Swiss banking is excellent — and structurally wrong for US persons. The default products (fund-based pillar 3a, UCITS ETFs, Swiss mutual funds) are PFICs to the IRS, and Swiss banks report you under FATCA either way. This hub covers the whole corridor: what's a trap, what's fine, and how to catch up if you're behind.
The scoping interview is free and maps the forms; the assessment is the paid, per-year review. Or jump to the Swiss PFIC checker.
The corridor in three problems
A cash 3a is just a foreign account. An investment 3a — VIAC, finpension, frankly, or your bank's fund version — holds Swiss-domiciled funds: PFICs, each wanting its own Form 8621, with the punitive §1291 default. The CHF ~7k you deduct on the Swiss side can cost you multiples of that in US filing complexity.
The full pillar 3a guide →Swissquote blocks retail purchases of US-domiciled ETFs, UBS and Swisscanto funds are Swiss-domiciled, and most robo/3a providers won't take US persons. Interactive Brokers is the usual way out: US-domiciled ETFs (not PFICs) plus US tax statements. What you hold matters more than where you hold it.
Broker-by-broker guides →Swiss banks report US-person accounts to the IRS. The W-9 letter isn't an accusation — it's a disclosure notice. There's no IRS deadline for catching up, but unanswered letters end in frozen services or closed accounts, so in practice the bank forces the timeline. The catch-up path is calm and penalty-free for non-willful cases.
FATCA letters, explained →The US-Switzerland totalization agreement assigns social-security coverage to one country. Paying AHV/AVS in Switzerland with a certificate of coverage generally means no US self-employment tax — but you need the certificate, not just the AHV bill. Employer pillar 2 has its own reporting quirks (FBAR, sometimes 8938).
Pillar 2 & totalization →The US-Switzerland income tax treaty resolves double taxation on most income via the Foreign Tax Credit and assigns pension taxation — but it doesn't make PFICs go away and the saving clause preserves US taxation of citizens. We cite the articles we rely on, position by position.
The Switzerland treaty desk →The Swiss tax map
A US person in Switzerland meets the same US rules at different moments — the first return from Zurich, a bank's W-9 letter, a pillar 3a opened on a Swiss adviser's advice, a GmbH. Each row names what that moment usually reaches on the US side and the free check or guide that reads your own facts.
01I live in Switzerland and file every year
The annual return, the FBAR and Form 8938 on CHF accounts, the foreign tax credit on Swiss income tax, and the pension and fund questions the other rows cover.
02I moved here and stopped filing — or never started
Where the failure was non-willful, the Streamlined Foreign Offshore procedure: three return years and six FBAR years in one submission, with no failure-to-file penalty. Eligibility turns on the published gates.
03My Swiss bank sent a FATCA letter or asked for a W-9
The bank already reports the account under FATCA; the letter's deadline is the bank's, not the IRS's. The question it raises is your own FBAR and Form 8938 position, and whether the returns behind them exist.
04I have a pillar 2 or a pillar 3a
A pillar 2 is generally a reportable foreign account on the FBAR and Form 8938; its US tax treatment turns on the treaty's pension article and parts of it are genuinely unsettled. An investment-based 3a usually holds Swiss funds — the PFIC question — and the 3a wrapper is generally not treaty-protected the way an employer pension is.
05I hold Swiss funds, or my broker is Swissquote, UBS or PostFinance
A Swiss-domiciled fund or a UCITS ETF is a PFIC for a US person: a Form 8621 per fund per year, and the §1291 regime on a sale unless an election was made in time.
06My broker restricted my account, or moved me to Interactive Brokers
A restriction is usually the broker's US-person policy, not a tax event — but the funds you were moved into or out of decide whether Form 8621 follows, and a forced sale can be a §1291 disposition.
07I'm self-employed or freelance in Switzerland
The income is still reported on Schedule C. Under the US–Swiss totalization agreement, paying AHV/AVS usually means no US self-employment tax — documented by a certificate of coverage; without one, the IRS default position is that the tax applies.
08I own a Swiss GmbH or AG
A US person owning enough of a foreign corporation files Form 5471 with the return — due whether or not any tax is owed — and the GILTI and Subpart F questions follow from the ownership share.
09I'm considering renouncing
Renunciation needs five years of compliance certified on Form 8854, and the covered-expatriate tests decide whether an exit tax applies. Years behind are usually cured first, through Streamlined where it fits.
10I don't know which of these apply to me
The paid assessment tests each year against its own published threshold and names the forms and deadlines that follow — an answer before anyone quotes preparation, and credited toward it.
Each row names what a moment usually reaches, not what you owe; the free checks read your own facts, and nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Free tool · no account
Pick your provider (Swissquote, IBKR, UBS, VIAC, finpension, frankly…), optionally paste ISINs, and see what's a PFIC and what isn't — with the domicile rule that decides it.
Result
Tell us what you hold
Pick the closest match on the left, or paste your ISINs below and we'll flag each one.
More for US taxpayers in Switzerland: The Switzerland desk.
Educational estimate, not tax advice. Domicile is the fund's legal home, not the broker or exchange you used. Broker and provider policies change — confirm current terms with your provider before acting.
Want to see one mapped first? US citizen in Switzerland — VIAC and Swissquote — an illustrative case run through the same engine.
What to file from Switzerland
Worldwide income on Form 1040, Swiss tax credited on Form 1116 (or earned income excluded on Form 2555), the Swiss accounts on the FBAR and, where the thresholds are met, Form 8938.
Three returns and six FBARs under the foreign Streamlined procedure when the two gates are met; late FBAR filing with a reasonable-cause statement when only the FBARs were missed.
UBS, a cantonal bank, PostFinance, a cash pillar 3a: each is a foreign financial account, and the FBAR test is the combined peak across all of them, in USD at the Treasury year-end rate.
The return attachment with its own, higher thresholds — and the report your Swiss bank makes under the FATCA agreement whether or not you file.
A Swiss fund, a fund-based pillar 3a or a UCITS ETF reported without its Form 8621 leaves the return's statute of limitations open for that year. Amend when the years were otherwise right; Streamlined when they were not.
A US person holding 10% or more of a Swiss company can owe Form 5471 with its schedules — a filing the Swiss side never prompts. The information-return penalty runs per form, per year.
The occupational pension and the private one are treated differently on the US side; the fund-based 3a is the PFIC trap, the pillar 2 is mostly a reporting and treaty question.
Catch-up · Switzerland
A US citizen or green-card holder living in Switzerland who has not filed US returns or FBARs can usually come current through a published IRS route rather than a penalty case. Which route depends on whether returns were filed at all, whether the failure was non-willful, and what Swiss accounts and investments the open years contain. Nothing is counting down — no IRS-announced end date is currently published.
What changes a submission from Switzerland
Swiss bank, PostFinance and pillar 3a accounts count toward the FBAR aggregate, and a fund-based pillar 3a or a UCITS ETF adds a Form 8621 to every open year — the count of funds, not the size of the balance, is what sets the tier.
Accounts readers here usually have to count: UBS or a cantonal bank account · PostFinance · Pillar 3a · Swissquote.
Programme status
Active — no announced end date
Verified against the IRS instructions and the IRM on October 6, 2026. Is the Streamlined procedure ending?
The eligibility check is free and screens the published gates; the case assessment is the paid, per-year review that names the forms and deadlines for your own years.
Switzerland-specific
Most Americans in Switzerland who discover their US obligations are years behind, non-willfully. The Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures exist for exactly this: three years of returns, six years of FBARs, penalties waived. Read the Switzerland-specific guide.
The Switzerland desk
FBAR for Americans in Switzerland
What the FBAR is, when your Swiss accounts trigger it, and how to prepare — without guessing your way through it.
FATCA & Form 8938 for Americans in Switzerland
How FATCA affects U.S. persons with Swiss accounts, how Form 8938 differs from the FBAR, and what Swiss banks report.
PFICs & Swiss Investments for U.S. Persons
Why Swiss and European funds are often PFICs, what Form 8621 means, and how to check your holdings before filing.
Swiss Bank Accounts & U.S. Tax
What having a Swiss bank account means for your U.S. taxes — reporting, the $10,000 question, and FATCA.
Pillar 3a for U.S. Citizens
A Swiss Pillar 3a can raise separate U.S. questions about the plan, treaty treatment, underlying investments and foreign-account reporting. Here's how to identify what needs review.
Swiss Pillar 2 (BVG/LPP) & U.S. tax
How the Swiss occupational pension (2nd pillar) is reported to the IRS, and the areas that are genuinely unsettled.
Streamlined Filing for Americans in Switzerland
Behind on U.S. taxes from Switzerland? An overview of the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures and who they may help.
Dual Swiss-U.S. Citizens & U.S. Tax
What dual Swiss-American citizens need to know about U.S. filing obligations, reporting, and catching up.
The US–Switzerland Tax Treaty: What It Covers for Americans in Switzerland
What the 1996 income tax treaty changes for Americans in Switzerland, where its saving clause matters, and how separate domestic rules can still apply.
Swissquote & PFICs for U.S. citizens
Why Swissquote steers U.S. persons away from U.S.-domiciled ETFs — and how the funds you can buy instead become Form 8621 PFICs.
Interactive Brokers (IBKR) & PFICs for U.S. citizens in Switzerland
Why IBKR is the go-to broker for Americans in Switzerland — and the one PFIC trap that remains even there.
UBS, Swisscanto funds & PFICs for U.S. citizens
How UBS handles U.S. persons, and why UBS and Swisscanto fund-based products can be PFICs that need Form 8621.
Form 8621 for PFICs in Switzerland
Why Americans in Switzerland end up with multiple Forms 8621 — from UCITS ETFs to a fund-based Pillar 3a — and how to produce them.
By city
Also for Switzerland: the Swiss-US tax checklist and the treaty desk.
Related
The layers a US return runs through don't change by country — what changes is which local accounts, funds and pensions actually trigger them. Here's how Switzerland compares.
Primary sources (Cornell Legal Information Institute for the US Code and CFR; IRS.gov for forms, procedures, and treaty documents). This page is general information, not individualized tax or legal advice.