Self-made receipt (Eigenbeleg): lost a receipt? Swiss template

Lost a receipt? First ask the supplier for a copy. If that doesn't work, you write a self-made receipt (Eigenbeleg): a replacement document you draw up yourself, with the date, payee, amount, business purpose, reason and your signature, kept together with the bank statement as proof of payment. If it's plausible, you have a good chance in Switzerland of keeping the deduction for income tax.

For input tax under VAT (MWST / TVA), a self-made receipt on its own is usually not enough.

Take Sandra, a fictional graphic designer from Lucerne. It's February, she's working on her tax return and sorting her expenses. Her bank statement shows "Restaurant Rebstock, CHF 86.50" from a lunch with a client in October.

The till receipt is gone. Sandra wonders whether she simply has to write off the CHF 86.50.

Not necessarily. Almost every freelancer loses a receipt at some point, and in Switzerland the rules differ from what many German guides online describe. In this article you'll learn the right order: copy first, self-made receipt second. You get the 9 details, a fill-in template, the honest answer on VAT and a routine so it doesn't happen again.

What is a self-made receipt (Eigenbeleg)? A self-made receipt (also called a replacement receipt, Ersatzbeleg) is a document you issue yourself when the original receipt for a genuine business expense was lost, is illegible or was never issued. It describes the expense precisely enough for a third party to follow it, and it carries your signature.

Key points at a glance

• Ask for a copy first: a VAT-registered supplier must issue you an invoice on request (Art. 26 para. 1 VAT Act). An invoice copy is almost always better than a receipt you write yourself.
• In Switzerland, a self-made receipt can count as an accounting voucher, because the Code of Obligations accepts any written record that makes the business transaction verifiable (Art. 957a para. 3 CO).
• VAT: a self-made receipt on its own usually gives no input tax deduction. If you're not VAT-registered or you use the net tax rate method (Saldosteuersatz), this doesn't affect you: then only the income tax deduction counts.
• No statutory CHF maximum: there is no legal limit for self-made receipts in your own bookkeeping. The tax administration decides case by case whether it accepts the receipt.
• Self-made receipt plus bank statement belong together, saved with the expense. A card statement alone is not an invoice for VAT purposes.

Lost a receipt? Ask for a copy first

Lost a receipt or has the till slip faded? Before you write a self-made receipt, a quarter of an hour of searching is worth it. A document from the supplier is always stronger than one you draw up yourself. Go through this list in this order:

1. Ask the supplier for a duplicate or an invoice copy. A short email is enough: date, amount, payment method. A VAT-registered supplier must issue you an invoice on request (Art. 26 para. 1 VAT Act). According to the Federal Tax Administration (ESTV), though, enforcing that isn't its job; it is usually a matter of civil law.
2. Check your online account, the app or the booking email. SBB tickets, online shops, airlines and hotels almost always keep receipts in your customer account or in your inbox. Search for the merchant's name and the amount.
3. Secure the bank or card statement. It proves that you paid, but it doesn't replace an invoice. The ESTV states explicitly that debit notes for credit card payments don't count as an invoice for VAT purposes (VAT Info 16, section 2.1).
4. Only if none of this works: write a self-made receipt. You still attach the statement from step 3.

Sandra emails the restaurant. Two days later the reply comes: they can no longer find the receipt. Now the replacement receipt is the right route, and the bank statement showing the CHF 86.50 stays her most important supporting evidence.

What is a self-made receipt (Ersatzbeleg)?

A self-made receipt is a stopgap for an expense that really happened and was business-related. What counts as a voucher in the first place, and which types there are, is explained in the guide to what counts as an accounting voucher. This page only covers the case where the original receipt is missing.

The legal basis in Switzerland

The Code of Obligations requires documentary proof for every accounting entry (Art. 957a para. 2 no. 2 CO). But it defines a voucher very broadly: an accounting voucher is "any written record on paper or in electronic or comparable form that is required to be able to verify the business transaction or the circumstances behind an accounting entry" (Art. 957a para. 3 CO).

So the law doesn't require a document from a third party. The ESTV, too, explicitly lists "internal documents" in VAT Info 16 among the documents that, depending on the circumstances, can count as an accounting voucher. That is why a carefully written replacement receipt can work in Switzerland.

For most freelancers there's one more point: a sole proprietorship (Einzelfirma) with less than CHF 500,000 in revenue in the last financial year only needs to keep accounts on income, expenditure and its asset position (Art. 957 para. 2 no. 1 CO). The recognised accounting principles, and with them the requirement for documentary proof, still apply to it mutatis mutandis (Art. 957 para. 3 CO).

When a self-made receipt fits and when it doesn't

A self-made receipt doesn't turn private costs into business costs. Whether an expense is deductible at all doesn't depend on the receipt but on whether it is commercially justified. For an overview, see the article on which expenses are deductible.

The 9 details a self-made receipt needs

A replacement receipt is only as good as its details. These details make it traceable for a tax assessor:

1. Sequential receipt number, marked "EB" (for example EB-03/2026), so that self-made receipts stand out immediately in your bookkeeping.
2. Date of the expense and date of creation. Both, separately. The creation date is the day you actually write the receipt.
3. Payee: company or name and place, as precisely as possible.
4. Service or item: what did you buy, and how much of it?
5. Amount in CHF. For foreign currency: original amount, currency and the exchange rate you used.
6. Payment method and reference to the proof, for example "Card payment, bank statement of 14.03.2026".
7. Business purpose. For a business meal, also: participants and occasion.
8. Reason for the self-made receipt (lost, faded, never issued) and what you did to get a copy.
9. Place, date and your signature.

The amount has to be the real amount. If you paid by card, copy it from the statement down to the last centime. If you paid cash, write down the amount you actually paid, not an estimated round figure that only looks precise.

Self-made receipt template for Switzerland

Copy this self-made receipt template into a document, print it out or copy it by hand. It's tailored to Swiss conditions: CHF, a VAT note and the fields from the list above.

SELF-MADE RECEIPT (Eigenbeleg)                   No. EB-____ / 20__

Created on: ____________         Date of expense: ____________

Payee:              ________________________________________
                    (company / name, place)

Service / item:     ________________________________________
Quantity:           ______

Amount:             CHF ____________
  (Foreign currency: ____ ________  Rate ______)

Paid by:            [ ] cash   [ ] card   [ ] TWINT   [ ] bank transfer
Proof of payment:   ________________________________________
                    (e.g. bank statement of __.__.____, line ...)

Business purpose:   ________________________________________
  (for hospitality: participants + occasion) ________________

Reason for the self-made receipt:
  [ ] Original receipt lost
  [ ] Receipt illegible / faded (original attached)
  [ ] No receipt was issued (e.g. parking meter, machine)
Efforts to obtain a copy: __________________________________

VAT: No input tax deduction is claimed on this self-made receipt.

Place, date: ______________     Signature: _________________

About the VAT line: it protects you from claiming a deduction you can't prove. If you do get an invoice copy from the supplier later, you book the copy instead of your self-made receipt. Then you no longer need the line.

Afterwards, take a photo of the signed self-made receipt and save it with the bank statement on the expense. If, the other way round, you need to issue a receipt to a client yourself, that's a different case: for that there's the receipt template for Switzerland.

Tip from practice: record the expense in Magic Heidi straight away and attach both photos to the same expense: the self-made receipt and the excerpt from the bank statement. Then everything is in one place if the tax administration asks.

Will the self-made receipt be accepted?

The honest answer: often yes, if it's plausible, but it isn't guaranteed. Whether the tax administration accepts a self-made receipt is decided case by case. Plausibility and supporting evidence are what tip the balance.

On your tax return (income tax)

As a self-employed person with simplified bookkeeping, you enclose statements of income, expenditure and your asset position with your tax return (Art. 125 para. 2 let. b of the Direct Federal Tax Act, DBG). You must produce the individual receipts on request and keep them for 10 years (Art. 126 DBG).

A single, plausible replacement receipt with a bank statement and a clear purpose has a good chance here. It gets tricky when many receipts are missing.

If your figures can't be determined properly because reliable records are missing, the tax authority may assess you at its dutiful discretion (Art. 130 para. 2 DBG). It then estimates your figures.

For VAT: usually no input tax

This is where Switzerland differs from Germany in the details, and German guides won't help you here. You may only deduct VAT that was "invoiced" to you (Art. 28 para. 1 let. a VAT Act), and you have to prove the amount of the tax. According to the ESTV, the invoice must show at least the tax amount or the tax rate for this (VAT Info 09, section 1.1). But a self-made receipt doesn't come from the supplier, and it doesn't prove which VAT rate the supplier charged.

That's why a self-made receipt on its own usually gives no input tax deduction. It isn't completely ruled out: in VAT proceedings, the principle of free assessment of evidence applies (Art. 81 para. 3 VAT Act). If there is no single conclusive piece of evidence, the overall picture of several pieces of evidence can, according to the ESTV, possibly still amount to conclusive proof, for example contracts, receipts and payment confirmations (VAT Info 09, section 1.6).

The evidential value is examined case by case. I wouldn't rely on it. The safe route to input tax is an invoice or invoice copy from the supplier. According to the ESTV, the surest way to provide proof is a formally correct invoice, and where the evidence is unclear, the ESTV itself recommends asking the supplier for a correct invoice.

Not VAT-registered or on the net tax rate method? Then this doesn't affect you. You become liable for VAT from CHF 100,000 in annual revenue in Switzerland and abroad from supplies that are not exempt from tax (more on this under VAT for freelancers). Below that, you're not VAT-registered unless you register voluntarily, and you have no input tax deduction. If you account using the net tax rate method (Saldosteuersatz), input tax is already taken into account in the rate (Art. 37 para. 3 VAT Act). In both cases, your self-made receipt only has to support the income tax deduction, and that's exactly what it's made for.

What makes a self-made receipt credible

• Proof of payment attached: bank statement, card statement or booking email.
• Written promptly: as soon as you notice the loss, not three years later.
• Real amount: to the centime, not "about" CHF 50.
• Clear business purpose: client, project, appointment.
• Rare: a few self-made receipts a year look normal; dozens don't.

One limit always applies: a self-made receipt must be true. Never backdate it, never invent amounts and never write one for an expense that didn't happen. Anyone who evades tax using documents that are false in content commits tax fraud (Art. 186 DBG).

Three self-made receipt examples from freelance life

The amounts are examples. They show what the fields look like in typical situations.

Coin-operated parking meter at a client meeting

Picture Marco, a fictional IT consultant from Winterthur. He parks before a client meeting in Schaffhausen and puts CHF 6.00 in coins into the parking meter. The meter prints nothing.

Marco has no proof of payment because he paid cash. That makes the purpose all the more important.

His replacement receipt says: "Parking meter in front of Company X's office, Schaffhausen, CHF 6.00, client meeting Company X, 09:00 to 11:00, no receipt issued". As supporting evidence, he saves the calendar entry for the meeting. With small amounts like this, plausibility is everything.

Faded till receipt for office supplies

Lea, a fictional copywriter from Bern, buys printer paper and toner for CHF 148.90 in March and pays by card. By December, the thermal receipt is just a blank white strip.

Lea writes a replacement receipt, ticks "faded" and attaches the original anyway. Because she is VAT-registered and uses the effective method, she also wants the input tax.

So she also asks the shop for a duplicate. If she gets it, she books the duplicate with VAT. If she doesn't, she books the replacement receipt without input tax.

Taxi abroad, paid in cash

After a trade fair in Milan, Sandra takes a taxi to the station and pays EUR 25 in cash. The driver wouldn't issue a receipt.

On her replacement receipt she notes the original amount in euros, the rate she uses to convert it and the amount in CHF. The trade fair ticket and the train booking from the same day serve as supporting evidence. A replacement receipt plus two documents that confirm the day: that's an overall picture a tax assessor can follow.

How to make sure it doesn't happen again

The best replacement receipt is the one you never have to write. Receipts almost always get lost somewhere between the till and the shoebox. The solution is a routine that kicks in right when you pay.

1. Photograph the receipt at the till. Scan receipts with Magic Heidi when you buy. The AI reads the merchant, date, amount and VAT rate. The page scan receipts with the app shows exactly how it works.
2. File PDF invoices straight away. Online purchases and subscriptions arrive by email. Upload the PDF right away instead of leaving it in your inbox.
3. Record self-made receipts properly. If a receipt is missing after all, attach several files to the same expense: first the photo of the signed self-made receipt, then the screenshot of the bank statement. The AI reads the first file, so check the amount and date afterwards. If you use the effective VAT method, set the VAT rate to 0% as long as you don't have an invoice copy showing the rate.
4. Look for missing receipts before closing your books. In the Magic Heidi app on your smartphone, show only the expenses without an attachment. That way you see in December where something is still missing, and you can ask for duplicates while the supplier still remembers. In April that's much harder.

The video shows how to record expenses in Magic Heidi:

Sandra learned from February. Since spring, she photographs every receipt while still at the table, before she leaves the restaurant. In December, her list of expenses without an attachment shows exactly two entries, both parking fees.

Record your next expense in Magic Heidi and attach the self-made receipt and bank statement straight away. The free plan runs without a credit card.

Conclusion: copy first, self-made receipt second

A lost receipt doesn't automatically cost you the deduction. Stick to three things:

• Copy first: supplier, customer account, booking email. A document from a third party is always stronger.
• Then a clean self-made receipt with the 9 details from the template, the real amount and your signature. For input tax it's usually not enough; for income tax it often is.
• Everything in one place: self-made receipt and bank statement together on the expense, for 10 years.

Take ten minutes today for the missing receipt and write your self-made receipt while you still remember the date and purpose. After that, a small routine makes sure your next year-end close is only about exceptions.

This article is not tax advice. For larger amounts, or if you need many self-made receipts, clarify your situation with your fiduciary (Treuhänderin) or directly with the cantonal tax administration.

By Nathan Ganser, founder of Magic Heidi. Last updated: November 2026.