Municipalities levy a visitor’s tax. The net income raised from this is used exclusively to finance the information service, tourist facilities and events that are primarily in the interest of visitors. 

The tourism organisation Gstaad Saanenland Tourismus (GST) enforces the regulations on behalf of the respective municipality and is responsible for collecting the visitor’s tax. It is supervised by the relevant municipal council and reports on its activities annually.

Visitor’s tax is levied against natural persons who stay overnight in one of the municipalities within destination Gstaad and do not have their tax domicile here. Owning property in one of the municipalities does not exempt a visitor from paying visitor’s tax.

Destination Gstaad encompasses the municipalities of Gsteig, Lauenen, Saanen and Zweisimmen

The taxable object is the guest’s overnight stay. The visitor’s tax is levied on stays in hotels, guest houses, boarding houses, group accommodation, holiday chalets, holiday apartments, private rooms and at campsites (list not exhaustive). 

Owners and beneficial owners who have recently purchased a holiday apartment/chalet in a municipality within destination Gstaad must notify Gstaad Saanenland Tourism within 14 days, without being prompted to do so, and arrange how they will settle their visitor’s tax payments. This reporting obligation also applies to long-term tenants moving into a municipality.

Please complete the declaration form, sign it and send it to kurtaxen@gstaad.ch or post it to Gstaad Saanenland Tourismus, Promenade 41, 3780 Gstaad.

You will then receive all the information and the login details for your Gstaad Card.

As a rule, we receive information about changes of ownership from the responsible municipality directly (albeit with significant delays). Therefore, you are also welcome to notify us of the changes yourself and send us the contact details of the purchaser so that we can make the corresponding amendments. 

Yes. People who are exempt from paying visitor’s tax include those staying overnight free of charge in the household of a tax resident in the municipality, registered weekly or short-term residents, patients in hospitals and care homes, people staying overnight in SAC cabins, and members of the army and civil defence services who are accommodated in billets. 

Visitor’s tax is charged by accommodation providers. Owners, beneficial owners and long-term tenants of holiday chalets, holiday apartments, etc. pay visitor’s tax as an annual lump sum.

Cantonal accommodation tax is due as soon as you rent out your apartment/chalet to different guests for a fee (para-hotel industry). Exception: the tax is waived if the property is rented out to the same tenants for more than three months.

When you receive your annual tax bill, you will also be given the login details for your digital Gstaad Card. The Gstaad Card gives you various special deals. An overview of all the discounts and information can be found at: www.gstaad.ch/gstaadcard.

You can also find a separate set of FAQs about the Gstaad Card (guest card) here. 

No. According to the visitor’s tax regulations, owners, beneficial owners and long-term tenants who pay the tax in the form of an annual lump sum are exempt from the registration obligation, as are their guests.

Municipalities levy a tourism promotion tax (TPT). The net income raised from this is used exclusively to cover expenses that benefit taxpayers (e.g. market development, sales of tourist services or promotional events in the fields of tourism, sport and culture). 

The tourism organisation Gstaad Saanenland Tourism (GST) enforces the regulations on behalf of the respective municipality and is responsible for collecting the tourism promotion tax. It is supervised by the relevant municipal council and reports on its activities annually. The Audit Committee (AC) is responsible for monitoring its endeavours.

TPT is levied against:

• Legal entities with their registered office or place of business in the respective municipality.
• Self-employed natural persons with their business or establishment in the respective municipality.
• Owners and holders of holiday apartments/chalets, rooms and chalets who rent them out for a fee to tenants subject to tourist tax (para-hotel industry)

• Tourism organisations
• Primary producers in the fields of agriculture and forestry
• Legal entities with exclusively charitable or public service functions 

TPT is calculated on the basis of tourism dependence and value added per employee in the industry. In the para-hotel industry, TPT determined by the number of rooms in accordance with the tourist tax regulations of the respective municipality. The relevant municipal council determines the corresponding calculation bases at periodic intervals.

Lump-sum TPT is calculated on the basis of the number of available beds (sleeping places) for holiday homes that do not provide catering services. 

The bases/tariffs can be found in the regulations of the respective municipalities. 

Yes, temporary staff, subcontractors and temporary employees are counted as employees if they are not themselves subject to the TPT regulations.

No, all months must be declared, including holidays.

TPT is payable annually. GST issues an annual invoice to taxpayers (based on the assessment).

If we do not hear back from you, we will send you a reminder about your declaration. Your operations will be assessed after a certain period of time.

The owner is liable for this.