The fee is being levied regardless of equipment. All private and collective households must in principle pay the universal fee.
The universal fee system for private and collective households
How does the universal fee system work?
How much does the universal radio and television fee cost?
What is the universal radio and television fee used for?
What is a collective household and what fee does it have to pay?
a) For a private household CHF 335
b) For a collective household (Old-age and nursing homes, hostels, penal institutions, boarding schools, asylum accommodation, etc.) CHF 670
c) For businesses, a graduated system of tariffs applies
In all the country’s different language regions, it will enable a diversified, equivalent offering of programme services to be provided. The largest part of the fee will go to the SSR-SRG, but local radio and television broadcasters from all the language regions will benefit from it.
Collective households are, for example, old people's homes and nursing homes, hospitals, student hostels, prisons, etc. Article 2 of the Register Harmonization Ordinance (RHO; CC 431.021) lists definitively the types of collective households. A collective household pays a household fee of CHF 670 annually. The body responsible for the collective household is responsible for payment of the fee.
If a collective household is subject to value-added tax and if it has an annual turnover of at least CHF 500,000, it is additionally subject to the business fee.
Obligation to pay the fee
I have only one radio. Do I still have to pay the entire fee?
We only receive foreign programme services. Does the fee have to be paid?
I have had my cable connection sealed off / I have had the aerial removed / I have a satellite dish: Do I have to pay the fee?
Yes. A reduction of the fee is not provided for in law. The fee is in principle independent of the presence of receiving equipment (radio or television equipment) in the household.
Yes. Every household has to pay the fee regardless of which radio and/or television programme services are consumed.
Yes. The obligation to pay the fee is device-independent.
Registration and exemption
Do I have to register with Serafe?
Do changes to my housing situation (e.g. moving house or separation) have to be notified to the collection agency?
Which private households can be exempted from the obligation to pay the fee?
I receive an annual supplementary benefit; from what point in time will my household be exempt?
I receive social benefits; can I be exempted from the fee?
My father has been living in a home for a short time now. Does he have to pay the fee?
I have a holiday home in Switzerland which is my secondary residence. Do I have to pay the household fee twice?
I am a weekly resident. Do I have to pay the household fee twice?
I have already received the annual bill, but I am emigrating in June. Will I get a refund for the remaining 6 months?
I am travelling abroad for several months; can I be exempted from the fee for these months?
If I go abroad temporarily, do I have to de-register with Serafe?
Is the household fee refunded in the event of death?
No. Every household automatically receives a bill from Serafe
No. For billing, the collection agency, Serafe, uses data provided from the residents' registers of the cantons and municipalities. If you move house, it is important that you communicate this information to your residents' register office immediately.
Private households in which a person lives,
- who receives annual supplementary benefits relating to the AHV or IV pensions (Art. 69b para. 1 let. a RTVA);
- who has a Federal Department of Foreign Affairs identity card (Art. 69b para. 1 let. b RTVA and Art. 61 para. 3 RTVO);
- who is deafblind (if no person obliged to pay the fee is a member of the household) (Art. 61 para. 4 RTVO).
Recipients of annual supplementary benefits associated with AHV or IV pensions are exempt for a maximum of five years retroactively from the commencement of receipt of supplementary benefits (but from the time of introduction of the household fee on 1 January 2019 at the earliest). If an application for fee exemption was not previously submitted to Billag, no exemption can be granted for the period prior to 1 January 2019.
No, only persons who receive annual supplementary benefits associated with old age, survivors and invalidity insurance can be exempted from the fee. The exemption applies to this person's household. In the case of social benefits, the fee for radio and television, like the current reception fee, is included in the in the basic needs used to derive subsistence.
No. An old people's home or care home is considered to be a collective household, which has to pay the collective household fee for its members. The fee is therefore paid directly by the home. Note that this only applies if your father’s main place of residence is now the care home (and not another address).
No. The fee paid by a household applies to the main residence but also to a secondary residence, whether it is used by one or more household members.
(Exception: If a person's main residence is abroad, they have to pay the fee for their secondary residence in Switzerland).
No. The fee has to be paid only for one's main residence. Members of this household who live for a number of days a week in a different location do not have to pay the fee twice.
Yes, you will be reimbursed the amount for this period. Here's how it works: the residents' registration office will inform Serafe of the household's deregistration and of your emigration. To receive the refund of the amount, inform Serafe of your bank account details.
Not in principle. Only people who deregister their place of residence in Switzerland and move abroad receive a refund. If a place of residence in Switzerland is maintained, there is no exemption from the fee.
No. Someone who goes abroad only temporarily and who does not cease to reside in Switzerland continues to be liable for the fee with Serafe AG.
The only persons who do not have to pay the fee are those who do not have a principal residence or a secondary residence in Switzerland.
If the deceased was the only adult living in the household and the annual bill has already been paid, the heirs are entitled to claim a refund for the excess amount because the household is deemed to be dissolved on the last day of the month in which the person died (Art. 69a para. 5 RTVA). In order to assert their claim, the survivors must provide Serafe with the certificate of inheritance and the relevant bank details.
Payment methods
Who pays the fee for a private household?
What are the possible methods of payment?
Is there a quarterly billing option?
Can the fee be paid in instalments?
What happens if I don't pay the fee?
Is value-added tax charged on the fee?
One fee must be paid per household. All adults in this household are jointly responsible for this fee.
- E-bill
- Direct debit procedure via bank account DDP)
- Direct debit via PostFinance account (DD)
- Paying-in slip (PS)
Yes. Anyone liable to pay the fee can request quarterly bills for the household of which they are a member. If the collection agency has to provide this in paper form, the household has to pay CHF 2 in addition to the fee for each bill. If the quarterly bill is paid, for example, by e-bill, this additional amount of CHF 2 does not apply.
Yes. Payment by instalments can be granted. Interested parties should contact Serafe.
For the household fee, quarterly billing can be requested. If Serafe has to provide this in paper form, the household has to pay CHF 2 in addition to the fee for each bill.
If the fee for a household is not paid, after unsuccessful reminders a prosecution will be initiated against one of the members of the household.
No.
Billing
What do I have to do if I want to pay the radio and television fee in quarterly instalments rather than all at once for a whole year?
When do I receive an annual bill and when do I receive a quarterly bill?
Who is listed on the bill?
To whom is the bill addressed?
How does the VAT refund process work?
Since 1 January 2021, the household fee amounts to only CHF 335. When will Serafe take the new amount into account in its invoices?
I have already paid my Serafe bill in February 2020 or March 2020. How do I get my overpaid money back?
Once a year, every household automatically receives an invoice from Serafe for the radio and television fee for 12 months. Persons with protection status S who live in their own household also have to pay the fee. It is possible to choose to pay the annual fee in quarterly instalments. All you have to do is scan the QR code that appears on the annual bill and follow the instructions. The procedure is simple, as explained on the Serafe website. It does not cost anything to switch to quarterly payments provided you receive your invoice electronically, i.e. by email or e-bill. Households that prefer to receive a paper invoice must pay an additional CHF 2 per invoice.
In principle Serafe sends out annual bills. Quarterly bills can be sent on request.
Each bill lists all adult members of a household.
The address block lists all adults up to a household size of three members. In the case of households of more than three adult members, the personal denomination of one person is listed in the address block, which also contains the wording "other persons liable for the fee".
Please refer to the information on this page (available in German, French and Italian): VAT and reception fees: steps towards the new law
The new tariff has come into force on 1 January 2021. Serafe has already proportionally reduced the fee for 2021 on its invoices as of April 2020.
Households that received their annual bill in February or March 2020 have paid the fee for January 2021, or for January and February 2021 under the old tariff. The bills for the first two months in 2021 will be adjusted accordingly. The correction amounts to CHF 2.50 per month.
SERAFE AG
What is SERAFE AG?
SERAFE AG is a subsidiary of Secon AG based in Pfäffikon (SZ). Serafe AG has been collecting the household fee since 1 January 2019.
The business fee
Opting out
I have no possibility of receiving radio and television programme services. How can I get an exemption?
It was only possible to opt out from the radio and TV fee until 31 December 2023. Under changes in the law applicable from 1 January 2024, private households in which there is no device suitable for the reception of radio or television programmes will also have to pay the fee.
Data provision and data protection
Who provides Serafe with the data necessary for billing?
Do I have to do anything if there are discrepancies in the addressing of the bill for the fee?
Is data protection guaranteed?
Does Serafe pass on my data to others?
The household data for billing the household fee is supplied to Serafe from the residents' registers.
If you find any mistakes in the addressing of the bill for the fee, please contact directly the competent authority of the municipality or canton or Serafe.
The data necessary for the collection of the household fee is subject to the Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP). Serafe is responsible to the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) for the lawful management of the data.
Serafe is allowed to process data only for the collection of the fee and may pass it on to others only for these purposes. This is laid down in the Radio and Television Act (Article 69f paragraph 2 RTVA).
Last modification 04.01.2023
Contact
OFCOM
Zukunftstrasse 44
2501 Biel
Central
Tel. 058 460 55 11
Sector radio-television fee
Tel. 058 460 54 39
m-rf@bakom.admin.ch www.bakom.admin.ch
SERAFE AG
Post office box
8010 Zürich
Tel. 058 201 31 67
FTA (Federal tax administration)
Main Division for Value Added Tax
Schwarztorstrasse 50
3003 Berne