Team analysing financial charts around a table

Tax advisory for architecture firms in Sevelen: what every SME should know

Tax advisory for architecture firms in Sevelen rests on three pillars: federal law that applies across Switzerland, cantonal deadlines worth knowing, and tools that eliminate re-keying. This guide puts it all in order, fact by fact.

The Swiss legal frame for tax advisory

Swiss accounting law has been unified in the Code of Obligations since 2013: the same bookkeeping rules (art. 957a CO) and retention rules (art. 958f CO — 10 years for books, vouchers and reports) apply regardless of legal form. Tax advisory sits squarely within this frame, including for companies based in Sevelen.

Late books show from the outside: poorly calibrated tax instalments, provisional filings, slow answers to the bank. Staying current is also a matter of image.

Outsource tax advisory or keep it in-house?

Outsourcing tax advisory to a fiduciary frees up time and secures compliance; keeping it in-house preserves a continuous view and costs less in fees. The best answer is often hybrid: the company captures and digitises as it goes, the fiduciary supervises, closes the books and represents the company before the authorities.

A clear mandate agreement states who does what by when: document handover, posting deadlines, filing calendar, and responsibility for delays. A shared platform (same data, same document archive) between the company and its fiduciary eliminates binder ping-pong and duplicate entry.

A Swiss SME's accounting calendar

Every deadline has an owner: an obligation “of everyone” is kept by no one. Naming one person per deadline family (VAT, payroll, taxes) closes the gaps.

An SME in Sevelen that holds its calendar twelve months straight changes its position: fewer official reminders, easier extensions — and tax advisory stops being a source of worry.

Pen pointing at a bar chart on paper

Swiss VAT: rates, threshold and filings

Three rates coexist in Switzerland: 8.1% for most supplies, 2.6% for everyday essentials and 3.8% for accommodation. Businesses staying under CHF 100,000 a year are exempt from registration but may opt in voluntarily — useful to reclaim input VAT on investments.

The right reflex for tax advisory: file every supplier invoice with its VAT on receipt. Forgotten input VAT is money definitively lost once the limitation period runs out.

Sevelen: what changes, what does not

Sole proprietorship, Sàrl or SA in Sevelen: the AHV contact remains the competent compensation office, and taxes follow the scales of the canton St. Gallen.

Federal deadlines do not move in Sevelen: VAT within 60 days, salary declaration in January, 10-year record retention — postal code 9475 changes nothing about those rules, only the sender's address.

Frequently asked questions

Which social contributions does a Swiss employer pay?

AHV/IV/APG: 5.3% employer share (the same is withheld from the employee); unemployment insurance: 1.1% each up to CHF 148,200 a year; occupational pension (LPP) by age and plan (employer at least 50%); occupational accident insurance paid by the employer; family allowances by canton. For an employer in Sevelen, family allowances follow the canton's rates.

Can tax advisory be automated with AI?

Largely, yes: automatic document reading, posting suggestions, bank reconciliation via QR references and VAT exports. Human approval remains essential — AI prepares, the professional checks. That is exactly how MyFiducia.ai approaches tax advisory.

Do you need a fiduciary for tax advisory, or can you do it yourself?

Both are defensible. Below CHF 500,000 of revenue, a sole proprietorship may keep simplified accounts itself. As soon as payroll, VAT and a closing with tax stakes are involved, professional support prevents mistakes that cost more than the fees. With a shared platform, the fiduciary does not even need to be in Sevelen.

What is the difference between a limited and an ordinary audit?

The ordinary audit applies to companies exceeding, for two consecutive years, two of three thresholds: CHF 20 million balance sheet total, CHF 40 million revenue, 250 full-time positions. Others fall under the limited audit, and those with no more than ten full-time positions on annual average can opt out with all shareholders' consent. These federal thresholds do not depend on the registered seat — in Sevelen as anywhere.

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Switch to accounting that keeps itself up to date

MyFiducia.ai automates tax advisory for businesses in Sevelen: AI-read documents, posting suggestions, VAT and exports ready for your fiduciary. Try the platform or browse our other guides.

The application is operated in French.

    Tax advisory for architecture firms in Sevelen — Swiss guide