients. They will have to register, identify the tax residence of their clients, collect transaction data and report annually. Custody alone does not trigger CARF, but most custodians also offer exchange.

What holders should expect

For Swiss residents, crypto-assets were already subject to wealth tax and had to be declared. CARF adds transparency across borders: data on foreign residents will flow to their home countries, and data on Swiss residents will flow from abroad once the exchange is active. Undeclared holdings become harder to keep out of sight, and voluntary disclosure remains possible only before the authority learns of them.

Conclusion

The postponement is a window, not a reprieve. Providers should build their onboarding and data processes now, and holders with undeclared assets should regularise them while they can. Advisorn assists crypto businesses with CARF readiness and individuals with the tax treatment and declaration of their crypto-assets.