FriTax (Fribourg): 2026 guide
for declaring self-employment income

FriTax for the self-employed: Fribourg tax return 2026

If you're self-employed in the canton of Fribourg, you complete your tax return in FriTax, the free software of the cantonal tax service (Service cantonal des contributions, SCC; Kantonale Steuerverwaltung, KSTV, in German), and attach annexe 05 with your accounts. The deadline is in principle 31 March 2027 (the date printed on your tax return).

Running short on time? Paying CHF 20 with the enclosed QR bill buys you more time, with no reason required. This guide takes you all the way to filing: a return sent on time with annexe 05 and the right business figures, or a properly paid extension.

Are you a sole proprietor, a freelancer, in a liberal profession, or self-employed on the side next to a salary? Compared with an employee's return, yours asks for a little more: a net result of your own, a list of debtors and a few codes you shouldn't mix up. Here are the links, dates and figures to file your 2026 return in 2027 with FriTax 2026, as of November 2026. The canton publishes its forms and pages in French and German; we give the French names with an English translation.

The essentials in 30 seconds: FriTax for the self-employed 2026

The essentials

• Where: FriTax is free software that you install on your computer (64-bit Windows, macOS, Linux), not a website. The "période fiscale 2026" (tax period 2026) version isn't out yet: the SCC announced the 2025 version in early January 2026, so the 2026 version should arrive on fr.ch around January 2027.
• Deadline: in principle 31 March 2027. The date that counts is the one printed on page 1 of your return.
• Extension: CHF 20 paid with the QR bill enclosed with your return, no reason required. Up to 4 extensions, never beyond 15 December.
• To attach: annexe 05 and your balance sheet and profit and loss account or, without commercial accounts, a statement of assets and liabilities, a statement of income and expenses, and your private withdrawals and contributions. Turnover on an invoiced basis (open invoices included).
• Help: 026 305 34 12 (audit section, self-employed) and the FriTax technical hotline 0900 111 001 (CHF 1.– per minute).

Not sure yet whether your activity counts as self-employment, or do you live in another canton? Start with our tax return guide for the self-employed.

What you need before you open FriTax

Get everything ready before you launch the software. You'll save an evening and avoid going back to the same page three times.

• The FriTax code (code de contrôle, control code): 6 upper-case characters, digits and letters, printed on the A4 "Déclaration d'impôt" (tax return) folder you received by post. Without it, no electronic filing.
• Last year's file (extension .FRNP): FriTax can carry over your data from the previous year.
• Your salary certificate, if you're also employed.
• The pillar 3a certificate from your bank or insurer.
• Your AHV/AVS statements (old-age and survivors' insurance) from your compensation fund (for most self-employed people in Fribourg, the cantonal fund at ECAS). Not registered yet? Start with the AHV registration for the self-employed.
• Your figures for the year: income, expenses by category, and a list of invoices still open on 31 December.

That last point takes the most time if you have to rebuild everything in March. If you invoice with Magic Heidi, your 2026 invoices, paid and open, and your expenses are already in one place: you export the year instead of digging through your emails. See how Magic Heidi prepares your figures for the year →

Main or side activity: code 1.210 + annexe 05, or code 1.220 + annexe 03

This is the first fork in your Fribourg tax return. It decides where you enter your income and which documents you attach.

Self-employed as your main activity: code 1.210 and annexe 05

Your net self-employment income goes under code 1.210. You attach the balance sheet and profit and loss account for the financial year closed during the year, plus annexe 05 "Revenus d'activité indépendante" (self-employment income; Beilage 05 in the German version). The SCC asks for it to be filled in accurately and completely. An incomplete annex leaves you open to a request for more information a few months later.

Self-employed on the side: code 1.220, back of annexe 03

If your self-employed activity comes on top of a salaried job, its income goes under code 1.220. You enter it in the "activité indépendante" (self-employment) section on the back of annexe 03 "Revenu d'activité – Frais d'acquisition" (employment income and professional expenses), the same annex as your salary.

Take Marco, a fictional character. He works 80% for a public administration in Fribourg and photographs weddings at weekends, invoicing about CHF 9,000 in 2026. He first enters his salary certificate, then turns over annexe 03 and enters the result of his photography work under code 1.220. Annexe 05 isn't his form.

Full or simplified accounts: the CHF 500,000 threshold

Commercial accounts (balance sheet and income statement) become mandatory from CHF 500,000 in turnover. Below that, most freelancers keep simplified accounts. In that case, the canton accepts a statement of assets and liabilities, a statement of income and expenses and the details of your private withdrawals and contributions, instead of the balance sheet and profit and loss account.

Simplified doesn't mean approximate. The SCC asks for continuous, complete records with a year-end summary, precise descriptions for expenses, a stock inventory with quantities and values, and a list of debtors with the name, address and amount of each one. You attach a summary; the detailed lists only on request.

Preparing your figures for the Fribourg tax return

This is where Fribourg differs from Vaud, where you can choose between the cash basis and the invoiced basis.

In Fribourg, the annexe 05 instructions are clear: "Le chiffre d'affaires doit être calculé selon la méthode de la facturation. La détermination … selon la méthode de l'encaissement n'est pas admise." In other words: turnover must be calculated on an invoiced basis, and calculating it on a cash basis is not accepted.

Invoiced basis and the list of debtors at 31 December

In practice, an invoice dated 2026 counts in your 2026 turnover, even if the client pays it in February 2027. Invoices still open on 31 December (your debtors) appear on the assets side, like stock and work in progress.

With Magic Heidi, all your invoices for the year, paid and open, and your expenses are already recorded. Around 31 December, export your figures for the year to Excel, and check that the export also includes invoices awaiting payment, not just paid ones: this is the basis for your invoiced turnover and for the list of debtors that annexe 05 asks for. Do this export around 31 December: it shows the status of your invoices at the moment you export. If you export later, use each invoice's payment date to work out which ones were still open on 31 December.

Picture Léa, a fictional graphic designer running a sole proprietorship in Bulle. In 2026 she invoiced CHF 68,000, including two December invoices of CHF 3,200 and CHF 1,800 that were still unpaid on 31 December. On 31 December, she exports her year from Magic Heidi, invoices awaiting payment included.

Her invoiced turnover is CHF 68,000, not the CHF 63,000 she received. Her two clients, with address and amount, make up her list of debtors. In March, swamped, she pays the CHF 20 QR bill and files her return in June, figures ready.

Want to reach 31 December with your invoices and expenses already in order? Magic Heidi's free plan lets you test every feature with 3 invoices and 3 receipts in total, no credit card needed. Magic Heidi doesn't fill in FriTax for you: it gives you figures that are ready to transfer.

Income and expenses by category

Sort your expenses by type: rent or coworking, software, equipment, phone and internet, travel, training, insurance, bank fees. If you're registered for VAT, the VAT you collect and then pay over to the Federal Tax Administration (ESTV/AFC) isn't income from your activity. To see what counts as an expense, read which taxes and costs are deductible.

Travel and entertainment costs are deducted at actual cost. A flat rate is only allowed exceptionally, for minor expenses. And a business loss isn't lost: you can carry it forward over the following 7 years.

Depreciation: IT at 40%, furniture at 25%

Annexe 05 includes a table of rates. Examples: computers (hardware and software) 40%, office machines 40%, motor vehicles 40%, business furniture 25%. These rates apply to the book value; on the acquisition value, they are halved. Our guide to depreciation for the self-employed explains the method.

Private withdrawals and contributions

An item you also use privately (phone, car, home office) can't go fully into expenses. For the car, the leaflet attached to the annexe 05 instructions provides two methods: actual costs, split between private and business kilometres if you can prove them, or a flat rate of 0.9% of the purchase price excluding VAT per month, at least CHF 150 per month. For everything else, read our page on private contributions and withdrawals.

AHV/AVS: what your net income triggers

In 2026, a self-employed person pays 10.0% AHV/IV/EO (AVS/AI/APG) from CHF 60,500 of income. Below that, a sliding scale applies, from 5.371% to 9.321% between CHF 10,100 and CHF 60,500, with a minimum contribution of CHF 530 (income below CHF 10,100). The compensation fund, in Fribourg usually ECAS, then sets your final contributions based on your tax assessment, so on the net income you declare here. A rushed result in March follows you all the way to your AHV statement.

Pillar 3a (code 4.130) and occupational pension (code 4.140)

Pillar 3a goes only under code 4.130, never into your business expenses. You need earned income subject to AHV. For 2026, the ceiling is CHF 7,258 with a pension fund (2nd pillar), and 20% of earned income, up to CHF 36,288, without one (amounts unchanged since 2025). Only payments made in 2026 count and, according to Fribourg's instructions, no deduction is allowed if your self-employed activity makes a loss. Attach the certificate from your bank or insurer. To go further, read our guide to pillar 3a for the self-employed.

If you belong to a pension fund (BVG/LPP), only the "employer's share" of your contributions can be deducted from your earned income (half, if you have no staff). The rest, and any buy-ins, go under code 4.140.

Completing FriTax step by step, in 6 steps

1. Download FriTax "période fiscale 2026" from fr.ch, never from a third-party site: the SCC warns about sites that bundle FriTax with their own advertising products. You need 64-bit Windows 10 or later (32-bit is no longer supported since the 2024 tax period), macOS 10.15 or later, or Linux Ubuntu with a graphical interface. On a Mac, don't move the application after installing it.
2. Import last year's data with "Importer données de l'année précédente" (import previous year's data) and your .FRNP file.
3. Start with your salary if you have one (annexe 03), then move on to your self-employed activity. You can follow the guided entry or go straight to the annexes.
4. Complete annexe 05 (or the back of annexe 03 for a side activity): net result, debtors, stock, depreciation.
5. Attach your accounts: balance sheet and profit and loss account, or the statement of assets and liabilities and statement of income and expenses. Maximum 3 MB per file. FriTax shows you the list of documents to attach.
6. Send from FriTax, then check the receipt FriTax sends back with the items you declared. Then export a backup with "Exporter déclaration d'impôt" (export tax return).

After filing electronically, you have 72 hours to send a corrected return, as many times as needed. After that, it is deemed validly filed; this replaces the signature. Filing by email isn't possible.

Take Nadia, a fictional translator in Murten (Morat). She files her return on a Tuesday evening and realises the next day that she forgot her 3a certificate. She reopens FriTax, adds the PDF and sends it again: she's still within the 72 hours, so this version is the one that counts.

Prefer paper? Print the return and the annexes, sign them, add the barcode sheet and slip everything into the original tax return folder, then send it in the enclosed envelope to the SCC, Case postale, 1701 Fribourg. Stuck in the software? The SCC publishes FriTax help videos.

Fribourg tax return deadline and the CHF 20 extension

The Fribourg tax return deadline is in principle 31 March 2027 (the date printed on your return). To push it back, pay CHF 20 with the enclosed QR bill: the payment counts as the extension, with no reason to give. You can extend up to 4 times, CHF 20 each time, but never beyond 15 December.

There are two routes, each costing CHF 20 (fee in force since 1 January 2015):

• Route A, the simplest: pay CHF 20 only with the QR bill enclosed with your return. The payment counts as the extension. No reason to give, no written confirmation from the SCC.
• Route B: a written, reasoned request, for serious reasons. The SCC replies in writing and charges CHF 20 for processing.

Need more time? A new form for a further paid extension arrives a few days before the current deadline. A maximum of 4 extensions, and none beyond 15 December.

Each step costs CHF 20. The SCC also offers a deadline calculator (XLSX).

With no return and no extension, you receive a formal reminder (sommation) with a 10-day deadline. Next come an assessment by estimate (taxation d'office) and a fine of up to CHF 1,000. For CHF 20, the maths is easy.

Common mistakes made by the self-employed in Fribourg

• Declaring turnover on a cash basis. Fribourg wants the invoiced basis: invoices open on 31 December count.
• Putting pillar 3a into expenses. It goes under code 4.130.
• Expensing all your pension fund contributions. Only the employer's share; the rest goes under code 4.140.
• Forgetting annexe 05 or the accounts when filing electronically. The balance sheet and profit and loss account must still be attached, even online.
• Opening FriTax for the wrong year. There is one version per tax period: the 2025 version won't work for 2026.
• Losing your data when you change computers. FriTax keeps everything on your machine, not with the canton. Export before you switch devices.
• Paying the CHF 20 with a different payment slip from the enclosed QR bill. Only that one counts as an extension.

When to use a fiduciary

Get help, at least for a review, if you have large investments, VAT, activity in several cantons, a first year or a closure of your business. A digital fiduciary in Fribourg can take over your annual exports and finalise your accounts.

Living in Vaud? See VaudTax for the self-employed. Geneva? See GeTax for the self-employed.

In short: your FriTax return without the stress

Whether you're filing FriTax as a full-time self-employed person or for a side activity, it all comes down to three things. First, the right place: code 1.210 and annexe 05 for a main activity, code 1.220 on the back of annexe 03 for a side activity. Next, the right figures: invoiced turnover, a list of debtors at 31 December, and pillar 3a and pension fund contributions under the right codes. Finally, the right timing: in principle 31 March 2027, or CHF 20 to buy time, never beyond 15 December.

Next step: export your figures and your open invoices around 31 December, then download FriTax 2026 from fr.ch as soon as it's published in January. Try Magic Heidi for free: your invoices and expenses in one place all year, figures ready to transfer into FriTax, and a chart of accounts for the self-employed to sort them.

Official resources

• FriTax (fr.ch)
• Download FriTax
• FriTax FAQ
• Self-employment (fr.ch)
• Supplementary instructions for annexe 05 (PDF)
• Getting an extension for filing your return
• Deadline calculator (XLSX)
• Taxpayers' rights and obligations
• AHV leaflet 2.02: contributions of the self-employed
• ECAS: self-employed
• FriTax help videos