Corporate tax instalments in Geneva: how to estimate and adjust them

What do your company’s tax instalments cover?

The tax authority does not yet know the final taxable result for the current financial year. It therefore issues instalment bills based, among other things, on the latest information available. After the return and assessment, a statement reconciles the tax actually due with payments already recorded.

The French term bordereau refers to the tax bill or assessment notice issued by the authority. The account statement then shows the balance payable or the credit in the company’s favour, including any interest and other items. Paying every instalment requested does not guarantee that there will be nothing left to pay.

For example, an LLC (Sàrl) in Carouge may have received instalment bills based on a quiet trading year. If it wins a major contract this year, the original instalments do not automatically increase to reflect the higher profit.

Available cash is not a measure of taxable profit either: a bank loan brings in money without generating revenue, while an unpaid customer invoice may already contribute to accounting profit.

Which taxes and payment dates should you track?

Since 2025, the Geneva instalment schedule has consisted of 12 monthly instalments. For a financial year running from 1 January to 31 December, the first instalment falls due on 10 January, with a payment deadline of 10 February. The twelfth falls due on 10 December and must be paid by 10 January of the following year. For a twelve-month financial year ending on another date, the same sequence starts in the first month of the tax period: follow the dates on the instalment bill. These rules are set out in Article 6 of Geneva’s tax collection law (LPGIP).

Combining ICC and IFD payments is optional: a single bill allows your payments to be allocated between the two accounts. Without this option, the instalment bills cover ICC, while IFD is billed separately. Advance IFD payments remain voluntary; the final tax itself is still compulsory. You can request activation or cancellation of combined payments through the e-démarches portal or the collection department, with effect from the following year.

Check the tax year and payment reference. A company may be settling a previous year’s balance while paying instalments for the next period. Mixing up the references makes the tax accounts harder to reconcile.

How do you build a useful annual tax estimate?

1. Forecast the result through to year-end

Start with up-to-date accounts and your income statement, which details income and expenses for the period. Add a forecast for the remaining months: signed contracts, expected sales, salaries, rent, purchases, depreciation and other expenses. Simply extrapolating the first quarter is rarely sufficient for a seasonal business.

2. Reconcile accounting profit with taxable profit

Review the company’s tax-deductible expenses and any prior losses that may be available for relief. An expense recorded in the accounts but not accepted for tax must be added back to taxable profit. Also establish taxable equity from the balance sheet and the relevant tax adjustments, and identify where the company operates: an allocation between municipalities or cantons may be required. A corporate tax rate cannot simply be applied to any accounting balance.

If hidden reserves are created or released, reconcile their accounting and tax treatment so that the profit estimate is not distorted.

3. Use the official calculator with the right starting figure

The canton provides a corporate tax calculation worksheet. Take care: it asks for taxable net profit after tax. The company’s income and capital taxes are generally deductible expenses. If your forecast is stated before tax, you therefore need to calculate the tax expense to obtain a consistent starting figure. Entering profit before tax as though it were profit after tax produces a misleading estimate.

Keep a record of the assumptions and calculation date. A simplified estimate may be insufficient for a company with several establishments, shareholdings or properties. Your file should explain how its particular circumstances were treated.

How do you request an adjustment in Geneva?

The cantonal procedure for adjusting instalments distinguishes individuals from companies. A legal entity here means the company itself, such as your Sàrl/GmbH or SA/AG, rather than its director personally. For a company, Geneva’s cantonal tax administration (AFC) asks you to calculate the estimated tax and send the amount to recouvrement-afc@etat.ge.ch. The department adjusts the remaining instalments on that basis. According to the cantonal page, the revised estimate is also used to set the following year’s instalments.

To avoid unnecessary follow-up, prepare:

• the company name and tax reference;
• the relevant financial year and closing date;
• separate estimates for ICC and IFD;
• amounts already paid and the remaining payment dates;
• a short explanation of the change, with the supporting calculation.

This is a practical checklist to make your request clear. Use the references required by the AFC and check the revised payment schedule afterwards. A lower internal estimate does not, by itself, change the authority’s bills.

This is different from requesting an extension to the tax-return filing deadline. One adjusts advance payments to the expected tax; the other concerns when the return must be submitted.

If profit has not fallen but cash is short, reducing the tax estimate is not the appropriate response. Instead, discuss a possible payment extension or payment arrangement with the AFC, depending on the type of debt and the applicable conditions.

How do you recalculate the remaining payments?

The examples below assume a twelve-month financial year, six payments already made and no interest, previous credits or other movements. The figures represent an estimated total tax budget; the amounts must then be allocated correctly between the tax accounts.

Example 1: business activity increases

The company had budgeted CHF 18,000 in tax, or CHF 1,500 per month. It has made six payments of CHF 1,500, totalling CHF 9,000. An updated estimate puts annual tax at CHF 24,000.

Simply dividing CHF 24,000 by twelve would give CHF 2,000 per month. That overlooks the lower payments made in the first six months: paying only CHF 2,000 for each remaining month would bring the total to just CHF 21,000.

Example 2: profit falls

Another company expected CHF 24,000 in tax and has already paid CHF 12,000. Its revised annual estimate is CHF 15,000. The remaining budget is CHF 3,000, or CHF 500 over each of six months in this simplified example. It requests an adjustment and checks the AFC’s response before updating its payment tracking.

These calculations are a cash flow planning tool. Check the amounts and dates in the schedule actually issued by the authority, particularly if the request is made partway through a month.

How can you limit differences and interest?

Two mechanisms need to be distinguished. Late-payment interest on ICC instalments concerns monthly payments that are late or insufficient. Its calculation takes account of the lower amount between the instalment bill and the final tax bill.

ICC compensatory interest instead relates to the difference between final tax and payments made. It runs from the general tax due date to the date of the tax bill, taking account of payments made in between. For a company, this general tax due date is the financial year-end, for example 31 December. Do not use the 31 March date that applies to individuals.

The last instalment’s payment deadline and the starting date for compensatory interest are therefore different dates. A company with a 31 December year-end should check its ICC balance at that date, even though its last monthly instalment can be paid by 10 January. Waiting for the final tax bill before funding a shortfall may result in interest.

For the 2026 calendar year, the ICC interest rate in the authority’s favour is 2.60% for late-payment interest and negative compensatory interest, meaning interest payable to the authority. Do not apply this rate to IFD. Rates vary by calendar year: interest accruing in 2027 must use the rate applicable to that period.

In practice, plan a quarterly review and an additional review after a major event: winning or losing a contract, selling an asset, a significant margin change, a move or a change in structure. At the year-end close, reconcile the tax provision, payments and forecast balance. The provision reflects the estimated tax expense in the accounts; it is not a payment to the AFC. In your chart of accounts, distinguish tax expense from the accounts used to track instalments and the balance due.

My advice

Use three separate columns in your cash flow forecast: estimated tax for the year, amounts already paid and the balance still to fund. This makes a potential shortfall visible straight away. Money set aside in the bank is not enough on its own: compare it with an updated tax estimate.

Conclusion

Adjusting instalments helps bring payments into line with your company’s actual position. Update the forecast result, calculate tax on the right basis, request the adjustment from the AFC and monitor the new schedule, keeping ICC and IFD separate.

Related reading

• Corporate tax: understanding rates and calculation bases
• Preparing a reliable year-end close
• Organising your company’s financial management

Frequently asked questions