Every Swiss employer affiliated with an AVS compensation fund has to declare the salaries paid to its employees once a year. This is what allows the final amount of social security contributions to be calculated for the AVS, the AI, the APG and, where applicable, unemployment insurance (AC). Although it only happens once a year, the declaration is the closing step of a contribution process that runs from January to December.
Avoiding back-payments, late interest and calculation errors starts with knowing exactly which forms of remuneration have to be declared, which deadlines apply and how to submit the declaration to your compensation fund. Here is what every employer needs to know about the AVS salary declaration.
What is the AVS salary declaration?
The AVS salary declaration is an annual obligation that applies to every employer affiliated with a compensation fund. It reports the payroll actually paid out over the past year, so that the exact amount of social security contributions due can be calculated.
It does not replace the contributions paid during the year. Its purpose is to check that the installments already transferred match the salaries actually paid to employees.
What is the annual salary declaration for?
In Switzerland, employer social security contributions are generally paid as monthly or quarterly installments. Those installments are based on an estimate of annual payroll.
At the close of the financial year, the employer reports its actual payroll to its compensation fund. The fund then compares the installments it has already collected with the contributions genuinely due.
The annual declaration therefore serves to:
- establish the final statement of AVS, AI, APG and AC contributions;
- settle the position where actual payroll differs from the initial estimate;
- ensure that declared salaries are correctly recorded in each employee's individual account, which is what later determines their social security entitlements.
Where the installments paid fall short, the employer settles the outstanding balance. Where they were too high, the compensation fund either refunds the difference or offsets it, depending on the arrangements that apply.
Who has to file this declaration?
Any company that employs staff and is affiliated with an AVS compensation fund is concerned. Size and industry make no difference: as soon as an employer pays a salary subject to social security contributions, it has to file an annual declaration.
This applies in particular to:
- SMEs and large companies;
- start-ups with one or more employees;
- associations and foundations that employ staff;
- foreign companies employing staff in Switzerland through a compliant structure.
Some very small employers can nevertheless use a simplified accounting procedure, which works differently from the standard one. We come back to it later in this article.
Which salaries must be declared to the AVS?
The annual declaration is not limited to the monthly salary set out in the employment contract. It has to cover every form of remuneration that counts as determining salary under AVS legislation.
Broadly, determining salary covers any remuneration paid in return for employed activity, whether in cash or as a benefit in kind. Certain replacement benefits are also subject to declaration. The guidelines on determining salary in the AVS, the AI and the APG state that any remuneration linked to a dependent employment relationship forms part of determining salary, unless the regulations provide for an exception.
Cash remuneration
Cash remuneration makes up the bulk of declared payroll. It covers every amount paid directly to the employee in return for their professional activity.
Items to declare include:
- the monthly or hourly salary;
- the 13th month salary;
- bonuses;
- performance-related premiums;
- commissions;
- gratuities;
- any other supplementary payment linked to the work performed.
It makes no difference whether these amounts are paid regularly or on a one-off basis. As soon as they reward work performed, they generally form part of determining salary and belong in the annual declaration. The FSIO guidelines on determining salary in the AVS, the AI and the APG note that remuneration may be fixed, variable, or a combination of the two, for instance a fixed salary topped up with commissions or premiums.
Benefits in kind
The declaration is not confined to what lands in an employee's bank account. Certain benefits granted by the employer also count as elements of determining salary.
This is the case for:
- the private share of a company car, valued under the applicable rules;
- meals provided by the employer;
- accommodation made available to the employee free of charge or at a reduced rate;
- more broadly, any benefit with a monetary value granted by reason of the employment relationship.
When an employee uses a company car for private purposes, for example, that benefit has to be valued and added to the salary subject to contributions. Since 2022, the private share is generally set at 0.9 percent per month of the vehicle's purchase price, including optional equipment and excluding VAT, with a minimum of CHF 150 per month.
Getting these benefits right matters, because leaving one out can lead to a corrected statement when the compensation fund carries out an audit.
Replacement benefits subject to declaration
Certain allowances paid in place of salary also count as determining salary when they pass through the employer.
These include:
- loss of earnings allowances (APG);
- certain daily allowances from invalidity insurance (AI);
- unemployment insurance (AC) allowances paid in the situations set out in the regulations.
These benefits temporarily replace an employee's income in specific situations such as military service, leave compensated under the APG, or certain schemes falling under the AI or the AC. Where they are paid through the employer, they have to be included in the annual declaration in line with the rules on determining salary.
How do you file the AVS salary declaration?
Once the year's payroll has been established, the employer submits it to its compensation fund. The practical arrangements vary from one fund to another, but they all serve the same purpose: transmitting reliable data so that the final statement of social security contributions can be drawn up.
Several routes are available today, from automated transmission through payroll software to manual entry on an online portal or a form supplied by the fund.
Filing through Swissdec-certified software (ELM)
One widely used method is to submit the declaration in the ELM format, short for Einheitliches Lohnmeldeverfahren, the uniform salary declaration procedure defined by the Swissdec standard.
It allows certified payroll software to send salary data straight to the compensation fund, securely and in a standardized format. The employer does not have to re-enter the information on a portal or in a separate form.
The method has several advantages:
- data reaches the fund quickly;
- data entry errors are reduced;
- payroll records and the data sent to the fund stay consistent;
- it saves time, particularly for companies with several employees.
The ELM standard suits SMEs that want to automate their administrative obligations and limit the risk of error at the annual declaration.
The online portals of compensation funds
Compensation funds also give employers access to secure platforms for filing the declaration directly online.
Most funds run their own employer portal. Once authenticated, the employer can consult its file, enter or import the requested information, and submit the declaration in fully digital form. Which portal is open to you depends on the fund you are affiliated with, so it is worth checking what your own fund offers.
This route suits companies that do not have payroll software compatible with the Swissdec standard, or that handle their administration in house.
Depending on the features each fund provides, it may also be possible to track the status of the declaration, review statements, or exchange documents directly from the online space.
Excel files and paper forms
Some compensation funds still offer declaration templates as Excel files or paper forms.
The employer fills in the requested information on employees and on remuneration subject to contributions, then sends the document to its fund in the manner provided for.
This method still works for organizations with few employees, or that file on an occasional basis. It does, however, involve far more manual entry and offers fewer automatic checks than the electronic options.
Whichever method you choose, you have to check that every item of remuneration subject to contributions has been included before sending the declaration. An error or an omission can lead to a later correction by the compensation fund.
What deadlines apply?
The AVS salary declaration follows a precise calendar. Employers do not settle all their contributions in one go at the end of the year: they first pay installments, then file an annual declaration that determines the final amount due.
Meeting these deadlines is what keeps late interest and retroactive adjustments off your books.
Installments paid during the year
Throughout the year, the employer pays installments to its compensation fund.
These are generally due monthly, or quarterly where annual payroll does not exceed CHF 200,000. The amount is calculated from an estimate of annual payroll.
Where that estimate changes significantly during the year, the employer is legally required to inform the compensation fund promptly so that the installments can be adjusted. This is an obligation, not a courtesy, and it is the simplest way to limit the gap between what has already been paid and what is genuinely owed at the final statement.
The annual declaration by 30 January
At the close of the financial year, the employer reports the payroll actually paid over the course of the year.
As a rule, the declaration has to reach the compensation fund within 30 days of the end of the year, so by 30 January at the latest.
The fund then compares the installments already collected with the contributions calculated on the salaries actually paid.
Two situations can arise:
- the installments match the contributions due, and no significant adjustment is needed;
- there is a gap between the installments and the final amount, and the fund issues a supplementary statement or a refund, as the case may be.
This step is what ensures that AVS, AI, APG and AC contributions are calculated on the company's real payroll.
What happens in the event of a late or incorrect filing?
Missing the deadlines has financial consequences for the employer.
Late interest is not something the compensation fund may choose to apply: it is due by law, at 5 percent per year, calculated on a daily basis. Two situations trigger it. The first is a declaration that reaches the fund after 30 January. Interest then runs retroactively from 1 January, not from the day you eventually file, so a declaration sent in March carries close to three months of interest. The second is under-paid installments: where the amounts invoiced during the year prove to be at least 25 percent lower than the contributions actually due, late interest applies as well.
Beyond that, an incomplete or inaccurate declaration can lead to correction requests or to retroactive adjustments after an audit. These typically concern remuneration that was left out, benefits in kind that were valued incorrectly, or allowances that should have been included in determining salary.
To limit these risks, reconcile your payroll data, the installments paid and the payroll you will declare at year end on a regular basis. Careful preparation makes the final statement easier to establish and keeps you within your reporting deadlines.
How do you declare payroll for family allowances (CAF)?
The annual salary declaration does not only serve to calculate AVS, AI, APG and AC contributions. It is also used to determine the contributions due for family allowances (CAF).
Both declarations rest on the same salary base, but employers need to pay particular attention to how payroll is split when the business is established in more than one canton.
The same payroll as for the AVS
In principle, the payroll subject to family allowance contributions is identical to the one used for the AVS, the AI and the APG.
In other words, remuneration that forms part of determining salary for the AVS is also taken into account when calculating family allowance contributions. This consistency between the two declarations gives you a uniform calculation base and avoids discrepancies between the different social insurance branches.
The employer therefore has to use the same payroll when preparing its annual declaration, unless the applicable regulations provide otherwise.
Why payroll is split by canton
The payroll base is identical, but the way it is handled differs for family allowances.
Contributions to family allowance compensation funds are set at cantonal level, so rates vary from one canton to the next.
What determines the scheme that applies is not where each employee happens to work, but where the business is established. An employer is subject to the family allowance scheme of the canton in which the company has its registered office. Branches are subject to the scheme of the canton in which they are located, and have to be affiliated with a fund in that canton.
A company with establishments in several cantons therefore splits its payroll between them, so that each fund can correctly calculate the contributions that apply. An employee working remotely from another canton stays attached to the establishment they report to, not to their canton of residence.
Splitting payroll correctly makes the declaration easier to process and limits the risk of later adjustments.
In which cases is the simplified accounting procedure available?
The standard system rests on installments paid throughout the year, followed by an annual declaration that establishes the final statement.
Some small employers can nevertheless use a simplified accounting procedure.
It is aimed at employers whose:
- total annual payroll does not exceed CHF 60,480;
- remuneration paid to any single employee does not exceed CHF 22,680 per year.
It is also widely used for domestic staff employed in private households.
Under this procedure, the employer pays no periodic installments. Social security contributions are calculated and settled in one go on the basis of the annual declaration.
Two conditions are easy to overlook. The procedure also covers withholding tax: the employer deducts a flat 5 percent of the AVS salary, made up of 0.5 percent for direct federal tax and 4.5 percent for cantonal and communal tax, and pays it to the compensation fund. And it is all or nothing, in the sense that every salary paid by the employer has to be accounted for under the simplified procedure, not just the smaller ones.
The system lightens the administrative load for very small employers while ensuring that social security contributions are paid in line with the regulations. As soon as the conditions are no longer met, the employer moves to the standard procedure with installments during the year.
The simplified procedure is not open to corporations such as public limited companies and limited liability companies, or to cooperatives. Nor can it be used for the employer's spouse or children working in the business. The amounts above apply to 2026 and are reviewed periodically, so it is worth checking the figures in force for the accounting year concerned.
Simplify your AVS salary declaration with Numeriq Payroll
Preparing an AVS salary declaration is not simply a matter of adding up the salaries paid over the year. You also have to identify determining salary correctly, factor in benefits in kind, account for allowances subject to contributions, meet the filing deadlines and, where relevant, split payroll across several cantons for family allowances.
At Numeriq Payroll, we support you in preparing your annual AVS salary declaration and across your entire compliant payroll operation in Switzerland. Our multilingual team, based in Switzerland with over 50 years of combined experience, helps you identify the items subject to contributions, control your payroll and meet the deadlines that apply to you.
Our approach rests on simple, fast onboarding, transparent information and human support at every step. More than 100 companies and 1,000 contractors trust us. Our processes reach a payroll accuracy rate of 99.9 percent, with support available 24/7.
You get a clear view of your obligations and reduce the risk of errors or late adjustments, while keeping more time for your business.
Our team helps you:
- prepare your annual AVS salary declaration;
- check the items included in determining salary;
- establish payroll that meets the requirements of the compensation funds;
- meet your declaration and payment deadlines;
- secure all of your social security obligations.
For compliant payroll management in Switzerland, or for more on the Swiss salary certificate and salary declarations in Switzerland, our team is on hand to walk you through your obligations.
That way you can devote more time to growing your business, confident that your social security declarations are prepared in line with the requirements applicable in Switzerland.
