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Invoicing as a private individual in Switzerland: what is allowed

Yes, a private individual can issue an invoice in Switzerland, with no company and no number. What it contains, the CHF 2'500 social insurance threshold, taxes, and when to register.

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In short. Yes, you can issue an invoice as a private individual. You need no registered business, no permit and no business number: your first name, surname and address are enough, and the invoice mentions no VAT. Two things remain: declare this income in your tax return, and register with the OASI compensation office (AHV/AVS) if your side activity earns you more than CHF 2'500 a year. Our free invoice template makes the invoice in two minutes.

Is a private individual allowed to invoice?

Yes. No Swiss law reserves invoices for businesses, and there is no "status" to apply for before sending the first one. You do not have to be in the commercial register: registration only becomes mandatory from CHF 100'000 of annual turnover (Art. 931 of the Code of Obligations).

Two caveats:

  • some professions are regulated and need a licence, however you invoice;
  • if you are not Swiss, check that your permit allows self-employed work.

What your invoice contains

  • your first name, surname and address;
  • your customer's name and address;
  • the invoice date, and a number if you write several;
  • what you supplied, and when;
  • the amount to pay and the payment term;
  • your IBAN or, better, a QR-bill.

What you do not write: a VAT rate or amount, a VAT number, a business number. You have none, and you need none. The details are in our guide "How to write an invoice in Switzerland", and the VAT case in "Invoice without VAT in Switzerland".

Example. Nora, an office employee in Neuchâtel, translates a report for an association in the evenings. Her invoice shows: Nora Favre, her address · the association and its address · Invoice no. 1 of 13 November 2026 · Translation of a 20-page report, delivered on 10 November 2026 · Total: CHF 600.00 · Payable by 13 December 2026 · her IBAN.

No VAT, no business number. Nora will declare these CHF 600 in her tax return.

Social insurance: the CHF 2'500 a year threshold

Your situation What happens
Side activity, up to CHF 2'500 a year No OASI contributions, unless you ask to pay them
Side activity, more than CHF 2'500 a year You register with the compensation office of your canton and pay contributions
Main activity You register from the start, whatever the amount

The rule is in Art. 19 of the OASI Ordinance: when income from self-employment carried on as a side activity does not exceed CHF 2'500 per calendar year, the contribution is only collected at the insured person's request. The amount has been CHF 2'500 since 2025; the former figure of CHF 2'300 is still often quoted.

Above the threshold, the contribution is calculated on your income. For a small income, expect the minimum contribution of CHF 530 a year (leaflet 2.02 of the OASI/DI Information Centre, as of 2026).

Self-employed or employee? It is not your decision

The compensation office decides, case by case, whether your activity counts as self-employment, and what you agreed with your customer does not bind it. It looks at whether you work in your own name and for your own account, organise your work freely and bear the risk.

The sensitive point: a single customer. Someone working for several clients is generally treated as self-employed; someone working for only one is generally treated as that client's employee (leaflet 2.02). In that case it is for the client to declare your pay as a salary and pay the contributions, and an invoice changes nothing. If you always invoice the same company, talk to it before going on.

Taxes

What you earn this way is taxable income, from the first franc: there is no threshold as for social insurance (Art. 18 of the Federal Act on Direct Federal Taxation). You enter it in your tax return as income from a side activity.

Keep a copy of your invoices and the receipts for your expenses (materials, travel): you will need them to fill in your return.

If you are also employed

You may have an activity alongside your job, as long as it does not compete with your employer (Art. 321a para. 3 of the Code of Obligations). Read your contract again: it may require you to announce the activity or obtain consent.

When your activity grows

From What changes
More than CHF 2'500 a year Registration with the OASI compensation office
CHF 100'000 of turnover a year Entry in the commercial register and VAT registration

Below CHF 100'000 you invoice without VAT. The "Must I register for VAT?" test tells you where you stand.

The most common mistakes

Often read What is true
"You need a company to invoice" No: your name and address are enough
"Below CHF 2'300 there is nothing to declare" The social insurance threshold is CHF 2'500, and it does not apply to taxes: all income is declared
"The invoice needs a business number" No, no text requires it
"With an invoice, I am self-employed" The compensation office decides that, not the invoice
"You have to add VAT" Certainly not: without VAT registration, it is forbidden

Write your invoice now

The free invoice template asks five questions: you, your customer, the invoice, what you are invoicing, VAT (answer "No"). The invoice is drawn alongside, with its QR-bill, and downloads as a PDF. No sign-up, and nothing is stored.

In Yoda Bill

If you invoice regularly, Yoda Bill remembers your customers, numbers your invoices, sends them by email and prepares the reminders. Two invoices a month are free: for a side activity, that is often enough.

Sources

Try it with a sample invoice.

The demo comes with a fictitious company, customers, quotes and invoices in every state. Nothing to install, nothing to fill in.

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