Frequently asked questions

There is no single figure that fits everyone. According to the Swiss statistical office (BFS), the median full-time gross salary is around 7'024 CHF per month, or about 84'288 CHF per year. Pay depends heavily on canton and sector — it is noticeably higher in the Zurich region than, say, in Ticino. Note there is no single Swiss-wide "average net salary", because net pay depends on your canton, permit and family status — so always look at your own calculation rather than an average.

Social contributions come out of your gross pay. AHV/IV/EO (old-age, disability and loss-of-earnings insurance) is 10.6% in total, split evenly with your employer, and has no upper limit. ALV (unemployment insurance) is 2.2%, also split, but only up to an annual ceiling of 148'200 CHF — nothing is charged above that. There is also BVG (the 2nd-pillar occupational pension), whose rate rises with age and applies up to the coordinated-salary upper limit of 90'720 CHF. NBU (non-occupational accident insurance) you pay yourself, and its rate is set by the insurer by risk class, not fixed by the state.

Because in Switzerland health insurance is not part of your salary. Basic health cover (KVG) is a private policy everyone buys and pays for individually — the premium depends on your age, canton and insurer, not on how much you earn, and it is not deducted from your pay. This surprises many newcomers who expect "health" to already be taken out, as it is back home: it is not — you pay it out of your net salary, separately. Always budget that premium into your monthly costs; it can be a substantial item.

If you are taxed at source (Quellensteuer), the tax is withheld straight from your salary — your employer calculates and pays it for you. This applies to residents without a C permit and to cross-border commuters (Grenzgänger). The tax is in principle settled by that withholding; whether and when you also file a return depends on your situation and is not covered here. This calculator models only the at-source deduction, not the filing procedure or any later corrections.

This calculator models tax at source (Quellensteuer), which applies to residents without a C permit and to cross-border commuters. Swiss citizens and C-permit holders are not taxed at source but by ordinary assessment (ordentliche Veranlagung) — federal tax plus cantonal and communal tax. Over time, diaspora residents move from a B or L permit to a C permit and switch regime; likewise, the picture can differ at higher incomes. Exactly where that boundary sits, and how ordinary assessment works, is not covered here — it is an open question for the full version of the site.

The 13th salary (13. Monatslohn) is not a statutory entitlement. The Swiss Code of Obligations (OR, Art. 322) does not mandate it — you are owed it only if it is set by your contract, a collective agreement (GAV), or established practice (Betriebsübung, when it has been paid unconditionally for several years running). It is very common in practice, but it cannot be verified per employer from any public register. Our calculation assumes 12 payments a year; if you are entitled to a 13th salary, that changes the payment schedule and how the annual ceilings are prorated.

Switzerland has no federal minimum wage — it is a cantonal matter. Only a few of the 26 cantons have a statutory minimum; the highest in our data is in Genève, around 24.59 CHF per hour. Some cantons have none enacted at all — Vaud, for instance, where the principle was accepted but no rate has yet been set in law. If you work in a canton without a minimum, pay is set by your contract or by the sector's collective agreement.