Gift vouchers in your studio: validity, limitation and VAT

In December a beauty studio in Lucerne sells more gift vouchers than treatments on some days. A nail studio in Lugano and a massage practice in Biel experience the same. The questions come later. In March a client puts a voucher for CHF 150 on the counter, issued more than two years ago, of which CHF 60 has already been redeemed. In Biel a client would rather use his voucher for a 60-minute massage on a facial. And the fiduciary asks how many vouchers were still open at year end.

This article describes how studios can issue and redeem vouchers: which kinds there are, what is on a voucher, what a voucher list looks like, what the Code of Obligations says about limitation periods and how the tax administration treats vouchers for VAT. It applies equally to beauty, nail and massage studios. It does not replace a legal or tax assessment of an individual case.

Value voucher or service voucher

In its VAT Info 04, the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) distinguishes two kinds of vouchers. The distinction is also practical outside tax, because it determines what applies on redemption.

• A value voucher states an amount, such as CHF 100, and no particular service. It can be used to obtain any service up to the amount.
• A service voucher names a specific or identifiable service. When redeeming, the client chooses only when, not what for. If a value is also stated (“facial worth CHF 120”), it remains a service voucher according to the FTA.

One important sentence is in the small print: if the voucher or the terms and conditions allow it to be redeemed for other services besides the one named, the FTA considers it a value voucher. Discount vouchers that only entitle the holder to a reduced price are not vouchers at all within the meaning of this practice.

Example from the studio	Kind under FTA practice
“Voucher for CHF 100”, freely redeemable	Value voucher
“Classic massage, 60 minutes”	Service voucher
“Manicure with polish worth CHF 55”	Service voucher
“Facial, per T&Cs also redeemable for products”	Value voucher
“20 per cent off the next pedicure”	not a voucher in this sense

For the client in the example who wants to swap the massage for a facial, this is the key question. A pure service voucher does not provide for such a swap. Whether the studio allows it anyway is its own decision; some studios set out a rule for this in their terms.

What is on a voucher

A voucher is quickly printed. For it to still be unambiguous two years later, many vouchers contain these details:

1. Name and address of the studio, so it is clear where it applies
2. A unique number that reappears in the voucher list
3. The date of issue
4. Amount or service, depending on the kind of voucher
5. A statement on validity, if the studio provides one
6. The rules on redemption: whether a remaining balance stays, whether it is paid out in cash, whether the voucher applies to products

Whether the name of the person receiving the gift belongs on the voucher is a matter of design. A voucher without a name can be passed on; one with a name is more personal. For redemption the studio usually does not need the name; the number is enough.

The voucher list: number, balance, redemption

The number on the voucher is only worth as much as the list it appears in. A voucher list answers three questions: Is this voucher genuine? How much is still open on it? And how much is still open in total? According to the FTA, vouchers can be issued physically or electronically; the list is the same in both cases.

Number	Issued	Kind	Amount / service	Redeemed	Open
G-0147	12.12.2024	Value	CHF 150.00	03.02.2025: CHF 60.00	CHF 90.00
G-0188	20.12.2025	Service	Massage 60 min.	–	1 massage
G-0191	22.12.2025	Value	CHF 80.00	14.01.2026: CHF 80.00	–

With value vouchers, partial redemption is common: a treatment costs less than the voucher, and the rest stays. Without a list, the remaining balance exists only on paper in the client’s hand, often handwritten. With a list it can be checked at any time, even if the voucher is lost.

The list also raises a data protection question. The Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) requires that personal data be collected only for a specific purpose that is evident and processed proportionately; data no longer needed is destroyed or anonymised (Art. 6 FADP). For a voucher list the number is often enough. The buyer’s name and contact details are recorded only if there is a reason, such as sending the voucher by post.

Validity and limitation: what the Code of Obligations says

Some studios print an expiry date on their vouchers, such as one or two years from issue. For claims, the law itself contains the general limitation rules of the Code of Obligations (CO):

• Under Art. 127 CO, claims become time-barred after ten years, unless federal civil law provides otherwise.
• Art. 128 CO lists claims that become time-barred after five years, including those for manual work and for retail sales of goods. The article does not mention vouchers.
• Under Art. 129 CO, the limitation periods of this title cannot be changed by agreement of the parties.
• Under Art. 130 CO, the limitation period starts when the claim falls due.
• Under Art. 142 CO, the judge may not take limitation into account of his own motion.

Regardless of that question, there are practical arrangements that make conversations at the counter less frequent: the expiry date clearly visible on the voucher rather than only in the T&Cs, a reminder to the client when a voucher with an open balance is about to expire, and a set rule for when someone comes after the date. Multi-visit cards and passes raise very similar questions; the same questions arise there.

Vouchers and VAT

Whether VAT plays a role at all depends on turnover. According to the FTA, the threshold for liability is CHF 100,000 in turnover from services in Switzerland and abroad; below that, a business may be able to opt in voluntarily. For a studio that is not liable, the following distinction does not matter for tax.

For studios liable for VAT, the FTA describes the treatment in VAT Info 04, section 2.7.6. It published this practice on 17 March 2025 as a first-time practice determination following a court ruling.

	Value voucher	Service voucher
On sale	like a means of payment: no service, no consideration	purchase price counts as an advance payment (Art. 40 para. 1 let. c VATA)
Tax accounted for	on redemption	in the period in which the purchase price is received
Tax on the voucher	must not be shown	no statement on this in this section
Not redeemed or time-barred	– (accounting happens only on redemption)	correction as a reduction of consideration possible (Art. 41 para. 1 VATA)

The FTA illustrates the distinction with examples. One is a card from a takeaway restaurant for ten lunches, on which one field is stamped per meal; the FTA classifies it as a service voucher. If the same card also entitles the holder to drinks taxed at a different rate, the FTA considers it a value voucher, because the tax rate cannot yet be determined at the time of sale. A package of five facials is built much like the lunch card. How a particular package or voucher is to be classified is something studios clarify with their fiduciary or directly with the FTA.

Vouchers in the books

Even without VAT, vouchers belong in the books, because between the sale in December and the treatment in March there is often a year end. The Code of Obligations sets out principles on this without mentioning vouchers:

• Sole proprietorships and partnerships with turnover below CHF 500,000 only keep books on income and expenses and on the financial position (Art. 957 para. 2 CO).
• Under Art. 958b CO, expenses and income are accrued by period and by item. Those with net revenue from supplies and services of no more than CHF 100,000 can forgo this and rely on income and expenses.
• Under Art. 958f CO, books and accounting records are kept for ten years, on paper or electronically.

How open vouchers appear in the accounts of a particular studio is a question for the fiduciary. A complete voucher list makes the answer easy, though: it shows, as of a reporting date, how much has been sold, redeemed and is still open.

Back to the three questions

With a voucher list and recorded rules, the questions from the start become manageable. The balance of the client in Lucerne is in the list, with the date of the first redemption; what applies after the printed date has passed is decided by the rule the studio has set, within the law. Whether the massage voucher in Biel applies to a facial is answered by the voucher and its terms. And the fiduciary receives the open amounts at year end as one figure instead of a box full of carbon copies.

Our idea for beauty studios does not plan vouchers for the first version; courses and packages paid in advance are part of it instead. The app will keep count of how many sessions are still open. We will build vouchers when studios ask for them.