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Updated · aug 2026

Swiss salary calculator

Estimate net pay in Switzerland for people taxed at source (Quellensteuer): social contributions (AHV/IV/EO, ALV, NBU, BVG) and the cantonal withholding tariff are deducted from gross pay. The result is an estimate based on the rates in force for 2026.

Work out your netHow it is calculated
  • Net, contributions and tax — itemized
  • No sign-up, no hidden costs
  • In German, French, Italian, English and Srpski

Quick estimate

Enter your gross monthly salary, your age (for the BVG band), the tariff code, and the number of children — the calculator immediately shows take-home net, the itemized contributions and tax, and the total cost to the employer. The result is an estimate, for a sense of scale, not an official decision.

CHF

Gross salary before contributions and tax

Assumption: canton of Zürich, commune of Zürich — the only canton modelled; other cantons differ.

Tariff code
Number of children

Net (take-home)

Net (take-home): 5'331.05 CHF
  • Net (take-home)5'331.0582%
  • Social contributions (employee)695.7511%
  • Withholding tax (Quellensteuer)473.207%
Gross monthly salary
6'500.00 CHF
Total employer cost
7'130.75 CHF

NBU (non-occupational accident) uses an administrative assumption (1.00%), not an insurer market premium.

Notes on the figures (4)

BVG age credit (Altersgutschrift) at 10%.

The BVG figure shown is the statutory legal minimum (2nd pillar); an actual pension-fund plan may be higher.

Withholding tax (Quellensteuer): canton ZH, tariff A, children 0 — rate 7.28%.

The tariff figures are those in force for 2026; if the tariff changed recently it may not be reflected here yet, and none of them has been through our final sign-off against the official cantonal calculation basis.

If you work in Switzerland on a B or L permit, you don’t settle your income tax once a year through a return — your employer takes it out of every paycheck and pays it to the canton for you. That is Quellensteuer, tax withheld at source. On your payslip you only see the net amount that lands in your account; the tax is already gone.

Who pays withholding tax? You do — if you live in Switzerland without a permanent-residence (C) permit, or you commute across the border (Grenzgänger). Swiss citizens and C-permit holders instead file an ordinary assessment. For most new arrivals this is exactly the regime that applies at first, until years of residence earn a C permit and the switch to ordinary taxation.

6.4%
Contributions — your share
7% – 18%
BVG by age band
7'024 CHF
Median gross salary

How it works

Three steps to a first, honest number — no sign-up.

  1. 1

    Enter your pay and details

    Gross monthly salary, age (for the BVG band), tariff code, and number of children.

  2. 2

    See the itemized breakdown

    Contributions (AHV/IV/EO, ALV, BVG, NBU) and withholding tax — line by line.

  3. 3

    Get net and total cost

    Take-home net and the total cost to the employer, instantly and clearly.

How the monthly deduction works

Social contributions come off your gross pay first, and only then the withholding tax. The contributions are the same nationwide, regardless of canton:

  • AHV/IV/EO — old-age, disability, and loss-of-earnings insurance. Your share and the employer’s share are equal, and there is no upper ceiling.
  • ALV — unemployment insurance, up to a statutory ceiling.
  • BVG — the second-pillar pension. The rate rises with age: from 7% in the youngest band to 18% close to retirement, split with the employer.
  • NBU — non-occupational accident insurance, paid out of your salary. The figure shown (1%) is an administrative assumption used for the calculation — your real premium is set by the insurer the employer chooses, so it varies in practice.

Together, your share of AHV/IV/EO and ALV below the ceiling comes to about 6.4% of gross. Withholding tax is then charged only on what is left — and at your canton’s tariff.

Quellensteuer is not a single rate. It depends on the tariff code (A–U — whether you are single, married, how much a partner earns, whether you have children), the number of children, and the size of your monthly gross, all under each of the 26 cantons’ own tariffs. That is why the same gross yields a different net in Zürich and in Geneva.

Explore the tools

Topic pages with the rates in force for 2026 — each covers one topic.

Why your net differs from Germany, Austria, or home

Three things trip people up in the comparison:

  • Health insurance is not deducted from pay. Basic cover (KVG) is a private policy you pay out of net — not a line on your payslip. So your net looks high on paper, but a large cost lands afterwards, out of your own pocket.
  • Tax depends on canton and commune. There is no single “Swiss” tax rate; each canton has its own tariff.
  • There is no single national net average. Switzerland only publishes gross figures. For orientation, the median full-time gross is about 7'024 CHF a month — but it varies sharply by region, sitting well above that in the Zürich region and well below it in Ticino.

Reading it against a salary back home

Coming from Belgrade, Sarajevo, or Skopje, the first impression is that the numbers are enormous — and they are, both the gross and the cost of living. So the figure on the contract means little until you see the net and then subtract rent, health insurance, and the rest. A salary that sounds unreal back home is ordinary here, but everything around it costs more too.

The comparison only works when you put net against net — not gross against a salary from home — and when you count in the money you actually live on. The calculator gives you the first honest number for that comparison.

Frequently asked questions

Ready?

Work out your net in seconds

Enter your gross and see take-home net, the itemized contributions, and the tax — no sign-up.

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