A VAT exemption (German: Steuerbefreiung, French: Exonération de TVA) applies when a supply of goods or services is legally outside the scope of VAT or explicitly exempt under Swiss or EU VAT law. Exempt supplies must still be declared on an invoice, but with a 0% tax rate and a mandatory exemption reason.
In structured e-invoices (EN 16931, UBL, CII), a VAT exemption is declared using a tax category code and a reason text or code:
| Tax category code | Description |
|---|---|
| E | Exempt from VAT |
| O | Services outside scope of tax |
| Z | Zero-rated (different from exempt) |
| AE | VAT reverse charge |
| K | Intra-community supply (EU) |
In Swiss domestic invoicing the most common exemptions are for financial services, healthcare, education, and export supplies.
Key facts
- Must include: exemption reason text (e.g. "Export supply Art. 23 MWSTG")
- EN 16931 element:
BT-121(VAT exemption reason text) andBT-120(reason code) - Swiss legal basis: MWSTG (Mehrwertsteuergesetz) Art. 21–23
- Zero-rated ≠ exempt: zero-rated supplies allow input tax recovery; pure exemptions do not