Stalking, debt collection and e-ID 26 innovations in 2026 that you need to know now

The new year will bring numerous changes in Switzerland. Stalking will become a criminal offense and electricity prices will fall. The registration of motor vehicles will be digitalized and simplified.

Keystone-SDA

01.01.2026, 10:29

SDA

2026 will bring a whole series of changes in Switzerland - from a new criminal offense and new traffic rules to adjustments to AHV, health insurance and taxes.

blue News provides you with a compact overview of what will change and when - and for whom it will be relevant.

Stalking will be a criminal offense from the beginning of 2026 and can be punished with imprisonment or fines. The Federal Council has enacted the amendments to the Criminal Code passed by Parliament.

However, prosecution for stalking is only possible upon request, i.e. if a victim files a criminal complaint. This is what Parliament wanted. There are no proceedings against the will of the victim.

According to the new legal text, anyone who persistently pursues, harasses or threatens someone in a way that is likely to significantly restrict the person concerned in their freedom of life is punished with a custodial sentence of up to three years or a fine.

From January 1, it will be easier for people who have been unjustifiably pursued to prevent third parties from finding out about such debt enforcement proceedings. To do this, the person must submit an application to the relevant debt enforcement office as before.

In future, such a request can be submitted for the entire duration of the third party's right of access, i.e. for five years from the conclusion of the proceedings. Currently, the debtor only has one year to do so.

In future, the person being pursued will only have to prove that the creditor has finally failed with their request - then the debt enforcement may no longer be disclosed.

From January 1, 2026, all conscripts up to the age of 40 will have to serve in civil defense. The Federal Council has implemented this measure to increase the number of civil defense personnel as of this date.

The increase in the civil defense age cancels the reduction to the age of 36 in 2021 at crew level and for non-commissioned officers. This will increase the pool of people who have already completed their military service.

The transitional period granted to the cantons to implement the lower age until the end of 2025 will therefore also expire.

Electronic proof of identity (e-ID) will be introduced in Switzerland in mid-2026 at the earliest, but more likely at the end of 2026. The e-ID was approved in the vote in September 2025.

Its use will be voluntary and free of charge and will be made possible via the Swiyu app. For example, it will be possible to use the E-ID to order an electronic driver's license or to prove the minimum age when purchasing a product with age requirements.

The registration of motor vehicles will be digitalized and simplified from 1 January. This will reduce the effort involved in the registration process. In addition, vehicles that have a valid EU certificate of conformity in paper or electronic form are now exempt from the Swiss type approval requirement.

These can be registered in Switzerland for the first time in the name of any person, provided that the other registration requirements are met.

From the beginning of the year, enforcement of the_{CO2 Act} will be more consistently linked to vehicle registration: vehicle registration certificates and number plates will only be issued if any_{CO2 penalty} under_{the CO2 Act} has been paid in full or the vehicle has been assigned to a new vehicle fleet

Automated driver assistance systems may be used more widely on freeways, provided the system has been approved. The car can take over the lane and speed in certain situations - but the responsibility remains with the human driver: You must be able to take over when the system demands it.

So far, no manufacturer has received such approval.

The maximum interest rate for consumer loans will be adjusted in line with falling interest rates. At the beginning of 2026, the rate for cash loans will be reduced from 11 to 10 percent.

The maximum interest rate for overdrafts, for example for credit cards, will also be reduced from 13% to 12%. The reason for the adjustments is the declining interest rate level.

For the first time, people who have not paid any contributions or only partial contributions into their tied pension plan (pillar 3a) in certain years will be able to pay these contributions retrospectively in the form of purchases.

This means that in the 2026 tax year, a payment for the year 2025 can be made retrospectively for the first time and is tax-deductible if a person had income subject to AHV contributions in both years.

The 13th AHV pension is to be paid out from December 2026. But how it will be financed is open and controversial.

From January 1, the federal government's financial support for domestic rail freight transport and freight shipping will be reorganized. Among other things, the new Freight Transport Ordinance is intended to promote the loading of goods onto rail and the transhipment of goods between rail and other modes of transport.

The new Swiss Air Passenger Data Act comes into force on January 1. This means that airlines will have to provide the authorities with passenger data for all flights they operate from abroad to Switzerland and from Switzerland to abroad. With the new law, Switzerland aims to implement international standards in the fight against terrorism and serious crime.

Electricity prices in Switzerland will fall by an average of around four percent in 2026 in the basic supply for households. This was announced by the Swiss Federal Electricity Commission ElCom in the fall. A typical household will therefore pay 27.7 centimes per kilowatt hour.

It will be more expensive in some placesElectricity bill 2026 - this map shows whether you will save or pay more

The electricity bill for an average household will therefore cost CHF 58 less next year than in 2025. The reduction of 1.3 centimes per kilowatt hour is due to lower energy prices.

Financial support for photovoltaic projects in the winter months will be capped from 2026. According to estimates, the remuneration will fall by almost 25 percent. The trigger for the decline is the new Energy Act, which comes into force on January 1.

This will harmonize remuneration across Switzerland. Owners of solar installations will receive less money, especially in summer. For the Federal Council, the cap of CHF 3.5 million per gigawatt hour (GWh) of net production in winter is intended to prevent disproportionate subsidies for large solar installations.

The cap does not apply to projects that feed at least 10 percent of their production into the electricity grid by the end of 2025.

On 1 January, a new regulation for the use of plant protection products comes into force: their purchase and use in agriculture requires a valid specialist permit.

This change affects all agricultural businesses. The permit is valid for five years. Persons with a qualification as a farmer EFZ, equivalent or higher agricultural training can register their existing qualification without having to take a new examination.

From 2026, all residents of Switzerland will receive CHF 567 million from the environmental levy. The amount will be offset against health insurance premiums. Switzerland taxes climate-damaging emissions - and distributes the revenue annually to the population, companies and the national building program.

The repayment amount to private individuals comes from the CO2 tax levied on emissions from heating oil and natural gas heating systems in residential buildings, as well as from the so-called VOC tax on solvents. The premium amounts to just under CHF 62 per person. The reimbursement amount is therefore around 7 percent below the average of the past 15 years.

The costs of some vaccinations are now covered by health insurance, even if the deductible has not yet been used up.

HealthVaccinations are excluded from the deductible from 2026

These include standard vaccinations such as those against diphtheria, tetanus and meningococcus. This is also intended to increase the vaccination rate in Switzerland. The deductible for insured persons remains unchanged.

Health insurance premiums will rise by an average of 4.4 percent in 2026. Rising life expectancy and new medicines are among the factors driving up costs.

You can see how much more you will pay in your municipality in future on this map:

Baume-Schneider confirms increaseHealth insurance premiums 2026 are here - this is how much you'll pay

The new Tardoc tariff model will come into force in 2026 after years of negotiations. It will replace the outdated Tarmed. The Tardoc single service tariff structure is based on so-called tax points, i.e. on the billable times and costs for a service.

The tax point values are set at cantonal level. Meanwhile, the flat-rate patient tariffs used primarily in hospitals are based on fixed remuneration for all services throughout Switzerland.

Tardoc should enable more accurate billing of consultation times than Tarmed and take better account of the special features and needs of general practitioner medicine.

From 2026, various changes to the Healthcare Benefits Ordinance will come into force. For example, digital health applications such as apps for the treatment of depression will be paid for by compulsory health insurance in future.

In addition, the health insurance's obligation to pay benefits for transcatheter aortic valve implantation will be extended.

In January 2026, the survivors' and disability pensions paid out under the mandatory occupational pension scheme (BVG) since 2022 will be adjusted to inflation for the first time. The adjustment rate is 2.7 percent. Pensions accrued before 2022 will be adjusted in 2027 at the earliest - at the same time as AHV pensions.

Controversial reform passedNational Council overturns widow's pension - and excludes senior citizens from AHV increase

TRAINING: From January 1, the cantons will be able to determine the form of the general education examination for apprenticeship qualifications themselves. This was agreed by the federal government, cantons, employment organizations and schools at the beginning of 2025. This issue had long remained unresolved.

The cantons can continue to conduct written final examinations or new oral examinations. According to the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, this solution takes into account the proven cooperation in vocational education and training and allows cantonal education policy circumstances to be taken into account appropriately.

In the new year, the Confederation will be subsidizing the postal delivery of regional and local newspapers more than before. The new reduction is 43 centimes per copy. This is 15 centimes more than in the current year.

In March, Parliament decided to increase the funds for the discount on daily delivery from CHF 30 million to CHF 40 million.

The increase in indirect subsidies for newspapers is limited to seven years. The subsidy is regulated in the revised Postal Act.

There will be less interest for voluntary advance payments of direct federal tax in 2026. The Federal Department of Finance has reduced the interest rate from the current 1.25 percent to 0.75 percent. The interest rate for late payments, refunds and conditional payment obligations for federal taxes and duties will also fall, from 4.75 percent today to 4.5 percent.

The federal government is reacting to the falling interest rates. Due to the lower interest on late payments and refunds, the Confederation must expect an estimated CHF 6 million less revenue. For the cantons, which receive money from direct federal tax, it is one million francs.

The new interest rates apply to VAT, direct federal tax, withholding tax, tobacco tax, beer tax, automobile tax, mineral oil tax, tax on distilled spirits, customs duties, stamp duties, performance-related heavy vehicle tax, CO2 tax, incentive tax

Persons who committed murder as juveniles can now be detained as adults under certain conditions directly following a juvenile criminal sanction. This decision and other information will be entered in the VOSTRA criminal records information system.

In November 2025, the Federal Council enacted the necessary amendments to the Criminal Records Ordinance with effect from January 1, 2026.

The amendments to the Spatial Planning Act will enter into force in stages in 2026. The first part will apply on 1 January 2026, the second part on 1 July 2026. From that date, the cantons must define a strategy for stabilizing construction outside the building zone within five years.

The Federal Council is thus setting a limit for building outside zoned areas. The number of buildings and the sealed area may still grow by two percent. The supporting organizations of the withdrawn landscape initiative are concerned.

From January 1, 2026, builders and property buyers will be given more time to report defects. Building owners will now be able to report obvious and hidden defects up to 60 days after delivery of the building.

The right to rectify construction defects could also no longer be excluded in a contract. These changes apply not only to construction contracts, but also to the purchase of land with new buildings that are still to be built or that were built within the last two years before the sale.

The town of Moutier, with its population of around 7,000, is moving to the canton of Jura on January 1. The town will thus form the fourth district of the canton of Jura and will in future occupy 7 out of 60 seats in parliament.

The other three districts will reduce their shares in the cantonal parliament: Delsberg will lose 4 deputies, Pruntrut 2 and the Franches-Montagnes 1 deputy. Federal Councillor Beat Jans said in the spring after the approval of the two chambers that it was politically and legally the "final act" in settling the "most important intercantonal conflict" in the federal state.