Swiss household employers: what changes in 2027

2027 at a glance

If your household employs a Helper, your household is the employer. This also holds when you find your Helper through Helpore: the employer is always your household. On 1 January 2027, the occupational pension (BVG) figures change, and minimum wages change in some cantons; in Geneva, the minimum rises to CHF 24.73 an hour. Two of the votes on 29 November 2026 concern household employers. Neither the City of Zurich nor the Winterthur minimum wage is in force yet. The limits of the simplified procedure rise on 1 January 2027. For the minimum wage in every other canton and city, read the 2027 minimum wage guide by canton.

When	What happens	What you do
29 November 2026	Valais votes on a cantonal minimum wage initiative. Switzerland votes on VAT for the 13th AHV pension.	Nothing changes on 1 January 2027 because of either vote.
1 January 2027	BVG entry threshold CHF 23’040 a year and coordination deduction CHF 26’880 a year. Minimum wages change in some cantons; in Geneva, CHF 24.73 an hour. Simplified procedure limits CHF 23’040 for each employee’s wage and CHF 61’440 for the household’s total wages.	Before this date, check the minimum wage for the place of work and agree any new rate with your Helper. Use the new BVG figures and any new minimum wage from the January payslip. In the simplified procedure, check each wage and the total against the new limits.
No date set	The minimum wages of the City of Zurich (CHF 23.90 an hour) and Winterthur (CHF 23.00 an hour) are not in force.	Watch for the start notice. The City of Zurich announces its start at least six months ahead. Winterthur will inform once its ordinance is ready; until then nothing changes for employers in Winterthur.
Beginning of 2028 at the earliest	VAT rises by 0.4 percentage points if the proposal is accepted.	No change for 2027.

Your checklist for the 2027 changes

Find the minimum wage for the place of work and compare it with the hourly wage you agreed, without holiday and public holiday pay. If that hourly wage is lower than the minimum, agree a new rate of at least the minimum with your Helper and record the new rate in the contract.
Compare the wage AHV contributions are paid on, counted for a full year with holiday pay and any 13th month included, with the BVG entry threshold of CHF 23’040.
If your Helper works in the City of Zurich or Winterthur, watch for the city’s start notice.
If your household uses the simplified procedure, check that no employee’s wage exceeds CHF 23’040 and the household’s total wages do not exceed CHF 61’440 in 2027.

If your household already employs a Helper, Helpore Admin Light prepares the monthly calculation sheet and documents, while your household registers as the employer, submits the documents and pays the Helper, contributions and premiums directly. With Helpore Admin, Helpore runs registration, payroll, contributions and insurance administration under your signed authorisation, in your household’s name. Both are optional. Your household remains the employer, and Helpers pay no Helpore fee.

BVG entry threshold 2027

The Federal Council set the BVG figures for 2027 on 2 October 2026, in force from 1 January 2027. The entry threshold rises to CHF 23’040 a year (BVG art. 7). It was CHF 22’680 in 2025 and stayed the same in 2026. The coordination deduction, the part of the wage the mandatory pension does not insure, rises to CHF 26’880 a year (BVG art. 8), from CHF 26’460 in 2025 and 2026. If the wage minus this deduction is small or below zero, the law still insures a minimum amount.

Compare your Helper’s AHV wage from your household, counted over a full year and with holiday pay and any 13th month included, with CHF 23’040. For a Helper who starts during the year, count what the wage would be over a full year. If it is higher than CHF 23’040, your household must insure your Helper with a registered pension fund from the day the work starts (BVG art. 10), with the exceptions the law sets. If your Helper is insured today and the wage is now at or below the new threshold, ask your pension fund before you stop any deduction. If a raise takes the wage above CHF 23’040, ask your pension fund from which day your Helper is insured.

Geneva minimum wage 2027

Geneva’s minimum wage rises to CHF 24.73 an hour on 1 January 2027, from CHF 24.59 in 2026. The minimum follows the consumer price index each year (LIRT art. 39K para. 4), and the canton published the new figure on 7 October 2026. For a Helper paid by the hour, holiday and public holiday pay come on top of the minimum. The hourly wage alone has to reach CHF 24.73.

Geneva’s standard contract for domestic work also sets minimums by category. Its 2027 grid had not been published as of 19 October 2026. For the cantons that have not yet published a 2027 figure, see Helpore’s forecast of the 2027 minimum wages.

“A new minimum wage should never be a surprise on the January payslip. If you employ a Helper, check the figure for your canton in December and agree the new rate with her before the first hour of the year.”

Gilberto de la Fuente, Helpore

City of Zurich and Winterthur minimum wages

After the Federal Supreme Court rulings of 12 May 2026, the minimum wage of the City of Zurich, CHF 23.90 an hour gross, is valid but not in force. The City of Zurich announces the start at least six months ahead. The minimum wage of Winterthur, CHF 23.00 an hour gross, was upheld too. Winterthur will inform once its ordinance is ready; until then nothing changes for employers in Winterthur. Neither city had set a start date as of 19 October 2026. Both cities adjust the amounts to prices, so the figure at the start can be higher. Holiday and public holiday pay are not part of either minimum: compare the hourly wage without them. Until then, the federal standard employment contract for household work (NAV) sets the minimum wage by category in both cities for household work by a Helper who works on average five hours a week or more for the same household (NAV art. 2 para. 3 lit. i).

Valais minimum wage vote

Valais votes on 29 November 2026 on a cantonal initiative. It asks for a cantonal law with a minimum wage of CHF 22 an hour, and CHF 18 an hour in agriculture. The Council of State proposed to the Grand Council that the initiative be rejected, and the Grand Council voted 93 to 33 against it in May 2026. Because the initiative asks for a law to be drafted, a yes creates no wage obligation on 1 January 2027.

Valais has no cantonal minimum wage. The federal NAV still applies there: it sets a minimum wage by category for household work by a Helper who works on average five hours a week or more for the same household (NAV art. 2 para. 3 lit. i).

Federal VAT vote

Also on 29 November 2026, Switzerland votes on raising VAT by 0.4 percentage points to finance part of the 13th AHV pension. If the proposal is accepted, the earliest start is the beginning of 2028, so nothing changes for 2027.

Simplified procedure limits 2027

The simplified procedure lets a household with low wage totals settle social contributions and tax at source (income tax deducted from your Helper’s wage) with its compensation office. It has an annual limit for each employee’s wage, including staff you did not find through Helpore, and one for the household’s total wages. From 1 January 2027, the limits are CHF 23’040 for each employee’s wage and CHF 61’440 for the household’s total wages. By law, the limit for each wage is the BVG entry threshold, so the two amounts are equal, and the household limit is twice the maximum annual AHV old age pension (BGSA art. 2 para. 1 lit. a and b). The Helpore study on the 2027 limits explains what the new limits mean for weekly hours.

Accident insurance in the simplified procedure

This route is not new in 2027: it has been in force since 1 January 2025. With the simplified procedure plus (VAVplus), a household that uses the simplified procedure can also settle its Helper’s accident insurance with its compensation office. Not every compensation office offers this route, so ask yours. Where your office does not offer it, your household insures your Helper with an accident insurer of its own, as every employer must under the accident insurance law (UVG art. 69).

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to raise my Helper’s wage on 1 January 2027?

You must if a minimum wage that applies at the place of work is higher than the hourly wage you agreed. In Geneva, that minimum is CHF 24.73 an hour from 1 January 2027.

Do the City of Zurich and Winterthur minimum wages apply in 2027?

Not on 1 January 2027. Neither is in force, and neither city had set a start date as of 19 October 2026. Until then, the federal standard employment contract for household work (NAV) sets the minimum wage by category in both cities for household work by a Helper who works on average five hours a week or more for the same household (NAV art. 2 para. 3 lit. i).

What are the 2027 limits of the simplified procedure?

From 1 January 2027, CHF 23’040 for each employee’s wage and CHF 61’440 for the household’s total wages.

In the simplified procedure, can my compensation office handle accident insurance?

Only if your office offers the simplified procedure plus (VAVplus). If it does not, your household insures your Helper with an accident insurer of its own.

Do the votes of 29 November 2026 change anything for 2027?

No. A yes in Valais leads to a cantonal law that still has to be drafted, and the VAT increase could start at the beginning of 2028 at the earliest.

Official sources

Cleaner minimum wage in Switzerland 2027: rates by canton
Geneva and Ticino set new minimum wages for household work from 1 January 2027. Each canton and city with its own minimum, with the status of each figure.
In 2027, households can pay one Helper CHF 360 more before ordinary payroll is required
The annual simplified payroll limit rises to CHF 23’040 after a Federal Council pension decision. At CHF 20.35 an hour, the extra amount is about 20 minutes in each worked week.
2027 minimum wages, calculated before the official announcements
CHF 23.00 in the City of Lucerne, CHF 22.50 in Basel-Stadt (in private households only below five hours a week) and CHF 21.53 in Neuchâtel. Helpore calculates the 2027 forecasts from official data.
Insuring a cleaner in Switzerland (2026): accident insurance, costs and what happens after an accident
Insuring a cleaner in Switzerland: work accidents from the first day, leisure accidents from eight weekly hours, 2026 premiums and who pays if work stops.
Holiday Pay on an Hourly Wage in Switzerland (2026): the 8.33% Rule for Household Help
Understand paid holiday, the limited exception for hourly payout and illustrative holiday-share calculations. Keep public holidays and employee deductions separate.