Swiss Salary Deductions Explained (2026)

Your Swiss contract shows a gross salary (Bruttolohn), but the amount that reaches your account is noticeably smaller. Between the two sit mandatory social insurance, your pension fund, and, eventually, income tax. This guide explains which Swiss salary deductions come off your gross pay in 2026, how big each one is, and why your net salary and your final take-home after tax are two different numbers. You can run your own figures with our free Swiss salary calculator.

Gross, net and take-home: three different numbers

Your gross salary is the headline figure in your contract. Subtract mandatory social insurance and you get your net salary (Nettolohn), the amount actually paid into your account each month. Income tax is usually not part of that: most residents pay it separately after filing a tax return, so your take-home after tax is a third, lower number. Keeping these three apart is the key to understanding a Swiss payslip.

The mandatory social deductions

Four contributions come off almost every Swiss salary. The first three are fixed nationwide; the fourth depends on your age and pension plan.

AHV / IV / EO — 5.3%

AHV (old-age and survivors), IV (disability) and EO (loss of earnings) are bundled together. The employee share is 5.3% of your entire gross salary, with no ceiling, and your employer matches it. See ahv-iv.ch for the official rates.

Unemployment insurance (ALV) — 1.1%

ALV takes 1.1% on salary up to CHF 148’200 per year. Income above that ceiling is not charged (the extra solidarity percent was abolished in 2023).

Accident insurance (NBU)

Non-occupational accident insurance is paid by the employee, typically 0.7% to 2% depending on the employer’s policy, up to the same CHF 148’200 ceiling. Occupational accident cover is paid by the employer, so it does not reduce your salary.

Pension fund (Pillar 2 / BVG)

Occupational pension saving is mandatory from age 25. The retirement credit rises with age, from 7% of the coordinated salary in your late twenties to 18% from 55, split between you and your employer. The coordinated salary is your gross minus a coordination deduction of about CHF 25’725, which is why an older colleague on the same gross pays a larger pension deduction than you do.

Income tax is billed separately

Unlike many countries, Switzerland does not withhold income tax from the salary of citizens and C-permit holders. You receive your full net salary and settle the tax later through your tax return. The exception is many foreign workers on a B permit, who are taxed at source (Quellensteuer), deducted monthly. If that is you, use our Quellensteuer calculator. Above roughly CHF 120’000 a year you may file an ordinary return instead.

A worked example: CHF 100’000 in Zürich

For a single, 35-year-old employee on a CHF 100’000 gross salary, the deductions look roughly like this:

• AHV / IV / EO (5.3%): about CHF 5’300
• Unemployment ALV (1.1%): about CHF 1’100
• Accident NBU (~0.7%): about CHF 700
• Pension fund (Pillar 2, age 35): about CHF 3’700
• Net salary: about CHF 89’200
• Estimated income tax (federal + cantonal + communal), paid separately: about CHF 12’000, leaving roughly CHF 77’000 after tax

These are estimates. Your exact figures depend on your canton, commune and pension plan, which you can model in the salary calculator.

Why your deductions are not the same as your neighbour’s

Social deductions are national and identical everywhere. Income tax is not: it varies sharply by canton and commune (Zug is far cheaper than Bern), by marital status, and by church membership. Two people on the same gross can keep very different amounts once tax is settled. The calculator covers all 26 cantons so you can compare.

Keeping more of your salary, legally

Several deductions lower your taxable income, and therefore the tax billed later. Pillar 3a contributions are deductible up to CHF 7’258 in 2026 for employees with a pension fund. Professional expenses, commuting costs, further education, insurance premiums and childcare can also be claimed. None of this changes your monthly net salary; it reduces the separate tax bill.

The bottom line

A Swiss gross salary shrinks first through uniform social insurance, then through a separately billed income tax that depends heavily on where you live. Knowing the difference between net salary and after-tax income is what makes a payslip readable. Run your own numbers with the free Swiss salary calculator, and if you are taxed at source, the Quellensteuer calculator. hopli then helps you track that net pay, budget it and watch your net worth grow.