Publié le 26.07.2026 · Dernière revue des sources : 26.07.2026 · Notre méthode

Swiss payslip: why your net is lower than you imagine

On a Swiss payslip, your gross first loses the social contributions: AVS/AI/APG (1st pillar), unemployment insurance, LPP (2nd pillar) and accident insurance. Depending on your status, withholding tax is added, deducted directly. Here is each line decoded, with the 2026 rates and a worked example.

Swiss social contributions are lighter than in France, but two things surprise. The 2nd pillar (LPP) climbs with age, and health insurance (LAMal) does not appear on the payslip — you pay it separately. Each rate below comes from an official source, consulted on 26 July 2026.

What is actually withheld from your gross?

The gross salary is what your contract announces. The net salary is what lands in your account. Between the two, two families of deductions.

Take the social contributions in order.

AVS/AI/APG: the 1st pillar, half and half

This is the bedrock of retirement and solidarity. Three insurances grouped together:

Your employee share is 5.3% in 2026: 4.35% AVS + 0.7% AI + 0.25% APG (source: AVS/AI Information Centre, memo 2.01). Your employer pays exactly the same amount — the burden is symmetrical. The base is your whole salary, with no ceiling: the more you earn, the more you contribute, without limit.

Good to know: maternity allowance and the allowance for the other parent are financed by the APG. They are already included in the 0.25% — it is not an extra line.

AC: unemployment insurance, up to a ceiling

The AC (unemployment insurance) covers you if you lose your job. Your share: 1.1%, with 1.1% on the employer side (2.2% in total). It applies to salary up to CHF 148,200 a year (CHF 12,350 a month) — the maximum insured earnings (source: SECO). Above that ceiling, no more contribution: the “solidarity percentage” that hit high salaries was abolished on 1 January 2023 (source: SECO).

LPP: the 2nd pillar, the deduction that climbs with age

The LPP (occupational pension act) organises your company retirement — the famous 2nd pillar. It is often the biggest deduction, and the most misunderstood.

AgeRetirement credit (of coordinated salary)
25 to 347%
35 to 4410%
45 to 5415%
55 to 6518%

Your employer pays at least half of the contribution (art. 66 LPP); the rest is withheld from your payslip. The result: two colleagues on the same gross do not have the same net — the older one contributes more. This is reason no. 1 for the gap you don’t understand.

Note: these age-based rates are those in force. The LPP reform that replaced them with two tiers was rejected at the ballot on 22 September 2024 — so the age-band scale remains the rule.

LAA: accident insurance, two pockets

The LAA (accident insurance act) reads in two parts:

The base is salary up to CHF 148,200 a year. The AANP rate is not a single federal figure: it is set by the insurer according to the branch’s risk. On your payslip, it appears as one line, often modest.

And maternity, illness, the CCT?

Withholding tax: for whom, and how?

Withholding tax is an income tax deducted directly from your salary by the employer, who pays it to the cantonal tax office. It concerns (source: AFC/ESTV, ge.ch):

The scale depends on the canton and your situation: marital status, number of children, membership of a recognised church, other household income. The 2026 scales are published by the AFC. A Swiss resident or C-permit holder is not taxed at source: they file a return (ordinary assessment).

Cross-border worker (G permit) or resident: what changes?

Key point, often misunderstood: on the social contributions, nothing changes. You work in Switzerland, so you contribute to AVS/AI/APG, AC, LPP and LAA like a resident, at the same rates. The difference is fiscal.

The full detail, canton by canton: our guide on cross-border tax.

The deductions table (2026)

Item2026 employee rateCalculation baseWho pays
AVS/AI/APG (1st pillar)5.3%whole salary, no ceilingemployee + employer (equal share)
AC (unemployment)1.1%salary up to CHF 148,200/yearemployee + employer (equal share)
LPP (2nd pillar)7 to 18% by age, your share ≥ halfcoordinated salary (CHF 26,460 to 90,720)employee + employer (employer ≥ 50%)
LAA — AANP (non-occup. accidents)set by the insurersalary up to CHF 148,200/yearemployee
LAA — AAP (occup. accidents)—salary up to CHF 148,200/yearemployer
IJM / sickness loss of earningsper the CCT or contractper the contractoften shared
Withholding taxcantonal scalegross salaryemployee (depending on status)

A worked example: gross CHF 84,000/year, single, age 40

Let’s go line by line, for an annual salary of CHF 84,000 (age 40, so LPP at 10%):

Total social deductions: about CHF 9,250, or nearly 11% of the gross. Your “social” net therefore reaches roughly CHF 74,750 a year.

Then, depending on your status: withholding tax (in Geneva, or with a B permit) OR tax in France (cross-border worker in the eight cantons of the 1983 agreement). And separately, off the payslip, the LAMal premium, which you settle every month.

Key points

Practical tips

Common mistakes

Confusing the net on the payslip with money actually available. LAMal is paid separately: the Swiss "paper" net doesn't include your health insurance, unlike the French payslip.
Believing the LPP is a fixed rate. It rises with age (7% to 18% of the coordinated salary) and depends on the fund's plan — hence very different nets at equal gross.
Thinking a cross-border worker contributes less. The social contributions are the same as a resident's; only the taxation changes by canton.
Forgetting the CHF 148,200 ceiling. Above it, no more AC contribution or accident cover on the excess portion — a detail that matters for high salaries.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my Swiss net salary lower than I imagined? Two things surprise newcomers. First, the 2nd pillar (LPP) climbs with age: from 7% of the coordinated salary at 25 up to 18% from 55 (source: OFAS, art. 16 LPP). Second, health insurance (LAMal) does NOT appear on the Swiss payslip: you pay it separately, every month, on top. The net shown is therefore not what you actually keep.
Does a cross-border worker (G permit) pay the same contributions as a resident? On social contributions, yes: you work in Switzerland, so you contribute to AVS/AI/APG, unemployment insurance, the 2nd pillar and accident insurance like a resident, at the same rates. The difference is fiscal. In Geneva, withholding tax is deducted in Switzerland; in the eight cantons of the 1983 agreement, you are taxed in France, not at source.
Is health insurance deducted from my payslip in Switzerland? No. Unlike France, LAMal (mandatory basic health insurance) is not a payroll deduction: it is an individual premium you pay to your insurer, separately from your payslip. It doesn't reduce your 'paper' net, but it leaves your account every month. It's a line item to budget separately.
Who pays withholding tax in Switzerland? Foreign employees without a settlement permit (C permit) who are not married to a Swiss national or C-permit holder — so B, L and similar permits — and non-residents who earn Swiss income: cross-border workers, weekly commuters, short stays. The employer withholds the tax and pays it to the cantonal tax office. The scale depends on the canton and your situation (source: AFC/ESTV, ge.ch).

Turn your gross into net, line by line. The Relokea simulator applies the 2026 rates — AVS, AC, LPP, LAA — and your canton's withholding tax. You see every deduction, not just the total.

Calculate my net salary

Official sources

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