Switzerland methodology (2026)

Model

Single employee, no children, no church tax, ordinary assessment, resident in the cantonal capital. AHV/IV/EO and ALV use the statutory 2026 rates, NBU is an assumed 1% and BVG the statutory minimum; income tax comes from the official ESTV tax calculator per capital.

Social contributions 2026 (unchanged from 2025)

AHV/IV/EO employee share 5.3% of gross, no ceiling (Merkblatt 2.01). ALV 1.1% up to CHF 148,200; the solidarity percent above the ceiling remains abolished. NBU is employee-paid by law, with the premium set by the accident insurer by risk class and no statutory rate: we assume 1.0%, labeled and switchable in the calculator. BVG uses the statutory age-band credits (7% at 25 to 34, 10%, 15%, 18% at 55 plus) on the coordinated salary (coordination deduction 26,460; entry threshold 22,680; upper BVG salary limit 90,720; coordinated salary between 3,780 and 64,260), with the employee paying the statutory half. Real pension deductions often run higher through risk premiums and supplementary plans, which we state in every result. Sickness daily-allowance premiums (KTG) are contractual and excluded.

Income tax: the official grid

Federal, cantonal, communal and personal tax for each of the 26 cantonal capitals is pulled from the official ESTV tax calculator (tax year 2026; single, no children, no church tax, age 35, gross labor income with the ESTV standardized deduction profile) at 38 income points from 20,000 to 300,000 and linearly interpolated between them. At the grid points our output equals the official calculator; our automated tests spot-check five grid points (Zurich at 60,000, 80,000, 100,000 and 150,000, Geneva at 100,000) before every deploy. The Zurich 100,000 fixture is re-derived by hand from the published 2026 tariff; the Geneva figure is taken from the ESTV API, because its formula tariff and rebate are reproduced via data rather than re-modelled law. Other communes differ from the capital by their multiplier.

Scope and limits

Withholding tax (Quellensteuer) tariffs for foreign workers without a C permit (other than those married to a Swiss citizen or C-permit holder) are not modelled; above CHF 120,000 gross tax is still withheld at source first and a mandatory subsequent ordinary assessment then follows, which is what we compute. Married and two-income households, children, church tax, wealth tax and commune-level multipliers beyond the capital are out of scope for this version. The tax grid is refreshed from the ESTV calculator when cantonal multipliers finalize and at each new tax year.

Sources and verification

ESTV Steuerrechner (swisstaxcalculator.estv.admin.ch, tax year 2026) and its published methodology; ESTV circular for the 2026 federal tariff; AHV/IV Merkblatt 2.01 (Stand 1.1.2026); 2026 contribution key figures for ALV ceilings and BVG parameters. Research files 19 and 20 document every number with source links and confidence flags.