As your Helper's employer, your household issues a salary certificate (Lohnausweis, Form 11) for each calendar year in the ordinary procedure, and some cantons also want a copy for their tax office. In the simplified procedure, the compensation office that collects the social contributions gives your Helper a statement of the tax paid instead of a salary certificate. In both procedures, your household declares the year's wages to that office by 30 January 2027.
Which procedure your household is in
The compensation office (Ausgleichskasse) is the office your household pays the social contributions to, including AHV, the Swiss old age and survivors' insurance. In the ordinary procedure, you pay these contributions during the year. After the year ends, the office sets the final amount from your wage declaration. If your Helper pays source tax, a tax deducted from the wage, you deduct it and pay it over to the cantonal tax office.
In the simplified settlement procedure, your household registers with the compensation office. The office then collects the social contributions and the tax together. The tax is a flat 5 % of the wage on which AHV contributions are due.
Federal law allows the simplified procedure only when all of these hold (BGSA Art. 2):
- each Helper's yearly wage stays at or below the occupational pension (BVG) threshold, CHF 22’680 a year in 2026;
- the household's total payroll stays at or below twice the maximum yearly AHV pension, CHF 60’480 a year in 2026;
- every wage the household pays is settled in the simplified procedure.
The procedure finder asks about your Helper's hours, wage and age and shows which procedure applies.
Procedure finder for your Helper's insurance and office
A few questions on your Helper's hours, wage and age show your settlement procedure, the cover you need and where to register, in the year the job starts.
Our payroll study sets out the simplified procedure and source tax in detail.
In the ordinary procedure, your household issues the certificate
Federal tax law requires the employer to give the employee a written statement of what it paid (DBG Art. 127). That statement is the salary certificate on Form 11. The Wegleitung zum Lohnausweis, the binding official instructions for the form, says every employer issues one to every employee.
The certificate covers one calendar year. Box E shows the exact first and last day of work, even when your Helper worked the whole year.
Your household fills in these boxes.
- the wage in box 1, including any family allowances you paid with it; the child allowances can also be noted in box 15;
- free board and lodging in box 2.1, at the values of the Federal Tax Administration's leaflet N2, which equal the AHV values. Leave box 2.1 empty if the wage was already cut by at least those values to pay for them;
- if you provide a flat rather than a room, its market value in box 2.3;
- for a Helper who pays source tax, the total source tax deducted in the year in box 12. If your household paid that tax on top of the wage, box 7 says so and gives the amount;
- in box I, your signature as the employer, with the place, the date, your name and address and a phone number.
Helpore's free salary certificate page adds up your Helper's year month by month from the payroll rules of your canton and fills in Form 11. In some cases it makes no form and says so, for example when the year includes board and lodging, family allowances paid with the wage or source tax. Box C, for the AHV number and the date of birth, stays empty for you to write in by hand. You download or print the form, and your entries stay in your browser.
Salary certificate for your Helper
Fill in the salary certificate for your Helper's year, month by month from the payroll rules of your canton. Download or print it; nothing is sent.
Gifts and a cash bonus have their own rules on the certificate, set out in the Christmas bonus guide.
The copy for the tax office
The original certificate goes to your Helper. Some cantons also ask you, as the employer, to send a copy straight to the cantonal tax office. The Wegleitung lists Basel-Stadt, Bern, Fribourg, Jura, Neuchâtel, Solothurn, Vaud and Valais. In Lucerne the copy is voluntary.
Basel-Stadt states in writing that the duty covers private individuals living in the canton who employ household staff. Bern and Valais want a copy only for Helpers who live in their canton.
Fribourg asks for the copies by mid February. Solothurn expects them by the end of February, and in Vaud they are due by 28 February 2027. In the other listed cantons, send the copy early in the following year and ask the tax office for its date.
In the simplified procedure, the compensation office confirms the tax
For wages settled in the simplified procedure, no salary certificate is issued. The compensation office gives your Helper a statement of the tax paid instead.
Your Helper adds it to the tax return. The flat tax settles the income tax on that wage (DBG Art. 37a). Your household remains liable for the tax, even though the compensation office collects it.
At the end of the year, your household declares the year's wages to the compensation office by 30 January 2027. The office then sends one bill for the year. Pay it within the period the bill states. If the declaration or the payment is late, the office can charge interest and can exclude your household from the simplified procedure.
Your household can settle the accident insurance premium with the insurer at the same times and on the same documents as the AHV contributions, or through the cantonal compensation office.
A year with both procedures
If some of the year's wages were settled in the simplified procedure and some in the ordinary one, ask your compensation office which papers it expects for that year before you issue any.
What to do in January
Your household has these steps for the 2026 wages:
- The wage declaration, both procedures. Declare the year's wages to the compensation office by 30 January 2027. In the ordinary procedure, the office then sets the final contributions and bills or refunds the difference from what you paid during the year. In the simplified procedure, it sends one bill for the year. A late declaration can cost interest on late payment. Where the office also collects the family allowance contribution, a percentage of the wage on which AHV contributions are due, that contribution goes on the same declaration.
- The salary certificate, ordinary procedure. Give your Helper the certificate for 2026. Neither federal tax law nor the Wegleitung sets a day for it.
- The tax office copy, in the listed cantons. See the section above for the cantons and their dates.
- Source tax, ordinary procedure. If your Helper pays source tax, settle it with the cantonal tax office as often as your canton requires. Federal law sets no yearly date, so ask the source tax section of your cantonal tax office.
- Accident insurance. Send your insurer the year's wage totals by the date it gives you. It sets the final premium from them. If your household settles the premium through the compensation office, ask the office what it needs.
- The January payslip. Before the first payslip of the new year, read what changes in 2027 and the guide to the minimum wage in 2027.
- Unused holiday. While the employment continues, holiday not taken in 2026 may not be replaced by a payment. The guide on unused holiday at the end of the year shows how to plan it.
If the employment ended during the year
The certificate then covers the part of the year your Helper worked, with the first and last day in box E. The Wegleitung asks for the certificate at once if your Helper moves away, for example abroad, or dies. Otherwise, you give it after the year ends, as in any other year.
Only in cross border cases, where an international tax agreement needs it, can your Helper ask for a separate certificate on the last day of work (DBG Art. 127 para 3).
For the final wage and the notice period, read the guides on final pay and giving notice.
Payslip, salary certificate and reference are three different papers
The payslip comes with every wage payment. The law asks the employer to hand over a written statement each time (Code of Obligations Art. 323b). Helpore's page makes a payslip for one month.
The salary certificate comes once a year and covers the calendar year.
The reference (Arbeitszeugnis) is a separate document about the work itself. The reference guide explains what goes in it.
If you are the Helper, the papers you should receive
In the ordinary procedure, the household gives you a salary certificate for the year. If you pay source tax, box 12 shows the tax deducted, and the household also gives you a statement of the tax it deducted.
In the simplified procedure, you receive no salary certificate for those wages. The compensation office gives you a statement of the tax paid, which you add to your tax return. That tax settles your income tax on that wage.
If the certificate does not arrive, ask the household, which as your employer has to give you one. For wages settled in the simplified procedure, ask the compensation office for its statement of the tax paid.
The new year does not change your right to a payslip with every wage payment. Keep your payslips with the certificate; if you are ever ill, they show what you were paid.
“A Helper who is ill needs time to recover and a clear answer about pay. A written contract and regular payslips make that answer easier to find.”
Gilberto de la Fuente, Helpore
How Helpore fits
If your Helper already works for you, Helpore has two plans.
- Helpore Admin Light: Helpore prepares the paperwork, you file it and pay the wage yourself. Helpore Admin Light keeps your Helper's months and prepares the salary certificate at the end of the year.
- Helpore Admin: Helpore registers, files and runs the payroll in your name, under your power of attorney, and you pay one QR bill a month. In the cantons that ask for a copy, Helpore also sends a copy of the certificate to the cantonal tax office in your name.
Your household stays the employer, and Helpers never pay a fee. Prices for Helpore Admin Light and Helpore Admin are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Is the household obliged to issue a salary certificate?
Yes, in the ordinary procedure. Federal tax law requires the employer to give the employee a written statement of what it paid (DBG Art. 127). The Wegleitung zum Lohnausweis says every employer issues a salary certificate on Form 11 to every employee (margin numbers 1 and 2). For wages settled in the simplified procedure, no salary certificate is issued.
What goes on the salary certificate?
Box E shows the first and last day of work in the year. Box 1 shows the wage, with any family allowances paid with it. Box 2.1 shows free board and lodging at the official values. Box 12 shows any source tax deducted. In box I, the employer signs and adds the place, the date, the name and address and a phone number (Wegleitung zum Lohnausweis).
Who gives my Helper the tax statement under the simplified procedure?
The compensation office. It collects the flat tax together with the social contributions and gives your Helper a statement of the tax paid. Your Helper adds it to the tax return (AHV/IV leaflet 2.07).
What is the difference between a payslip and a salary certificate?
The payslip is the written statement that comes with every wage payment (Code of Obligations Art. 323b). The salary certificate comes once a year, on Form 11, and covers the calendar year or the part of it your Helper worked. It is the statement federal tax law asks the employer to give.
How do I declare the year's wages to the compensation office?
Send the wage declaration for the year by 30 January 2027, in both procedures. In the ordinary procedure, the office then sets the final contributions and bills or refunds the difference from the contributions you paid during the year. In the simplified procedure, it bills once for the year. A late declaration can cost interest on late payment (AHV/IV leaflets 2.01 and 2.07).
Can I fill in the salary certificate online?
Yes. On Helpore's free page you can fill in the salary certificate for your Helper's year from the payroll rules of your canton and download or print Form 11. Your entries stay in your browser. For some cases, such as board and lodging or source tax withheld, the page makes no form. You add the AHV number and the date of birth by hand and sign as the employer.
What if my employer does not send me the salary certificate?
Ask the household first. As your employer, it must give you a written statement of your wages (DBG Art. 127). If your wages were settled in the simplified procedure, there is no salary certificate. The statement of the tax paid then comes from the compensation office, so ask there.
Official sources
- Federal Act on Direct Federal Taxation (DBG), Art. 37a, 88 and 127 (German)
- Federal Tax Administration and Swiss Tax Conference, Wegleitung zum Lohnausweis, edition for 2026 (German)
- Federal Tax Administration, salary certificate form page (German)
- Federal Tax Administration, leaflet N2 on board and lodging (German)
- Federal Act on Measures to Combat Undeclared Work (BGSA), Art. 2 and 3 (German)
- AHV/IV leaflet 2.07, Simplified settlement procedure for employers (German)
- AHV/IV leaflet 2.01, Wage contributions (German)
- AHV/IV leaflet 2.06, Domestic work (German)
- Ordinance on Old Age and Survivors' Insurance (AHVV), Art. 11, 34, 35 and 36 (German)
- Swiss Code of Obligations, Art. 323b, 329c and 329d (English)
- Federal Act on Accident Insurance (UVG), Art. 93 (German)
- Ordinance on Accident Insurance (UVV), Art. 116 and 118 (German)
- Federal Act on Family Allowances (FamZG), Art. 16 and 25 (German)
- Canton of Bern tax administration, TaxInfo on the salary certificate (German)
- Canton of Bern tax administration, leaflet on salary certificates (German)
- Canton of Basel-Stadt, further tax topics for individuals (German)
- Canton of Fribourg, sending the salary certificate (French)
- Canton of Solothurn, submitting salary certificates (German)
- Canton of Vaud, salary certificate and pension statement (French)
- Canton of Valais tax service, instructions for the salary certificates