Switzerland delays OECD deferred tax asset guidance for 2024

On 21 October 2026, the Swiss Federal Council adopted an amendment to the Minimum Taxation Ordinance delaying domestic application of the OECD’s January 2025 guidance on Article 9.1 deferred tax assets. The amendment enters into force on 15 November 2026. The guidance will apply for fiscal years beginning on or after 1 January 2025, leaving fiscal years beginning in 2024 outside that new treatment.

From consultation to adopted rules

The decision implements parliamentary motions 25.4392 and 25.4399. It follows the consultation covered in our earlier Swiss analysis. The Federal Council says relatively few groups are affected and that some may face less Swiss domestic top-up tax for 2024. It also warns that foreign top-up tax can offset the domestic reduction, including for Swiss entities in EU-headed groups.

What the ordinance changes

New Article 2(3bis) excludes the January 2025 Article 9.1 amendments when interpreting the rules for fiscal years beginning before 1 January 2025. Article 2(3ter) addresses the remaining grace period: eligible reversals can be recognised subject to the OECD cap, with 2024 reversals taken into account when calculating the balance available for 2025.

After the grace period, reversals of the affected residual assets are excluded from both GloBE covered taxes and simplified covered taxes for the Transitional CbCR Safe Harbour. The delay therefore needs to be assessed alongside the subsequent-year computation.

Why groups should review the full tax position

Our practical view is that the review should cover the Swiss computation, the parent-chain position and the deferred-tax roll-forward together. A lower Swiss assessment is only one part of the group’s result. The member analysis below explains the foreign-IIR issue, illustrates the remaining grace-period cap and sets out the evidence to retain.

Official sources: Federal Council release, 21 October 2026; ordinance amendment, Article 2(3bis)–(3ter).