Statute of Limitations (Verjährung) on Swiss Invoices: How Far Back Can You Bill?

A 2019 invoice resurfaces, or you discover work you never billed. May you still bill it — and enforce it? Swiss law answers both through prescription of claims, the Verjährung.[1]

What prescription actually does to your claim

The default clock is generous: all claims prescribe after ten years unless federal civil law provides otherwise.[1] An ordinary consulting fee therefore stays enforceable for a decade.

Prescription does not erase the debt; it hands the client a defence. A court may not apply the prescriptive defence of its own accord,[1] so the claim survives until the client invokes it.

Payment remains valid: restitution is excluded where payment satisfied a debt that has prescribed.[1] A client who settles in good faith cannot reclaim the money, so sending the reminder is never wasted.

Accessories die with the principal: when the principal claim prescribes, so too do all claims for interest and other accessory claims.[1] Your late-payment interest expires with the fee.

The five-year clocks people miss

Not everything runs ten years. Rent and other periodic payments, interest, foodstuffs, board and hotel bills all prescribe after five years.[1]

One entry catches service providers: work carried out by tradesmen and craftsmen, retail purchases, medical treatment, professional services of advocates, legal representatives and notaries, and employees’ work for their employers are all on the same five-year clock.[1] A carpenter’s or lawyer’s invoice runs short; an IT consultant’s does not.

The clock starts with the due date, not the service date: the prescriptive period commences as soon as the debt is due.[1] With 30-day terms it runs from the day after the deadline.

And you cannot contract around it: the prescriptive periods may not be altered by contract,[1] so a 20-year clause in your terms is worth no more than the client’s six-month clause.

Resetting, pausing and waiving the clock

The debtor’s acknowledgement interrupts prescription — in particular interest or part payments, a pledge or surety.[1] A written promise to pay next month restarts the clock, so keep every one on file.

Creditor action interrupts too: debt enforcement, a conciliation application, a statement of claim or a bankruptcy petition,[1] and in enforcement a new period starts with each step taken.[1] A pursued claim never dies.

After an interruption a fresh period runs; if the claim was acknowledged by public deed or confirmed by judgment, the new period is always ten years.[1] Written settlement talks or mediation suspend the clock for their duration, provided the parties agreed in writing.[1]

In a restructuring, secure a written waiver: the debtor may waive the right to object on grounds of prescription, for at most ten years from the start.[1] Enforcement is cheap insurance: a Betreibung on a claim under CHF 10,000 costs about CHF 50 to 100, advanced by the creditor and added to the claim when lawful.[3]

Old invoices, VAT and what to do on Monday

The tax clock runs on its own calendar: the right to establish a tax claim prescribes five years from the end of the tax period, in any case ten years.[2] Your claim can be long prescribed while the FTA can still assess that period.

Old supplier invoices work in reverse: when the conditions for the input tax deduction arise later, the deduction may be made in the period in which they arose, including input tax not deducted earlier.[2] If the purchase was already in use, the amount falls by a fifth per year for movable goods and services.[2]

When the claim is finally dead, the tax follows: ESTV practice counts a prescribed residual claim among the definitive cases in which the tax base can be corrected.[4]

The working rules are simple: invoice when work completes, diary every unpaid claim, collect acknowledgements in writing, enforce before the defence matures. facturio numbers and dates every invoice, attaches a compliant QR-bill, sends reminders automatically and documents the payment trail, so you always know which claims are alive. Sources: [1] Code of Obligations, Art. 63, 127-142; [2] Federal VAT Act, Art. 32 and 42; [3] SECO KMU Portal, Betreibungsbegehren; [4] ESTV, MWST-Info 04 Steuerobjekt.