Professional expenses in Switzerland: what counts and when you need receipts
Professional expenses in Switzerland (Berufsauslagen): commuting, meals, the flat rate for other work costs, weekly commuters and training. When receipts are needed and when not.
In short: professional expenses in Switzerland, called Berufsauslagen or Berufskosten, are the costs you incur as an employee because of your job: commuting, meals away from home, other work costs such as work clothing or professional literature, weekly commuting and training. Commuting, meals and other work costs can be deducted at federal level using flat rates, without receipts. You need receipts for your public transport pass, for actual costs above the flat rate, for training and for a room at your place of work.
For most employees, professional expenses are the largest deduction in the Swiss tax return, often several thousand francs. Yet many people leave money on the table because they do not know what counts, or because they assume they need receipts for everything.
This article shows which work expenses you can deduct on your Swiss tax return, which flat rates the federal government provides and where you really need receipts. The figures apply to direct federal tax as of 2026; the cantons have their own limits, often higher, which are listed in your canton's guide to the tax return (the Wegleitung). The federal legal basis is Art. 26 of the Federal Direct Tax Act (DBG) together with the Professional Expenses Ordinance.
Which professional expenses can you deduct?
You can deduct all costs that are necessary to earn your employment income and that your employer does not reimburse. The law names four groups:
- Commuting costs between home and place of work
- Additional meal costs away from home and for shift or night work
- Other professional expenses: work clothing, tools, professional literature, work-related software, a private study, professional association fees
- Costs of weekly commuting: a room at the place of work and additional meals
On top of that come job-related education and training costs, which the law lists as a general deduction but which in practice go on the same form.
Not deductible are costs your employer reimburses (expense claims), living costs such as ordinary clothing, and costs of maintaining your professional standing, for example a suit for client meetings that you could also wear privately.
How do the flat rates for commuting and meals work?
Commuting and meals are deducted at fixed rates, and you do not need till receipts for them. The overview for direct federal tax:
| Professional expense | Federal rate (as of 2026) | Receipt needed? |
|---|---|---|
| Commuting home to work | Actual public transport cost or mileage rate, max. CHF 3,200 per year | Public transport pass yes, car needs justification |
| Meals away from home | CHF 15 per day, max. CHF 3,200 per year | No |
| Meals with a subsidised canteen | CHF 7.50 per day, max. CHF 1,600 per year | No |
| Other professional expenses | 3% of net salary, min. CHF 2,000, max. CHF 4,000 | No, unless claiming actual costs |
For commuting, public transport is the default. You can only claim the car if public transport is not reasonable, for example because there is no connection, because it would add more than an hour to your daily travel, or because you need the car for work. In that case you calculate with the mileage rate, and the federal cap is CHF 3,200. Many cantons have higher caps or none at all.
For meals, the question is whether you could eat at home. If you live less than half an hour from work or have a long lunch break, you usually do not get the deduction. Whether your employer subsidises meals is shown on the salary certificate (box G).
Example: you work 220 days a year, hold a route pass for CHF 2,400 and eat lunch out with no canteen. Commuting CHF 2,400, meals 220 times CHF 15, so CHF 3,200 (the maximum), other professional expenses on a CHF 75,000 net salary at the flat rate CHF 2,250. Total CHF 7,850, and the only receipt is the invoice for the pass.
When do you need receipts for professional expenses?
You need receipts whenever you claim actual costs instead of a flat rate, and for anything the tax office cannot verify on its own. In practice:
- Public transport pass: the invoice or purchase receipt for your GA travelcard, route pass or regional pass. This is the single most important receipt for professional expenses.
- Car journeys: evidence of the kilometres (home, place of work, working days) and the reason why public transport is not reasonable. You do not need fuel receipts; the mileage rate covers everything.
- Actual other professional expenses: only if your real costs exceed the flat rate. Then every receipt: work clothing, tools, professional books, software, association fees. On a net salary of CHF 60,000 the flat rate is CHF 2,000, so you must be able to prove more than that for it to be worthwhile.
- Weekly commuting: the rental contract for the room at your place of work and evidence of the journeys home.
- Training: the institution's invoice, proof of payment, receipts for materials and travel.
If you choose actual costs, be consistent: either the flat rate or receipts, not both for the same category. And a tip from practice: only look at actual costs in years with larger purchases, for example a tool set for CHF 1,800 or safety shoes and work clothing for CHF 900. In ordinary years the flat rate is more convenient and often higher.
Weekly commuting and home office: the two special cases
Weekly commuters can deduct, in addition to meals, the cost of a room at the place of work and the weekly journey home. The condition is that returning home every day is not reasonable. What is deductible is the local cost of a room, not of a whole flat. A higher meal rate applies because you eat two meals a day away from home; the exact amounts are in the Professional Expenses Ordinance.
Home office is only deductible at federal level if you need a separate study because your employer does not provide a workplace, and you use that room mainly for work. If you work from home by choice, you usually get no extra deduction, but the flat rate for other professional expenses remains. The details and the cantonal differences are in home office deduction in Switzerland. Note also that for days worked at home you cannot deduct commuting or meals; the tax office reduces the number of working days accordingly.
How do you collect receipts for professional expenses without effort?
The easiest way is to collect the few relevant receipts digitally in their own category as they arise. For professional expenses that is often only ten to twenty documents a year: the pass invoice, course invoices, a few receipts for work clothing or professional literature.
A workflow that holds up: create a "Work expenses" category, photograph each receipt with your phone at the time of purchase, file emailed invoices as PDFs. Belego stores every scan as a PDF, reads amount, date and merchant, and its annual overview shows you whether your actual costs exceed the flat rate. In January you export the category as a ZIP with PDFs and a CSV list, and that part of the tax return is done. For the other deductions available, see tax deductions in Switzerland, and the full list to tick off is in the receipt checklist for the Swiss tax return.
Important: expenses your employer reimburses do not belong in the tax return. What counts on business trips is covered in business travel expenses.
Note: this article is general guidance, not tax advice. The law, your canton's guide and the information provided by your tax authority or your Treuhänder (the Swiss term for a trustee or accountant) are what count.
Frequently asked questions
Can I deduct professional expenses if I work part time?
Yes, but proportionally. Commuting and meals are calculated with your actual working days, so at 60 percent with around 130 days instead of 220. The flat rate for other professional expenses depends on net salary and therefore drops automatically, but the federal minimum of CHF 2,000 applies to part-time work as well. With several employers you declare the professional expenses per job.
Do work clothing and shoes count as professional expenses?
Only if you need them exclusively for work: safety shoes, overalls, chef's jackets, uniforms. Ordinary clothing you could also wear privately does not count, even if your job requires a well-groomed appearance. The cost of real work clothing is already included in the flat rate; you can only deduct it separately if your total other professional expenses exceed the flat rate.
Do I have to prove professional expenses every year?
You have to declare them every year, but you only submit receipts if the guide or the tax office asks for them. Keep the pass invoice and course invoices anyway, because the tax office can still request receipts after the assessment. As a rule of thumb, keep receipts for professional expenses at least until the final assessment plus a few years.
What about professional expenses for a side job?
For a secondary employment there is a separate flat rate of 20 percent of the secondary income, with a federal minimum and maximum. Here too you can claim actual costs if they are higher. Commuting to the side job only counts if you travel there directly from home and not from your main place of work.