Your Swiss payslip explained: what comes off your gross salary, and why
The gap between the gross salary in your contract and the amount paid into your account often surprises newcomers. Here is what each line of a Swiss payslip means.
In Switzerland, your employer deducts your share of social insurance from your gross salary every month, then pays it to the relevant funds together with its own share. These deductions are not fees: they pay for your pension, your accident cover and your unemployment rights.
Which contributions come off every salary?
- AVS, AI, APG (AHV/IV/EO on German-language payslips): old-age and survivors’ insurance, disability insurance and income compensation. Your employer pays half, and it applies to your whole salary.
- AC (ALV in German), unemployment insurance: also split equally, but only up to an annual salary ceiling.
What is deducted for accidents and illness?
From eight hours a week with the same employer, you are insured against accidents, including outside work. Occupational accident cover is paid by your employer; the premium for non-occupational accidents comes off your salary, unless your employer chooses to pay it.
Part of the premium for optional sickness daily allowance insurance may also appear. Basic health insurance does not: you pay it directly to your insurer.
Why is there a pension fund deduction?
Above a salary threshold set by law, you join your employer’s pension fund, the second pillar (prévoyance professionnelle). Up to the age of 24, contributions cover death and disability; after that, they also build up your retirement savings. Your employer pays at least half; the amount depends on the fund’s rules and your age.
When is tax taken straight from your salary?
Your employer deducts tax at source (impôt à la source) every month if you are a foreign national living in Switzerland and hold any permit other than a C permit (a B permit, for example). It covers federal, cantonal and municipal income tax.
It is not deducted if you hold a C permit, or if you are married to a Swiss citizen or a C permit holder.
Family allowances work the other way round: they are added to your pay. At the end of the year, everything is shown on your salary certificate (certificat de salaire), which is used to complete your tax return.
How we can help
Just arrived in Switzerland? Request a free arrival meeting through our form, and we will go through your payslip with you and what it means for your taxes. We then prepare your tax return together in our Premium or Comfort package, with a second consultation included.
A question about your payslip? Call us.
+41 26 303 36 69