Your employees use the salary certificate to prove what they received from you in the calendar year. They attach it to their tax return, and the tax authority checks the figures against it. A wrongly completed salary certificate causes queries and, in the worst case, additional tax claims. This guide explains what the employer must state on Form 11, which item is meant for what and where mistakes happen. The basis is the guidance notes (Wegleitung) of the Swiss Tax Conference (SSK) and the Federal Tax Administration (FTA/ESTV), valid from 1 January 2026.
Who must issue the salary certificate
Under Art. 127, para. 1 lit. a DBG, employers must certify in writing to the taxpayer what benefits they have provided to employees. The guidance notes specify: every employer issues every employee a salary certificate declaring all benefits and benefits in kind received from the employment relationship (m.no. 2). This matches the principle that all income from employment is taxable, including secondary income such as commissions, gratuities or other benefits in kind (Art. 17, para. 1 DBG).
The guidance notes are binding (m.no. 1). They are revised yearly; the version for the year certified is decisive. The certificate is issued annually, immediately on moving away or death, and covers all benefits of the calendar year. Splitting across several certificates is in principle not permitted (m.no. 7). Anyone who omits or wrongly completes a salary certificate may be punished or held liable (m.no. 73). Some cantons also require a copy sent directly to the cantonal tax administration: Basel-Stadt, Bern, Fribourg, Jura, Neuchâtel, Solothurn, Vaud and Valais, with voluntary submission in Lucerne (m.no. 74). The cantonal tax authorities answer questions on completion.
The header of the form
The header gives details on the person and the employment relationship:
- A and B: The form serves as a salary certificate (A) or a pension certificate (B).
- C and D: AHV number and date of birth of the person, and the calendar year.
- E: Joining and leaving dates, even for year-round employment (m.no. 8).
- F: Tick for free transport between home and work, e.g. with a company car (m.no. 9, 25). Commuting costs you reimburse belong in item 2.3 (m.no. 17).
- G: Tick for lunch cheques or subsidised meals in a staff canteen (m.no. 10).
- H and I: Address of the person, place and date, employer’s name and contact person. Fully automatically generated certificates may omit the signature (m.no. 12).
The items at a glance
| Item | Content | Important |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salary, unless in 2 to 7 | Ordinary salary, 13th month, allowances (incl. family allowances), commissions, daily allowances you pay (m.no. 13–18, 27) |
| 2.1–2.3 | Fringe benefits | At market value; meals and accommodation, private use of company car, other (m.no. 19–26) |
| 3 | Irregular benefits | Bonus, joining and leaving payments, loyalty bonuses, relocation payments (m.no. 27) |
| 4 | Lump-sum payments | E.g. severance payments with a pension character (m.no. 28) |
| 5 | Equity participation rights | With supplementary sheet (m.no. 29) |
| 6 | Board of directors’ fees | Incl. attendance fees and directors’ percentage (m.no. 30) |
| 7 | Other benefits | E.g. contributions to health insurance or pillar 3b, employer’s pillar 3a, taxes assumed (m.no. 31–40) |
| 8 | Total gross salary | Items 1 to 7 (m.no. 41) |
| 9 | Contributions AHV/IV/EO/ALV/NBUV | Employee share only (m.no. 42) |
| 10 | Occupational pension | Ordinary contributions (10.1), buy-ins (10.2) (m.no. 43–46) |
| 11 | Net salary | Item 8 minus items 9 and 10 (m.no. 47) |
| 12 | Withholding tax deduction | Gross amount for the year (m.no. 48) |
| 13 | Expense reimbursements | Not in gross salary (m.no. 49–61) |
| 14 | Other fringe benefits | No amount if you cannot value them (m.no. 62) |
| 15 | Remarks | Mandatory details and voluntary notes (m.no. 63–71) |
Three points lead to mistakes particularly often:
- Deductions: Only the employee share belongs in item 9. Contributions to daily sickness allowance insurance and premiums for supplementary UVG insurance charged to salary may not be deducted, but may be shown in item 15 (m.no. 42). Pillar 3a contributions never appear as a deduction either; the pension institution certifies them itself (m.no. 38). If you take over employee contributions to the pension fund, they belong first in item 7 and may then be deducted in item 10 (m.no. 36, 43).
- Private use of a company car: If the employer bears all costs, apply 0.9 per cent of the purchase price excluding VAT per month, at least CHF 150 for a purchase price under CHF 16’667 (m.no. 21). If the employee bears considerable costs, there is no addition, but the note “Private use of company car to be clarified in the assessment procedure” (m.no. 22).
- Withholding tax: Withholding tax is shown gross in item 12. If the employer pays it itself, it belongs in item 7 with the note “Withholding tax paid by employer” (m.no. 48). On this, see the guide to withholding tax for employers.
Expenses in the salary certificate
Expenses are compensation for outlays in the course of official duties and are not part of gross salary (m.no. 49). Reimbursements for the journey to work or private storage rooms are not expenses; they are always added to salary (m.no. 50). The guidance notes distinguish:
- Actual expenses (item 13.1): Outlays reimbursed against receipt or as a flat rate for an individual case are in principle declared. A cross in field 13.1.1 suffices if all requirements of m.no. 52 are met, including: overnight stays against receipt, lunch or dinner as a rule at most CHF 35 or a flat rate of at most CHF 30, at most 75 centimes per kilometre for a private vehicle and petty expenses against receipt or as a daily flat rate of at most CHF 20.
- Flat-rate expenses (item 13.2): Flat rates for a period, such as monthly car or entertainment expenses, are stated as an amount for all employees, even with an approved expense policy. They must roughly match actual outlays (m.no. 55). A contribution to the costs of an external workplace such as a home office belongs in item 13.2.3 (m.no. 58).
- Approved expense policy: With approval by the canton of the registered office, only flat-rate expenses are stated as an amount, plus the note in item 15 “Expense policy approved by canton XY on …” (m.no. 59, 60).
For an expense process in practice, see the guide to expense claims in SMEs.
Benefits you do not have to declare
In principle every benefit from the employer is taxable. For practical reasons, the guidance notes list exceptions (m.no. 72), for example: half-fare travelcards provided free, customary Christmas and birthday gifts in kind up to CHF 600 per calendar year (cash is always salary), private use of work tools within the usual scope, a free parking space at the place of work, and discounts on third-party products up to 20 per cent per benefit and CHF 600 a year. If a benefit exceeds the limit, sometimes the whole amount is declared, sometimes only the difference. Read the margin number itself on this.
Remarks and corrections
Item 15 takes everything that has no room in any other field (m.no. 63). Required, among others:
- “One of … salary certificates” when, exceptionally, several certificates are issued for the same year (m.no. 66).
- “This salary certificate replaces the salary certificate of XX.XX.XXXX” when you replace an existing certificate (m.no. 66a).
- A note on part-time employment where the activity rate is reduced (m.no. 67).
- The note on the approved expense policy (m.no. 65).
Voluntary details that help the person in the assessment procedure are possible, such as the amount of child allowances included in gross salary (m.no. 63).
Practical example: Ruppli Metallbau AG
The Ruppli Metallbau AG is a fictitious business. Lea Brunner, a design engineer, was employed all of 2026. She receives CHF 6’000 a month, 13 monthly salaries, a child allowance of an assumed CHF 215 a month, a company car (purchase price excluding VAT CHF 40’000, all costs borne by the employer), a December bonus of CHF 4’000 and a home office flat rate of CHF 50 a month. The deductions come from the payroll statements and are assumed.
| Item | Amount in CHF | Calculation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 80’580 | 13 × 6’000 = 78’000, plus 12 × 215 = 2’580 |
| 2.2 | 4’320 | 0.9% of 40’000 = 360 a month, × 12 |
| 3 | 4’000 | Bonus |
| 8 (subtotal) | 88’900 | 80’580 + 4’320 + 4’000 |
| 9 | 6’200 | AHV/IV/EO, ALV and NBU per payroll statements (assumed) |
| 10.1 | 4’800 | Pension fund per payroll statements (assumed) |
| 11 (subtotal) | 77’900 | 88’900 − 6’200 − 4’800 |
| 13.2.3 | 600 | 12 × 50, not in gross salary |
Further details: Cross F is set because Ms Brunner uses a company car (m.no. 25). In item 15, voluntarily, “Child allowances of CHF 2’580 included in gross salary” appears (m.no. 63), and the note in item 13.2.3 reads “Home office flat rate”. Because she was employed all year, the company could also have included the bonus in item 1 (m.no. 27); it shows it separately.
The company issues the salary certificate on 29 January 2027. On 15 March 2027 it notices that an amount was recorded incorrectly. It issues a new certificate and writes in item 15: “This salary certificate replaces the salary certificate of 29.01.2027” (m.no. 66a).
Checklist
- Guidance notes for the year certified used
- Joining and leaving dates, AHV number and address complete
- All allowances, daily allowances and the 13th monthly salary in item 1
- Company car, meals and other fringe benefits valued (item 2), cross F checked
- Item 8 equals the sum of items 1 to 7; item 11 matches item 8 minus 9 and 10
- Only the employee share in item 9, no daily sickness allowance or supplementary insurance premiums
- Withholding tax gross in item 12
- Expenses checked against m.no. 52: cross 13.1.1 or amounts, flat rates always in item 13.2
- Mandatory remarks in item 15 (expense policy, part-time, several certificates, replacement)
- Checked whether your canton requires a copy directly
How KMU | base helps
If HR | base runs your payroll, the salary certificate is generated from the year’s closed payroll statements. The software does not replace checking against the guidance notes, but saves you the gathering of figures.
1. Details in the payroll master data. Under Payroll › Payroll › People open the person. In the “Salary certificate” group, set crosses F and G and enter item 14 (other fringe benefits) and item 15 (remarks), one entry per line. HR | base assigns amounts to items via the wage types: monthly salary, allowances and daily allowances to item 1, a bonus to item 3, private use of a company car to item 2.2, expenses to item 13.
2. Create salary certificates. Under Payroll › Payroll › Salary certificates choose the year and create the certificates in a bulk run; an existing certificate can be recreated for a single person. Until the end of February, the page suggests the previous year. Before creating, HR | base checks plausibility: if the AHV number or the person’s or employer’s address is missing, or net salary would be negative, no certificate is created for that person; the others are unaffected. The certificates are archived and made available to employees under “My documents”. Optionally, an editable cover letter accompanies the individual or bulk run.
3. Versions on corrections. If the position changes after a correction run, generating again creates a new version; the previous one stays archived and is marked as replaced. Unchanged certificates are not generated twice.
4. Recapitulation and payroll account. Under Payroll › Payroll › Reports you see the recapitulation on screen. You download it and the annual payroll account as CSV, to reconcile totals with accounting before sending.
What you need to know:
- The salary certificate is a presentation following the FTA guidance notes, in whole francs, not the official form layout. Electronic notification to the tax administration runs through the ELM payroll declaration procedure; productive dispatch is not yet released pending Swissdec certification.
- The presentation has no cross for item 13.1.1; actual expenses appear as an amount. Field I contains employer and address; place, date and contact person are not provided.
- On a correction, the certificate refers to the replaced version but lacks the wording of m.no. 66a with the date of the replaced certificate. Add it yourself if needed.
- In the standard wage type “Birth allowance”, the amount goes to item 3; the guidance notes list birth allowances among the allowances in item 1 (m.no. 15). Check the assignment if you pay them.
- HR | base takes the note on the approved expense policy from the company details only if flat-rate expenses are shown. Other mandatory remarks such as “part-time employment” you enter in item 15 yourself.
- Items 14 and 15 apply per person from the latest payroll master data, not per year. Check them before each annual dispatch.
- HR | base creates salary certificates only for companies whose payroll it runs itself.
If you would like to try it yourself, take a look at the Demo or open a test account. If you have questions, we will help you via the Contact page.
Sources
- Federal Act on Direct Federal Taxation (DBG, SR 642.11), Art. 17, para. 1 and Art. 127, para. 1 lit. a, para. 2, as at 2 September 2026: fedlex.admin.ch (German original), accessed on 27.10.2026.
- Swiss Tax Conference (SSK) and FTA, guidance notes on completing the salary certificate and pension certificate (Form 11), valid from 1 January 2026, m.no. 1–75: estv.admin.ch (in German), accessed on 27.10.2026.
This guide does not replace legal or tax advice. Information as at 27.10.2026.