Swiss salary calculator
Estimate your Swiss take-home pay from a gross salary, given your canton, civil status and family situation. Below the tool: exactly which lines come off your payslip, why the pension deduction changes with age, and where this estimate stops being reliable.
Monthly breakdown
How this estimate is calculated
We take your monthly gross, subtract mandatory social contributions (AHV/IV/EO, ALV, an age-averaged BVG estimate, and NBU accident insurance), then apply federal income tax using the official federal tariff and cantonal + communal tax using the selected canton's base rate at a representative communal multiplier. Family adjustments (married vs single tariff, per-child deductions) follow the federal DBG rules and the canton's own child allowances. Church tax, when enabled, is applied as a percentage of cantonal base tax typical for the canton. <!-- VERIFY: data vintage — federal and cantonal tariffs anchored to 2025 rates -->
What actually comes off a Swiss payslip
- AHV / IV / EO (assurance-vieillesse / Alters- und Hinterlassenenversicherung) — 5.3% of gross for the employee, matched by the employer. Funds the state pension (1st pillar), disability and loss-of-earnings compensation. Line on your Lohnausweis / certificat de salaire: AHV/IV/EO-Beiträge.
- ALV (Arbeitslosenversicherung / assurance-chômage) — 1.1% of gross up to CHF 148,200/year, plus a 0.5% solidarity contribution on income above that. Funds unemployment insurance.
- BVG / LPP — mandatory second-pillar occupational pension. The employee share depends on your age band: 7% (25–34), 10% (35–44), 15% (45–54), 18% (55–65) of the coordinated salary. Employers must pay at least the same again. Your specific plan may be more generous, so real BVG on your payslip often differs from any estimate.
- NBU (Nichtberufsunfallversicherung / assurance accidents non-professionnels) — non-occupational accident insurance, typically 1–2% of gross paid by the employee. Occupational accident insurance (BU/AAP) is paid entirely by the employer.
- Quellensteuer (impôt à la source) — if you are a foreign resident without a C permit or a cross-border commuter, your employer withholds income tax directly from your salary using a tariff code (A0, B0, C0, H0…) that depends on your civil status, children and whether your spouse works. See our Quellensteuer guide.
- Voluntary pillar 3a — does not appear on the payslip; you pay it into your own 3a account and deduct it in the annual tax return. See our Pillar 3a guide.
What the inputs mean
- Gross salary. Your annual contract salary divided by 12 (or 13 if you have a 13th-month clause). For hourly contracts, multiply hours × rate.
- Canton. Sets the cantonal tariff and a representative communal multiplier (Steuerfuss / coefficient communal). Two communes in the same canton can differ by 20–30% on tax — this tool uses a canton-typical value.
- Civil status. Married couples are jointly taxed under a spouse-splitting tariff that is typically more favourable at similar incomes; registered partnerships are treated like marriage.
- Children. Each dependent child triggers a federal deduction and cantonal deductions/allowances that vary by canton. Custody arrangements can complicate this.
- Church tax. Depends on the religious affiliation you declared at your commune when registering, not on whether you attend. To stop paying you have to formally leave the church (Kirchenaustritt / déclaration de sortie). Geneva and Neuchâtel do not collect church tax through the tax system.
Quellensteuer vs ordinary assessment
If you hold a B, L, F, N or G permit and are not married to a Swiss/C-permit holder, income tax is withheld at source (Quellensteuer / impôt à la source). Above a federal threshold (currently CHF 120,000 gross annual employment income, or if you have significant wealth/side income) you are pulled into an ordinary subsequent assessment (nachträgliche ordentliche Veranlagung / NOV) and must file a full tax return like a Swiss citizen. You can also request NOV voluntarily — usually worthwhile if you have pillar-3a contributions, high commute costs, further-education costs or pension buy-ins to deduct. The deadline to request NOV is 31 March of the year after the tax year, and once granted it applies for the rest of your Swiss residence.
How to read the result
The bottom-line net is take-home cash before health insurance. You still have to pay your basic health insurance premium of typically CHF 280–550/month (see the health insurance estimator) — this is paid privately, not through payroll. If your employer pays out a 13th salary in November or December, treat this monthly figure as the norm and expect one heavier pay-in month; the annual figure is what you should compare across offers.
Limitations of this tool
- BVG is estimated at an age-averaged rate. Your actual employer plan can differ substantially — the coordinated salary threshold, insured salary definition, and voluntary matching all vary by employer. Check your Vorsorgeausweis (pension statement) for the real number.
- The commune matters as much as the canton. This tool uses a canton-typical communal multiplier; your real commune can be 15–30% higher or lower. For a fuller estimate use the tax calculator.
- Wealth tax, imputed rental value, capital income and pension buy-ins are not modelled.
- Special cases the tool cannot capture: G-permit cross-border commuters (double-tax treaty rules), US citizens subject to worldwide reporting, split-year arrivals/departures, self-employed income.
- Church tax percentages are illustrative — the exact rate depends on canton and commune.
Next steps
- Quellensteuer for B-permit holders — whether you're being over- or under-taxed at source.
- AHV for employees — how the first pillar works and what it pays out.
- Pillar 3a tax deduction — the single biggest deduction most newcomers miss.
- Full tax calculator — includes commune choice, deductions and canton comparison.
This is an estimate for orientation only, not a payslip or a binding tax assessment. For your actual figures, ask your HR department or your cantonal tax office.
Expat tax & salary guide: what actually comes off your Swiss pay
Swiss payslips confuse almost everyone in their first year. The gross figure in your contract is not what lands in your account, and the gap is bigger than most newcomers expect — usually somewhere between 15% and 30% once tax and social insurance are taken out, before you have paid a single franc of health-insurance premium. The salary calculator above models the main deductions, and this section explains each line so you can sanity-check the result against your own payslip.
AHV / IV / EO — the first pillar
Old-age and survivors' insurance (AHV), disability insurance (IV) and the loss-of-earnings scheme (EO) are deducted together at 5.3% of gross salary from the employee, with the employer matching the same amount (10.6% total). There is no upper ceiling: high earners keep paying 5.3% on every franc, even though the maximum AHV pension is capped. If you leave Switzerland, AHV contributions are generally not refundable to EU/EFTA nationals — they stay in the system and count toward a future Swiss pension. Read the AHV guide.
ALV — unemployment insurance
Unemployment insurance costs the employee 1.1% on salary up to CHF 148,200 per year, plus a 0.5% solidarity levy on the portion above that ceiling. Entitlement normally requires at least 12 months of contributions in the last two years, which is why a job change in your first year in Switzerland deserves care — especially on a B permit.
BVG — the second pillar (occupational pension)
Above an annual salary of roughly CHF 22,680 you are enrolled in your employer's pension fund. Contributions are calculated on the coordinated salary — gross minus a coordination deduction — and the legal minimum savings rate rises with age: 7% at 25–34, 10% at 35–44, 15% at 45–54 and 18% at 55–65, split at least 50/50 with your employer. Many employers pay more than the minimum, so the only reliable number is the one on your annual pension certificate (Vorsorgeausweis). This is also the money you can later use for a property purchase, or partially withdraw when leaving Switzerland — a decision that is easy to get expensively wrong.
Pillar 3a — the deduction most newcomers miss
Voluntary private pension savings in a Pillar 3a account are deducted directly from taxable income. For 2026 the ceiling is CHF 7,258 for employees with a pension fund, or 20% of net earned income (max CHF 36,288) for the self-employed. At a marginal rate of 25%, paying in the full amount saves roughly CHF 1,800 in tax for that year. Money must be in the account before 31 December to count. See the Pillar 3a guide.
Income tax: three layers, one bill
Swiss income tax is federal, cantonal and communal. The federal rate is identical everywhere; cantonal and communal multipliers are not, and the spread between a low-tax commune in Zug and a high-tax commune in Geneva or Neuchâtel can exceed 15 percentage points of effective rate on the same salary. If you hold a B permit and earn under CHF 120,000, your employer withholds tax at source (Quellensteuer) and you can request a correction by 31 March to claim Pillar 3a, training and commuting costs. Above CHF 120,000 — or with a C permit, a Swiss spouse or significant assets — you file an ordinary return instead. How to file your return.
Paid separately: health insurance
Basic health insurance (KVG/LAMal) is not a payroll deduction. You buy it yourself, it is compulsory within three months of arrival and backdated to your arrival date, and it costs roughly CHF 280–550 per adult per month depending on canton, deductible and insurer. Budget for it separately when you compare job offers or rents — estimate your premium and compare cantons in the 2026 canton benchmark.
Estimates only — not tax, legal or financial advice. See our disclaimer. Binding figures come from your cantonal tax office, insurer and pension fund.