Who fills it in, when and for whom

The employer issues it to every employee, every year, with all benefits of the calendar year that have a monetary value: salary, fringe benefits, expense allowances. When an employee leaves, it must be issued at once. As a rule there is one certificate per employee and year.

The certificate belongs to the employee, who attaches it to the tax return. The cantons of Basel-Stadt, Bern, Fribourg, Jura, Neuchâtel, Solothurn, Vaud and Valais also want a copy sent by the employer directly to the tax administration; in Lucerne this is optional.

Failing to issue it or giving false information is punishable (art. 127, 174 and 186 DBG, art. 251 of the Criminal Code).

What to fill it in with

eLohnausweis SSK: free web application for SMEs without payroll software, printing the barcode.
Form 11 as a fillable PDF from the Federal Tax Administration website.
Payroll software, which usually prints it directly on plain white paper.

The certificate must be signed, unless it is produced fully automatically.

Fields A to I

ASalary certificate: Tick for salaries, board members' fees and unemployment insurance benefits.
BPension statement: Only for pensions from pension funds (2nd pillar).
CAHV number and date of birth: 13-digit AHV number on the left, date of birth on the right.
DYear: The calendar year of the salaries declared.
EPeriod: Exact start and end dates of the work in the year, even for a full-year job. For several short jobs, the start of the first and the end of the last are enough.
FFree transport between home and work: Tick if the employee does not pay for the commute: company car also used for the commute, group transport (for example to building sites), general travelcard for work. Do not tick if the employer pays a commuting allowance, which goes in box 2.3.
GCanteen meals / meal vouchers: Tick with meal vouchers or reduced-price meals in a staff canteen, even if it is not known how much the employee uses them.
HName and address: Surname, first name and the employee's full current home address. No confidential data may show in the envelope window.
IPlace, date and signature: Place and date, employer's name and exact address, name and phone number of the person who filled it in, signature.

Boxes 1 to 8: from salary to total gross salary

1Salary: Everything that does not belong in boxes 2–7: salary, 13th and 14th salary, daily allowances paid through the employer, family allowances, shift, on-call, night-work or lunch allowances, commissions, payments to third parties for the employee (rent, leasing).
2.1Board and lodging: Value of free meals and room according to the Federal Tax Administration's leaflet N2/2007. A flat goes in box 2.3.
2.2Private use of company car: Each month 0.9 % of the purchase price (excluding VAT, options included), at least CHF 150. Example: a CHF 43,000 car for the whole year = CHF 4,644. Alternatively, with a logbook: private kilometres, commute included, × 75 centimes. As a rule, field F is ticked too.
2.3Other fringe benefits: Other benefits in kind that the employer can value, at market value: a flat, a general travelcard without business use, a commuting allowance.
3Irregular benefits: Bonuses, joining or leaving payments, loyalty and long-service awards, relocation allowances. The 13th salary does not go here but in box 1. For a full-year job they may be included in box 1.
4Capital benefits: Severance and capital payments of a pension nature, salary paid late. Payments from pension funds go on form 563, not here.
5Employee participations as per annex: Income from employee shares or options (market value minus price paid), with an annex.
6Board members' fees: Fees, attendance allowances and bonuses of members of boards of directors or foundation boards.
7Other benefits: Tips if they are a significant part of pay; daily allowances and ALV or EO benefits not included in box 1; health insurance or pillar 3a/3b premiums paid by the employer; withholding tax paid by the employer; children's school fees. Not UVG premiums nor collective sickness daily allowance premiums.
8Total gross salary: Sum of boxes 1–7, before contributions and withholding tax.

Boxes 9 to 12: deductions and net salary

9AHV/IV/EO/ALV/NBU contributions: Only the employee's share deducted from salary. The employee's contributions to sickness daily allowance insurance are not deducted here; they may be noted in box 15.
10.1Pension fund, ordinary contributions: The employee's ordinary pension fund contributions deducted from salary, mandatory and above-mandatory.
10.2Pension fund, buy-ins: Buy-ins deducted from salary. Buy-ins the employee pays directly are certified by the pension fund.
11Net salary: Box 8 minus boxes 9 and 10: the amount for the tax return.
12Withholding tax deducted: Gross total of the withholding tax deducted in the year (B and L permits, cross-border commuters and others).

Boxes 13 and 14: expenses and fringe benefits

Expense allowances are not part of the gross salary, but they are declared here.

13.1.1Actual travel, meal and overnight expenses: Ticking the box without an amount is enough if all expenses follow these rules: overnight stays with receipts; meals at most CHF 35, or a flat CHF 30 per main meal; invitations with the original receipt; public transport with receipts; private car at most 75 centimes per km; small expenses with receipts or at most CHF 20 a day; only for business trips actually made. Otherwise, state the amount reimbursed.
13.1.2Other actual expenses: Type and amount, for example "Costs for an external workplace" for home office costs reimbursed against receipts.
13.2Flat-rate expenses: Representation (13.2.1), private car often used for work (13.2.2), others such as a workplace at home (13.2.3): the amount is always stated, even with an approved expense policy.
13.3Contributions to further education: Contributions paid to the employee for training, further education and retraining. Not those paid directly to the school, except invoices in the employee's name.
14Further fringe benefits: Benefits the employer cannot value, such as goods or services at preferential prices, without an amount. Not needed for minor benefits up to CHF 2,500.

Box 15: remarks

Everything that does not fit elsewhere goes here. The most common remarks:

"Part-time employment" for a reduced workload.
"Salary certificate 1 of 2" if, exceptionally, several certificates are issued for the same year.
"This salary certificate replaces the one dated …" for a correction.
"Expense policy approved by the canton of XY on …" if the company has one.
Days with loss-of-earnings allowances not paid through the employer.
"Lunch paid by the employer" for more than 60 % of working time away from the usual workplace.
"Private share of company car to be clarified in the tax assessment" if the employee bears a significant part of the car costs.

What is not declared

A half-fare travelcard paid by the employer.
Usual gifts in kind (Christmas, birthday) up to CHF 600 a year. Cash gifts are always declared.
Discounts up to 20 % per item and CHF 600 a year.
Usual private use of a work phone and computer.
Club memberships up to CHF 1,000 per case; professional associations without limit.
Tickets to cultural and sports events up to CHF 600 a year.
Free parking at the workplace.
Preventive medical checks required by the employer or the pension fund.

Common mistakes

13th salary in box 3: it goes in box 1, with the salary.
Employee contributions to sickness daily allowance insurance in box 9: they are not deductible there, at most note them in box 15.
Company car without field F: with a company car, F is usually ticked too.
Meal vouchers or canteen without field G.
Field E left empty for a full-year job: it is always filled in.
Flat-rate expenses left out because there is an approved expense policy: the amount is stated anyway.

Swiss salary certificate: how to fill it in, box by box