Guides
CRS and AEOI for Swiss Foundations: Who Gets Reported
By Hansruedi Mueller, Swiss foundation lawyer · Published 21 July 2026 · Last updated 21 July 2026
Since Switzerland began exchanging financial-account information in 2017, a Swiss foundation with a bank account has sat somewhere inside the Common Reporting Standard, the OECD framework behind the Automatic Exchange of Information. Whether the foundation reports, is reported on, or falls outside the system depends on how it is classified. Get the classification right and the reporting follows; get it wrong and you either over-report private information or miss an obligation.
The whole question turns on one fork: is the foundation a financial institution in its own right, or a non-financial entity. That single distinction decides who does the reporting and who is named. A second fork, whether a non-financial entity is active or passive, decides whether anyone is looked through at all. This guide explains where a Swiss foundation lands, who counts as a reportable person, and why a genuine charity is often outside the reporting net.
None of this changes what the foundation does; it changes what its bank, and the foundation itself, must report. Because the classification depends on how the foundation is managed and funded, settle it early with the bank and, where needed, an adviser.
Key takeaways
- Under CRS, a foundation is either a financial institution or a non-financial entity (NFE); the label decides who reports.
- A foundation professionally managed by another financial institution is usually an investment entity and reports its own account holders.
- A foundation that is a passive NFE is looked through by its bank to its controlling persons.
- Controlling persons typically include the founder, the board members, the protector and beneficiaries who receive distributions.
- A genuine charitable foundation often qualifies as an active NFE, so its controlling persons are not reported.
The first fork: financial institution or NFE
CRS first asks whether the foundation is itself a financial institution. A foundation is generally treated as one, specifically an “investment entity”, where it is professionally managed by another financial institution (a bank, asset manager or trustee) and its income comes mainly from financial assets. In that case the foundation, through its manager, is the reporting party: it identifies its own “account holders” and reports the reportable ones.
If the foundation is not professionally managed in that way, it is a non-financial entity (NFE). It then does not report anyone itself. Instead, the bank where it holds its account carries the obligation and must work out, at the second fork, whether to look through the foundation to the people behind it. Most owner-run family foundations that manage their own affairs fall on the NFE side.
Passive or active: whether anyone is looked through
A non-financial entity is either passive or active, and only passive NFEs get looked through. A foundation is a passive NFE if its income is largely passive, dividends, interest, rents, and it is not otherwise active. For a passive NFE, the bank must identify the foundation’s controlling persons and report the reportable ones to their home tax authorities.
An active NFE, by contrast, is not looked through: the bank reports the account in the foundation’s name without naming individuals behind it. The category that matters most for foundations is the active-NFE test for non-profit organisations. A foundation established and operated exclusively for charitable purposes, exempt from income tax, and barred from distributing to private persons, generally meets that test, which is why genuine charities usually sit outside the controlling-person reporting.
Who is a controlling person of a foundation
For a passive foundation, the bank reports its controlling persons, and the concept is broad. For a foundation, CRS treats the following as controlling persons: the founder (settlor-equivalent), the members of the foundation board, any protector, and the beneficiaries. In practice a beneficiary is reported at least when they receive a distribution in the year, and discretionary beneficiaries can come into scope on that basis.
This breadth surprises families. A passive family foundation with beneficiaries in several countries can generate reports to each of those countries when distributions are made, naming the individuals involved. It is not a penalty or a suspicion of wrongdoing; it is simply how the standard traces the natural persons behind an entity. Knowing it in advance lets you plan distributions and records sensibly rather than being caught out. For how a family foundation keeps information private within the law, see our note on family foundation privacy.
Why charities are often outside the net
A real charitable foundation usually escapes controlling-person reporting. Because it qualifies as an active NFE under the non-profit test, the bank reports the account in the foundation’s name and does not look through to founder, board or beneficiaries. That is consistent with the nature of a charity: it has no private owners and distributes to public-benefit purposes, not to individuals.
The word that carries the weight is “genuine”. The exemption depends on the foundation actually meeting the conditions, exclusively charitable purpose, income-tax exemption, and no private distribution, not merely being labelled charitable. A foundation that blends private benefit into a charitable shell risks losing both its tax exemption and this treatment. Our guide to charitable foundation tax-exemption requirements sets out the conditions that also underpin the active-NFE status.
Getting the classification right
Settle the CRS classification when you open the bank account, not after. The bank will ask the foundation to self-certify its status, financial institution, active NFE or passive NFE, and that self-certification drives everything that follows. An incorrect classification means either unnecessary reporting of private individuals or a compliance gap that surfaces later. Because the answer depends on how the foundation is managed and what it earns, confirm it with the bank and, for anything other than a clear-cut charity, with an adviser. If you would like your foundation’s CRS position reviewed, contact us.
Frequently asked questions
Does a Swiss foundation have to report under CRS? It depends on its classification. A foundation that is professionally managed by another financial institution is usually an investment entity and reports its own account holders. A foundation that is a non-financial entity does not report itself; instead its bank decides whether to look through to its controlling persons, which happens only if it is a passive NFE.
Who are the controlling persons of a foundation for CRS? For a foundation, the controlling persons generally include the founder, the members of the foundation board, any protector, and the beneficiaries. A beneficiary is typically reported at least when they receive a distribution in the reporting period, so the people named can change from year to year.
Is a charitable foundation reported under CRS? Usually not at the controlling-person level. A genuine charitable foundation, one exclusively for charitable purposes, exempt from income tax and not distributing to private persons, generally qualifies as an active NFE, so its bank reports the account in the foundation’s name without naming founder, board or beneficiaries.
What is the difference between an active and a passive NFE? A passive NFE earns mainly passive income such as dividends, interest and rents, and its bank looks through it to its controlling persons. An active NFE, including a qualifying non-profit, is not looked through, so the account is reported in the entity’s name only. The distinction decides whether individuals behind the foundation are named.
Does receiving a distribution put a beneficiary into a CRS report? For a passive family foundation, yes, typically. A beneficiary who receives a distribution in the reporting year is generally treated as a controlling person and reported to their country of tax residence. Planning distributions and keeping clear records helps avoid surprises.
Who does the reporting, the foundation or the bank? It depends on the classification. If the foundation is a financial institution (an investment entity), it reports its own account holders, usually through its professional manager. If it is a non-financial entity, the bank holding its account does the reporting and decides whether to look through to controlling persons.
Can we choose our CRS classification? No. The classification follows the facts, how the foundation is managed and what income it earns, and the foundation self-certifies its true status to the bank. Choosing a convenient but inaccurate label creates risk, either over-reporting private individuals or a compliance gap that emerges later.
How does CRS interact with a foundation’s tax exemption? Closely, for charities. The same conditions that earn a charitable foundation its income-tax exemption, exclusively charitable purpose and no private distribution, also underpin its active-NFE status under CRS. A foundation that keeps its charitable status clean generally keeps its CRS position simple at the same time.
This article is general information and not a substitute for formal legal or tax advice. CRS classification depends on the facts of each foundation. Please contact us for advice on your specific case.
Sources
- Switzerland’s Automatic Exchange of Information in tax matters, in force since 2017, State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF), “Automatic exchange of information”; Federal Act on the International Automatic Exchange of Information in Tax Matters (AEOI Act, fedlex.admin.ch, SR 653.1).
- Classification of entities and the concept of controlling persons; investment entity, passive and active NFE, non-profit active-NFE category, OECD Common Reporting Standard and Commentary; Swiss AEOI Guidance of the Federal Tax Administration.
- Charitable foundation conditions (exclusively charitable purpose, income-tax exemption, no private distribution) under Art. 56 lit. g DBG, fedlex.admin.ch (SR 642.11).
