Payroll in Switzerland becomes clear once you keep three quantities apart: the agreed gross salary, the basis of each individual deduction and the amount actually paid out. A single percentage for all social deductions is not enough. The insurance plan, age, insured salary and tax situation all change the payslip. This guide explains the most important items with the values for 2026 and works through an example in full. It is no substitute for a table of parameters for each person and each year.
From salary entitlement to the payslip
Start with the employment contract and the changes in the period: which monthly or hourly salary applies, what other entitlements have been agreed, which variable payments are confirmed? A correct contribution rate does not repair a gross salary that was taken over wrongly. Unless agreed or customary otherwise, salary is paid at the end of each month (Art. 323, para. 1 CO), and the employee must be given a written payslip (Art. 323b, para. 1 CO). The employer may set off counterclaims against salary only to the extent that the salary is attachable; this does not apply to claims for damage caused intentionally (Art. 323b, para. 2 CO). The law prescribes no particular layout.
Assign each item to a category: an expense reimbursement is checked differently from a salary allowance, and an insurance benefit flows differently from a monthly salary. Also record the basis on which a deduction runs. The salary subject to AHV contributions, the BVG coordinated salary, the insured earnings under accident insurance and the amount subject to withholding tax can differ from one another. Anyone who compares only the final payment overlooks such differences.
AHV, IV, EO and unemployment insurance
An AHV contribution of 4.35 per cent is levied on the determining salary (Art. 5, para. 1 AHVG); the employer’s contribution is likewise 4.35 per cent (Art. 13 AHVG). Determining salary means any remuneration for dependent employment, including allowances, commissions, gratuities, benefits in kind and holiday and public-holiday compensation (Art. 5, para. 2 AHVG). The employer deducts the employee’s share of the contribution at every salary payment (Art. 14, para. 1 AHVG).
IV and EO are added to this. According to leaflet 2.01 of the AHV/IV Information Centre, the 2026 rates are 8.7 per cent AHV, 1.4 per cent IV and 0.5 per cent EO, that is 10.6 per cent in total; the employer deducts half, 5.3 per cent, from the salary and bears the other half itself. The compensation funds also levy an administration cost contribution, payable by the employer. The obligation to contribute begins on 1 January after the 17th birthday. Anyone who has reached the reference age (as a rule 65) and keeps working continues to pay AHV, IV and EO but, from the end of that month, no longer pays unemployment insurance (ALV) contributions. An allowance of CHF 16’800 a year applies, in the monthly payslip CHF 1’400 a month. If the person wants to pay contributions on the whole salary, they say so at the latest at the first salary payment after reaching the reference age and, in later years, at the first salary payment of the year.
Unemployment insurance levies 2.2 per cent up to the maximum insured earnings under accident insurance; employer and employee each bear half of the contribution (Art. 3, paras. 2 and 3 AVIG). The maximum is CHF 148’200 a year (Art. 22, para. 1 UVV), that is CHF 12’350 a month. Since 1 January 2023 no ALV contributions are due on salary components above it. The employee’s share is 1.1 per cent.
Accident insurance, daily sickness allowance and supplementary insurance
The employer bears the premiums for compulsory insurance against occupational accidents and occupational diseases. The premiums for non-occupational accidents (NBU) are borne by the employee; arrangements in the employee’s favour to the contrary remain reserved (Art. 91, paras. 1 and 2 UVG). The employer owes the insurer the full premium and deducts the employee’s share from salary (Art. 91, para. 3 UVG). The premium rate is not the same for all businesses; use the rate in the policy.
Daily sickness allowance insurance and supplementary insurance to the UVG depend on the contract. Before you make a deduction, you need the agreed contribution and its basis. The difference between premium and benefit is explained in the guide to sick pay.
Occupational pension provision (BVG)
Employees with an annual salary of more than CHF 22’680 from one employer are subject to compulsory insurance: for death and disability from 1 January after their 17th birthday, for old age from 1 January after they turn 24 (Art. 7, para. 1 BVG). The part of the annual salary between CHF 26’460 and CHF 90’720 is insured, the coordinated salary, but at least CHF 3’780 (Art. 8, paras. 1 and 2 BVG; the amounts quoted are those of the BVG as at 1 January 2025, which applies in 2026; Art. 5 BVV 2 lists all four amounts). Retirement credits are 7 per cent (age 25–34), 10 per cent (35–44), 15 per cent (45–54) and 18 per cent (55–65) of the coordinated salary (Art. 16 BVG). If salary falls temporarily because of illness or an accident, the previous coordinated salary applies for at least as long as the duty to continue paying salary under Art. 324a CO would last (Art. 8, para. 3 BVG).
The contributions themselves are set by the pension scheme in its regulations. The employer must contribute in total at least as much as all its employees together (Art. 66, para. 1 BVG), and it deducts the employee share set by the regulations from salary (Art. 66, para. 3 BVG). The statutory retirement credits are not the whole pension fund deduction; risk and administration contributions come on top. For the payslip you need the plan and the confirmed insured salary.
Withholding tax and payment
If withholding tax applies, it is a tax item in its own right and not a social insurance contribution. The debtor of the taxable benefit must withhold the tax owed when it falls due, issue a confirmation of the tax deduction and remit the tax periodically to the competent authority (Art. 88, para. 1 DBG). The tariff and assessment depend on the personal circumstances and the canton; a flat-rate deduction taken over from another person is not a calculation.
The payment results from the earnings less the employee deductions and permitted set-offs; checked expenses are added depending on the case. Employer contributions belong in the employer’s costs and are not additionally treated as a deduction. Keep these levels separate in your check.
Practical example: Büro Sonnensteg
Büro Sonnensteg is a fictitious business. A 38-year-old employee earns CHF 5’000.00 a month, twelve times a year, without withholding tax. The policies are assumptions of this example: NBU premium 1.2 per cent, borne entirely by the employee; daily sickness allowance premium 1.0 per cent, split equally; pension fund with a 6.0 per cent employee and 7.0 per cent employer contribution on the coordinated salary. The coordinated salary is CHF 60’000 − CHF 26’460 = CHF 33’540.
| Item | Calculation | Amount CHF |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | agreed monthly salary | 5’000.00 |
| AHV/IV/EO | 5’000 × 5.3 % | − 265.00 |
| ALV | 5’000 × 1.1 % | − 55.00 |
| NBU | 5’000 × 1.2 % | − 60.00 |
| Daily sickness allowance | 5’000 × 0.5 % | − 25.00 |
| BVG | 33’540 × 6.0 % / 12 | − 167.70 |
| Total deductions | 265 + 55 + 60 + 25 + 167.70 | − 572.70 |
| Net payment | 5’000 − 572.70 | 4’427.30 |
On the employer’s side, the same person incurs AHV/IV/EO of CHF 265.00, ALV of CHF 55.00, daily sickness allowance of CHF 25.00 and BVG of 33’540 × 7.0 % / 12 = CHF 195.65. The subtotal of these four items is CHF 540.65. It is not yet the full employer cost: the premium for occupational accidents, the compensation fund’s administration cost contribution, the family compensation fund and other items come on top. Labelling it a subtotal prevents a wrong cost comparison.
Spotting errors before approval
Compare the payslip with the previous period and with the approved changes. A deviation needs an understandable reason such as a joiner, a salary change or a confirmed variable payment. Conversely, an unchanged payment can be wrong if an approved change was not carried over.
Correct at the cause. A manual adjustment of the payment leaves the error in the contribution bases. Correct the wage type concerned or the wrong master value and recalculate the period. The check must make it possible to see which version was approved.
Checklist for the payroll run
- Valid payroll master data and approved changes carried over
- Variable pay and expenses checked on their merits
- Contribution bases and maximum limits checked for each item (AHV/IV/EO with no upper limit, ALV and UVG up to 148’200, BVG coordinated salary up to 90’720)
- Employer and employee shares kept separate
- Premium rates and contributions reconciled with the policies
- Pension contributions reconciled with the pension fund’s regulations
- Withholding tax checked separately, where applicable
- Deviations from the previous period explained
- Payslip approved by a second person
How KMU | base helps
You find payroll in HR | base under Payroll › Payroll. “AHV/IV/EO and ALV” calculates the contributions with maximum salary limits, the pensioner allowance and the rule for young people. The statutory values are stored for each year (2025 to 2027); if they are missing for a year, HR | base blocks the run until the values are approved. You enter policies and pension fund plans with rates and validity yourself in the Settings tab. “UVG/NBU, UVGZ, KTG with split” calculates the employees’ NBU share and the rates for daily sickness allowance and supplementary insurance, separately for employees and employer. “BVG” determines the coordinated salary per plan with entry threshold and age limits. HR | base rounds the deductions to 5 centimes.
With the “Trial calculation” you calculate a salary on a trial basis for a person in the People tab, also backwards from a desired payment to the gross salary. The “Payroll run with the four-eyes principle” takes regular, special, advance and correction runs from “calculated” through “checked” to “approved”; only a person other than the one who calculated or checked may approve. You can reopen and cancel a run.
After closing, HR | base archives the payslips in an audit-proof way. “Payslip as PDF for employees” makes them available under My documents; AHV number and IBAN are masked.
The guide to HR | base explains how to use it. Take a look at the Demo or open a test account. If you have questions, we will help you via the Contact page.
Sources
- Code of Obligations (OR, SR 220), Art. 323, para. 1 and Art. 323b, paras. 1 and 2, as at 1 October 2026: fedlex.admin.ch (German original), accessed on 27.10.2026.
- Federal Act on Old-Age and Survivors’ Insurance (AHVG, SR 831.10), Art. 5, 13 and 14, para. 1, as at 1 January 2026: fedlex.admin.ch (German original), accessed on 27.10.2026.
- Unemployment Insurance Act (AVIG, SR 837.0), Art. 3, paras. 2 and 3, as at 1 January 2026: fedlex.admin.ch (German original), accessed on 27.10.2026.
- Federal Act on Accident Insurance (UVG, SR 832.20), Art. 91, and Ordinance on Accident Insurance (UVV, SR 832.202), Art. 22, para. 1, both as at 1 January 2026: UVG (German original), UVV (German original), accessed on 27.10.2026.
- Federal Act on Occupational Retirement, Survivors’ and Invalidity Pension Provision (BVG, SR 831.40), Art. 7, 8, 16 and 66, as at 1 January 2025: fedlex.admin.ch (German original); BVV 2 (SR 831.441.1), Art. 3a and 5, as at 1 August 2026: fedlex.admin.ch (German original), accessed on 27.10.2026.
- Federal Act on Direct Federal Taxation (DBG, SR 642.11), Art. 88, para. 1, as at 2 September 2026: fedlex.admin.ch (German original), accessed on 27.10.2026.
- AHV/IV Information Centre: leaflet 2.01 Salary contributions to the AHV, IV and EO (in German), as at 1 January 2026, and leaflet 2.08 Contributions to unemployment insurance (in German), as at 1 January 2025, accessed on 27.10.2026.
This guide does not replace legal or tax advice. Information as at 27.10.2026.