How to read a Swiss payslip: every deduction explained

What the law says about your payslip

Your employer has to pay your wage in legal currency during working time, unless something else is agreed or customary, and has to give you a written statement of it (Art. 323b(1) OR). Wages are due at the end of each month unless shorter periods or other dates are agreed or customary (Art. 323(1)).

The same article limits what can be taken out of your wage. The employer may set off claims against your wage only as far as it can be attached, except for damage you caused on purpose. An agreement about using your wage in the employer's interest is void (Art. 323b(2) and (3)).

The lines on a payslip

The sources behind the table: the AHV, IV and EO rates are in the federal leaflet 2.01 of the BSV. The unemployment rate is 2.2% up to the maximum insured earnings of the accident insurance, split equally between you and your employer (Art. 3 AVIG), and that maximum is CHF 148,200 a year (Art. 22 UVV).

Accidents at work and occupational illnesses are insured as well, and that premium is paid by the employer. The premium for accidents outside work is paid by you unless you agree otherwise in your favour. The employer owes the whole premium to the insurer and deducts your share from your wage (Art. 91 UVG). The pension fund works the same way (Art. 66(2) and (3) BVG).

Withholding tax applies to foreign nationals without a settlement permit who live in Switzerland (Art. 83 DBG). Spouses who live together are not subject to it if one of them is Swiss or holds a settlement permit. Our withholding tax guide explains the tariffs and how to ask for an ordinary assessment.

How the pension fund line is built

Only wages above CHF 22,680 a year fall under the compulsory pension fund (Art. 2 and 7 BVG). The insured wage is the part of your annual wage between CHF 26,460 and CHF 90,720, called the coordinated wage, with a minimum of CHF 3,780 (Art. 8). Each year the fund credits savings as a percentage of that wage: 7% from age 25 to 34, 10% from 35 to 44, 15% from 45 to 54 and 18% from 55 to 65 (Art. 16).

These are the minimum age credits for both sides together. Contributions also pay for death and disability cover, and the fund's regulations decide the split. The employer has to pay at least as much as all employees together (Art. 66(1)). A fund can also insure more than the minimum, so the line on your payslip can be higher than these numbers suggest. Your fund's regulations or your contract tell you the exact rate.

What CHF 100,000 leaves you in three cantons

This example comes from our salary calculator. It shows a single person aged 32 with no children and no church tax, living in the capital of the canton, for tax year 2026. Figures are in CHF.

The four insurance lines add up to CHF 9,374 in every canton. The gap comes from income tax: CHF 5,464 in Zug, CHF 12,106 in Zurich and CHF 15,791 in Geneva. The income tax figures come from the federal tax administration's calculator, which our model follows. The accident and pension lines are modelling assumptions that copy what that calculator applies: 0.4% for accident insurance, and for the pension fund half of the age credit on the coordinated wage, plus a flat 3.5% on pay above CHF 90,720. Your own lines will differ.

Try your own figures in the free salary calculator.

Payslip and salary certificate are different documents

The payslip is the monthly statement. The salary certificate (Lohnausweis) is a yearly document. Employers must issue written certificates of what they paid their employees (Art. 127(1)(a) DBG), and you attach it to your tax return (Art. 125(1)(a) DBG). Keep it with your other tax papers. Our tax guide explains the return.

What to check on your own payslip

• The gross wage matches your contract, and a 13th month is paid when your contract says it is due.
• The AHV/IV/EO line is 5.3% of the gross wage.
• The ALV line is 1.1% and stops once your wage for the year reaches CHF 148,200.
• The accident insurance line is there only if your contract does not make the employer pay it. If it looks high, ask for the insurer's rate.
• The pension fund line follows the fund's regulations. Ask for them if you have never seen them.
• There is no deduction you cannot explain. Repayments of advances or damage claims are limited to the part of your wage that can be attached, except for damage caused on purpose.
• A withholding tax line appears only if you are subject to it.

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