Which deductions come off a Swiss gross salary?

AHV/IV/EO (old age, disability and loss of earnings insurance), ALV (unemployment insurance), your BVG/LPP pension fund contribution, usually non-occupational accident insurance, and income tax at federal, cantonal and communal level.

How accurate is the net salary estimate?

It is an approximation for orientation. Your real payslip depends on your employer's pension plan, insurance contracts and your municipality's tax multiplier, so treat the result as a range rather than an exact figure.

Why does the canton change my net salary so much?

Social insurance rates are identical across Switzerland, but cantonal and communal income tax differs widely. Two identical salaries in different cantons can differ by several thousand francs of tax per year.

What is tax at source (Quellensteuer)?

For many foreign employees without a C permit, tax is withheld from each payslip by the employer. Other residents receive a separate tax bill, so their monthly payslip looks larger but tax still has to be set aside.

Salary & taxes

Swiss Salary Calculator

Estimate what is left of your gross salary after Swiss social insurance contributions, your pension fund and income tax. Every deduction is shown separately so you can see where the money goes — the result is an approximation, not an official payroll calculation.

Your salary

Gross annual salary

Age

Your age determines the BVG/LPP retirement credit rate.

Salary paid in 13 instalments

Splits the same annual gross across 13 payments instead of 12.

Household & canton

Canton

Cantonal and communal tax is approximated with a per-canton index.

Marital status

Number of children

Tax & extra deductions

Church tax

Charged if you are registered with a recognised church in your canton.

Tax withheld at source (Quellensteuer)

Applies to most foreign employees without a C permit — tax is deducted monthly instead of billed yearly.

NBU accident insurance deducted

Non-occupational accident insurance; some employers pay it for you.

Annual pillar 3a contribution

Deductible from taxable income (income used to calculate your tax), which lowers the estimated tax.

Estimated net monthly salary

CHF 6'247

After social insurance and estimated income tax — about CHF 74'959 per year. Your payslip shows around CHF 6'491 per payment because income tax is billed separately.

Gross monthly salary

CHF 7'917

CHF 7'308 per payment × 13

Net before income tax

CHF 7'031

Per month, after social insurance and pension

Total deductions

21.1%

Social insurance, pension and estimated tax

AHV / IV / EO

CHF 5'035

Per year

ALV / AC

CHF 1'045

Per year

BVG / LPP estimate

CHF 3'213

Per year

Deduction breakdown

Annual figures. Your actual payslip depends on your employer's pension plan and insurance contracts.

Deduction	Per year	Per month
AHV / IV / EO (AVS/AI/APG) 5.30% of gross salary	CHF 5'035	CHF 420
ALV / AC (unemployment) 1.1% up to CHF 148'200	CHF 1'045	CHF 87
BVG / LPP pension (estimate) 5.0% of a coordinated salary of CHF 64'260	CHF 3'213	CHF 268
NBU accident insurance (typical) 1.40% of gross salary	CHF 1'330	CHF 111
Income tax billed separately (estimate) Federal, cantonal, communal tax — approximate	CHF 9'418	CHF 785
Estimated net salary	CHF 74'959	CHF 6'247

What these numbers mean

Swiss salary deductions come in two layers. The first layer is social insurance: AHV/IV/EO for old-age, disability and loss of earnings, ALV for unemployment, your BVG/LPP occupational pension and often NBU accident insurance. Your employer pays at least the same amount again on top of your salary, which is why the employer's total cost is well above your gross.

The second layer is income tax. In this estimate you pay about CHF 9'418 per year in total — roughly CHF 1'359 federal and CHF 8'059 cantonal and communal. Your marginal rate (the share of tax you pay on the last franc you earn) is around 20.8% — that is roughly what you keep less of on your next franc of salary, and roughly what you save on each deductible franc, for example a pillar 3a contribution.

If tax is withheld at source, the tax is already gone from your monthly payslip. If it is not, your payslip looks larger but you receive a separate tax bill, so setting money aside every month is the safest approach.

AHV/IV/EO is deducted at the employee rate of 5.3% of the full gross salary, with no ceiling.
ALV is deducted at 1.1% up to the insured-earnings ceiling; the solidarity contribution above the ceiling is currently 0%.
The BVG/LPP figure is the employee half of the statutory minimum retirement credit for your age band, on the coordinated salary. Your actual pension plan is often more generous, so the real deduction can be higher.
NBU (non-occupational accident insurance) is estimated at a typical 1.4% employee share; many employers pay it themselves, so it can be switched off.
Income tax is an approximation: the federal scale is modelled from the official tariff, while cantonal and communal tax uses one representative progressive scale multiplied by a per-canton index.
Married couples are taxed with a full-splitting approximation; real cantonal systems use splitting, married tariffs or double tariffs.
Standard deductions applied: professional expenses (3% of gross, CHF 2,000–4,000), an insurance premium deduction, child deductions and — federally — a married-couple deduction.
A 13th salary only changes how the same annual gross is split across payments; it does not change annual totals.
Withholding tax at source is modelled by spreading the estimated annual tax across your salary payments — official tariff tables A–H are not reproduced.
Family allowances, sickness daily-allowance insurance (KTG), overtime, bonuses and expense reimbursements are not modelled.

This is an approximate estimate for orientation only — not an official payroll or tax calculation. Cantonal and communal tariffs, your employer's pension plan and insurance contracts all differ from these model assumptions. Confirm figures with your employer, pension fund and cantonal tax administration. Your inputs stay in your browser.

Which deductions come off a Swiss gross salary?: AHV/IV/EO (old age, disability and loss of earnings insurance), ALV (unemployment insurance), your BVG/LPP pension fund contribution, usually non-occupational accident insurance, and income tax at federal, cantonal and communal level.
How accurate is the net salary estimate?: It is an approximation for orientation. Your real payslip depends on your employer's pension plan, insurance contracts and your municipality's tax multiplier, so treat the result as a range rather than an exact figure.
Why does the canton change my net salary so much?: Social insurance rates are identical across Switzerland, but cantonal and communal income tax differs widely. Two identical salaries in different cantons can differ by several thousand francs of tax per year.
What is tax at source (Quellensteuer)?: For many foreign employees without a C permit, tax is withheld from each payslip by the employer. Other residents receive a separate tax bill, so their monthly payslip looks larger but tax still has to be set aside.

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Deduction breakdown

What these numbers mean

Assumptions usedFor anyone curious about exactly how the estimate is built — feel free to skip this part.

Frequently asked questionsShort answers to the questions that come up most often with this calculator.

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