Register now, with your cantonal compensation office. The oldest year you can still put right is 2021, and its period ends on 31 December. What has to happen by then is the office's decision, not just your call to the office, so give it time (Art. 16 para 1 AHVG).
Your household is the employer, whether your Helper cleans, looks after your children or helps an older relative at home. Registering late protects your Helper's pension record: gaps in contributions can in some circumstances lead to a smaller pension later (AHV/IV leaflet 1.04, item 9). If you are a Helper, the section on your account statement shows how to check what was entered for you.
Who must be registered
If your household pays a Helper, you must pay social insurance contributions on that wage, whatever the amount (AHV/IV leaflet 2.06, item 1).
The small wage exception that applies to other work does not apply in a private household. There, contributions must be paid in every case (leaflet 2.06, item 7).
Contributions are only due from 1 January after the worker's 17th birthday, so none are owed on the wage of a younger worker (Art. 3 para 2 let. a AHVG; leaflet 2.06, item 5).
Beyond that, the only exception is for young household workers, until 31 December of the year in which they turn 25. For them, a wage of up to CHF 750 per calendar year and per employer is free of contributions, and they can still ask for contributions to be settled (Art. 34d para 2 let. a AHVV; leaflet 2.06, items 5 and 7, page 2). The leaflet lists the birth years this covers.
Employing a Helper correctly from the first day: see our guide to hiring a cleaner legally.
Why 31 December matters
Contributions that are not claimed by decision within five years after the end of the calendar year they are owed for can no longer be claimed or paid (Art. 16 para 1 AHVG; leaflet 1.04, item 9). For each year, the period runs from the end of that year. At the date of this post, the oldest open year is 2021, and its period ends this 31 December.
Once a year has closed, its contributions can no longer be paid, even if your household wants to pay them. The gap stays in your Helper's record (leaflet 1.04, item 9).
The five years are not always the limit. If a back claim derives from a punishable act for which criminal law sets a longer limitation period, that longer period applies (Art. 16 para 1 AHVG).
The law counts the office's decision, not your registration alone: contributions must be claimed by decision within the period. The compensation office claims back contributions and, where necessary, sets them by decision (Art. 39 para 1 AHVV).
Neither the law nor the leaflets answer two questions: whether the decision must also be delivered to your household by 31 December, and whether registering or paying before then keeps the year open if the decision comes later. Only your cantonal compensation office can say how it handles your case, and it needs time to issue a decision before 31 December.
How to register late
Contact the compensation office of your canton and tell it that your household employed a Helper without declaring them. Have ready, for each year, the months your Helper worked for you and the wages you paid. Ask the office which documents it needs.
On contributions claimed for past years, your household owes late payment interest of 5% a year (Art. 42 para 2 AHVV; AHV/IV leaflet 2.01, items 7 and 9). It runs from 1 January after the end of each year the contributions are owed for (Art. 41bis para 1 let. b AHVV). It stops when the office issues its invoice, provided the contributions are paid on time (Art. 41bis para 2 AHVV). The interest is charged to the employer, which is your household (leaflet 2.01, items 7 and 9).
Our post on cash payment and undeclared household work explains why undeclared work is a risk for both sides. For paying wages properly from now on, including the simplified procedure, read one cleaner, two households, three possible tax bills.
The steps, including what the compensation office asks for, are set out in our guide to registering past months.
For Helpers: check your account statement
If you work in a household, you can check what was entered for you. Order your individual account statement with the official order form. The statement is free.
If you live in Switzerland, you can ask the compensation offices that keep your account, or ask any one compensation office to obtain all your account statements for you. If you live abroad, the form has a separate page for you. The right to the statement is yours, as the insured person (Art. 141 para 1 AHVV).
If you do not accept that the entries are correct, you can ask for a correction within 30 days after the statement is delivered to you. Ask the compensation office that keeps the account in question (AHV/IV leaflet 1.04, item 10; Art. 141 para 2 AHVV).
If a year of work is missing, speak to the household you worked for or to the compensation office before 31 December. Our post on declared and undeclared cleaning work covers what declared work means for your pay and your rights; how much you take home shows what is deducted from your wage.
What the law says about penalties
Leaflet 2.06 tells households (AHV/IV leaflet 2.06, item 1): “If you fail to register your staff you may render yourself liable to criminal prosecution.” The penalties are set out in the law itself, in Art. 87 AHVG and Art. 88 AHVG.
Where Helpore fits
If your Helper still works for you, your household stays the employer, and from now on Helpore Admin Light prepares the payslips and documents each month while you register and pay yourself, or Helpore Admin handles registration and payroll in your household's name.
Frequently asked questions
If I paid my cleaner in cash for years, how far back can my household still declare them to AHV?
Back to 2021, and only if the compensation office decides on that year by 31 December. Contributions not claimed by decision within five years after the end of the year they are owed for can no longer be claimed or paid (Art. 16 AHVG).
Is registering before 31 December enough to keep the oldest year open?
The law counts the office's decision, not only your registration. Neither the law nor the leaflets say whether registering before 31 December keeps the year open if the decision comes later, or whether the decision must also reach you by then. Your cantonal compensation office decides, so contact it now.
Does my household owe interest on contributions for past years?
Yes. Your household, as the employer, owes late payment interest of 5% a year, from 1 January after the end of each year the contributions are owed for. It stops when the office issues its invoice, provided the contributions are paid on time (Art. 41bis and 42 AHVV).
Is a small wage for household work free of AHV contributions?
No. In a private household, contributions must be paid in every case, whatever the amount. Contributions are only due from 1 January after the worker's 17th birthday, so none are owed on the wage of a younger worker (Art. 3 para 2 let. a AHVG). Beyond that, the only exception is a wage of up to CHF 750 per calendar year and per employer, paid to young household workers until 31 December of the year in which they turn 25, and they can still ask for contributions to be settled (Art. 34d para 2 let. a AHVV; AHV/IV leaflet 2.06, items 5 and 7).
How do I check whether my employers paid my AHV contributions?
Order your individual account statement. It is free. You can ask the compensation offices that keep your account, or ask any one compensation office to obtain all your statements for you. If you do not accept that the entries are correct, you can ask for a correction within 30 days after the statement is delivered to you (AHV/IV leaflet 1.04, item 10).
What happens to a year that is not claimed in time?
Contributions for that year can no longer be claimed or paid, and gaps in contributions can in some circumstances lead to a smaller pension later (AHV/IV leaflet 1.04, item 9). If the claim derives from a punishable act for which criminal law sets a longer limitation period, that longer period applies (Art. 16 AHVG).
Official sources
- AHV/IV leaflet 1.04, items 9 and 10 (German and French, read 1 Nov 2026)
- AHV/IV leaflet 2.01, items 7 and 9 (English, read 1 Nov 2026)
- AHV/IV leaflet 2.06, items 1, 5 and 7 (English, read 1 Nov 2026)
- Order form for the individual account statement (English, read 1 Nov 2026)
- Federal Act on Old Age and Survivors' Insurance (AHVG), Art. 3 (German, read 1 Nov 2026)
- AHVG, Art. 16 (German, read 1 Nov 2026)
- AHVG, Art. 87 (German, read 1 Nov 2026)
- AHVG, Art. 88 (German, read 1 Nov 2026)
- Ordinance on Old Age and Survivors' Insurance (AHVV), Art. 34d (German, read 2 Nov 2026)
- AHVV, Art. 39 (German, read 1 Nov 2026)
- AHVV, Art. 41bis (German, read 1 Nov 2026)
- AHVV, Art. 42 (German, read 1 Nov 2026)
- AHVV, Art. 141 (German, read 1 Nov 2026)