Upload the VAT return to the FTA Portal

The VAT return is filed online, on the portal of the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA). Rather than copying the figures box by box, you import there the eCH-0217 file To Bill creates from your books. The portal recognises the company and the period, and fills in the return. A fiduciary creates the same file for their mandates from the cockpit: see Exports and eCH-0217.

Before you start

• The return has passed the Check step with no point To fix. See Prepare and file the VAT return.
• Your VAT number is filled in and valid in Accounting › VAT › Settings.
• With the net tax rate method, each rate has its FTA activity code. See Set up your company’s VAT.
• You have access to the FTA Portal, with its VAT return service (“MWST-Abrechnung pro” in German) and the right to fill in and file the company’s returns.

Download the file

1. Open Accounting › VAT, click the period, then the Finalise step.

2. Under Import the file on the FTA Portal, click Download the eCH-0217 file (1). The file is saved under a name such as ech0217-2026-07-01-2026-09-30.xml.

   

3. The Open the FTA Portal button (2) opens the portal in a new tab.

The download button stays greyed out as long as a check blocks the return or the VAT number is missing.

Import it on the FTA Portal

1. Log in to the FTA Portal and, in the VAT return service, open the VAT return for the period.
2. Choose to import an XML file and select the eCH-0217 file you have just downloaded. The portal recognises the company and the period.
3. Check the imported figures and complete them if the portal asks you to. They are the ones from the Form step in To Bill.
4. File the return on the portal. Note the payment reference it shows.

Back in To Bill, at the Finalise step: copy the FTA payment reference, then click Mark as filed and lock. To Bill freezes the return and locks the period.

To Bill transmits nothing

To Bill creates the file, but does not upload it for you: the return is only filed once it has been submitted on the FTA Portal. The 60-day deadline after the end of the period applies to both filing and payment.

Find a file again

What	Where
The file of a filed return	The period’s Finalise step: eCH-0217 file as filed. This is the exact file of the frozen return.
A correction return	The Finalise step, Correct this return card: the XML button next to each correction.
The annual reconciliation	The Annual reconciliation tab: eCH-0217 file, once the reconciliation is filed.
Any period that is over	Accounting › Exports, VAT file for the FTA Portal (eCH-0217) card.

In Accounting › Exports, choose the Period (1) and the type, Return or Correction, then click Download the file. The amount due to the FTA is shown after the download.

For your fiduciary

A fiduciary who follows your company downloads the same file from their cockpit, on the mandate’s page. See The cockpit.

What the file contains

The file follows the eCH-0217 standard (“E-MWST”), version 2.0.0, the only one the FTA Portal still accepts. It contains:

• the company’s UID, the period and the type of return: return, correction or annual reconciliation;
• the accounting basis: on invoices or on payments;
• the turnover (box 200) and its deductions (220 to 280);
• with the effective method, the turnover and tax by rate, the acquisition tax and the input tax (400 to 420);
• with the net tax rate method, the turnover by rate, with its activity code;
• the amount to pay or to receive.

When the download fails

Message	What to do
The VAT number is missing	Add your number in Accounting › VAT › Settings.
The number is not valid	Correct it: it must have the form CHE-123.456.789, and its last digit must match the first eight.
Points are to fix	Go back to the Check step and settle each point To fix: VAT entries without a code, 0% sales to classify, documents that differ from the books.
An activity code is missing	With the net tax rate method, enter the FTA code of each rate in the VAT settings.

Legal basis

• The return is submitted to the FTA unprompted, in the prescribed form, within 60 days of the end of the period: Art. 71 para. 1 VAT Act.
• The FTA Portal only accepts XML imports in the eCH-0217 E-MWST format, version 2.0.0; the company and the period are recognised on import: Reporting VAT online, FTA. The standard: eCH-0217.
• Since 1 January 2025, corrections are also made online, through the FTA Portal: VAT adjustment statement, FTA.