Debt brake (federal finances)
Current data on compliance with the debt brake, the outlook in the financial plans, and extraordinary expenditure and receipts.
The federal budget from a debt brake viewpoint
For the first time since 2019, the federal budget ended the year with a financing surplus (+259 mn). With a balance of 1,185 million, the ordinary account recorded a surplus, while the extraordinary account made a negative contribution to the result (-925 mn).
In CHF bn
Switzerland's economic capacity remained underutilized in 2025. The cyclical factor, which is a measure of economic capacity utilization, was 1.003, indicating underutilization of 0.3%. The debt brake would have therefore permitted a cyclical financing deficit of 262 million in the ordinary budget. However, the ordinary financial result was better, which explains the structural surplus of 1.4 billion.
The structural financing surplus (1.4 bn) and extraordinary receipts (0.6 bn) were credited to the amortization account, while extraordinary expenditure (1.5 bn) was debited to it. The amortization account therefore had a shortfall of 26.3 billion at the end of 2025 (2024: -26.8 bn). The balance of the compensation account remained unchanged at +20 billion in 2025.
Compensation account and amortization account
Both of these instruments for debt brake control statistics are updated based on the actual results in the financial statements. If there is a structural financing surplus in the ordinary budget, this is currently credited to the amortization account (FBA revision to reduce coronavirus-related debt; in force since February 1, 2023). Any structural financing deficit in the ordinary budget is debited to the compensation account.
The amortization account has a large negative balance as a result of coronavirus-related expenditure. By contrast, the compensation account has a high positive balance, as the debt brake requirements in the ordinary budget were exceeded overall until 2019.
Data
Detailed data for longer periods are available under the following links: