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Can you deduct your cleaner from your taxes? Mostly no, but 4 exceptions are worth up to CHF 25’800

Salvador JovellsSeptember 25, 20264 min read

Your wage to the household help

Cleaning, laundry, ironing, cooking

CHF 0

Care of children under 14

up to CHF 25’800 per child

Help because of a disability

100 %, no cap

Only counts with a salary certificate, so only if she is registered.Register her, salary certificate included →

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Couple sitting thoughtfully at the kitchen table over forms and papers, she holds a pen, a laptop beside them
Deducting your cleaner from your taxes mostly doesn’t work, but four exceptions are worth up to CHF 25’800.

Short answer: pure cleaning costs are not deductible in Switzerland. They count as private living costs. But there are four exceptions, and knowing them lets you deduct up to CHF 25,800 a year.

Tax check

Can you deduct your household help?

2 questions, answer in francs.

1. What does she mainly do?

The 4 exceptions: when you can deduct

Small doors in a stack of paper, one of them open: a cleaner is only tax-deductible in exceptional cases
Most doors stay shut: household help is deductible only in a few clearly defined cases.

With a cleaner or a nanny, only exceptions 1 and 2 usually matter. Exceptions 3 and 4 cover nursing care and rental property.

  • not deductibleCleaning, laundry, ironing, cookingArt. 34 lit. a DBGCHF 0Private living costs. Also when she is registered.
  • deductible1.Childcare by a third partyArt. 33 Para. 3 DBGMax. CHF 25,800/child (federal)Only the care portion: about 50 % for a nanny who also cleans. Child under 14, both parents work. Daycare without meals.
  • deductible2.Disability-related costsArt. 33 Para. 1 lit. hᵇᶦˢ DBGNo maximumCleaning and cooking count here too. You need a doctor's certificate; any helplessness allowance is subtracted.
  • deductible3.Illness and accident costsArt. 33 Para. 1 lit. h DBGSpecial caseMinus 5% deductibleOnly nursing care, e.g. Spitex (home nursing). Cleaning and cooking for a sick person do not count.
  • deductible4.Property maintenanceArt. 32 Para. 2 DBGSpecial caseActual costs or lump sumStairwell, rented-out flat, Airbnb. Not your own home.

Legal basis: Art. 34 lit. a DBG (Federal Direct Tax Act): «Not deductible are the other costs and expenses, in particular: a. the expenses for the maintenance of the taxpayer and his or her family …»

Example: family in Zurich with a nanny
  1. CHF 30’000Nanny's wage
  2. CHF 15’000Care portion 50 %
  3. CHF 15’000Deduction, under both caps
  4. CHF 3’750less tax at 25 %

Cantonal maximum amounts (childcare)

From CHF 8’000 (Schwyz) to CHF 27’300 (Graubünden). Federal tax: CHF 25’800 in every canton.

Show all 26 cantons
Graubünden27’300
St. Gallen26’800
Geneva26’392
Ticino26’200
Basel-Stadt26’000
Uri25’800
Glarus25’800
Solothurn25’800
Zug25’400
Zurich25’300
Appenzell Ausserrhoden25’000
Aargau25’000
Neuchâtel20’400
Lucerne20’200
Appenzell Innerrhoden18’000
Bern16’000
Vaud15’200
Fribourg12’000
Jura10’600
Thurgau10’100
Obwalden10’000
Basel-Landschaft10’000
Valais10’000
Schaffhausen9’400
Nidwalden8’400
Schwyz8’000

Federal: CHF 25’800

The nanny tax deduction calculator works out in a minute what this childcare deduction is worth with an employed nanny in your canton. For what daycare, day families and a nanny cost overall, see Childcare costs in Switzerland.

Sources: Cantonal tax offices, ESTV cantonal sheets (as of 2026)

How to claim the deduction

  1. 1

    Register

    With your canton's compensation office (Ausgleichskasse), for social security (AHV). No registration, no salary certificate.

  2. 2

    Get the salary certificate

    After year end. With Clino it is built from the year's payslips.

  3. 3

    Enter it

    Under third-party childcare costs or disability-related costs. Keep the receipts.

The receipts the tax office wants to see

  • Salary certificate or compensation office statement
  • Employment contract
  • Daycare invoices without meals
  • Doctor's certificate (disability)
  • Proof that both parents work

First you need to register your cleaner for social security (AHV). Without it there is no salary certificate and no confirmation from the compensation office (Ausgleichskasse), and the tax office will not accept the deduction. For the whole tax return, see the complete guide to the tax return for employers; for filling it in, the free tax software of your canton.

Get the paperwork your deduction needs

Clino prepares your employee's AHV registration and walks you through it, creates the payslip every month and, at year end, the salary certificate the tax office asks for.

Try free for 30 days

Frequently asked questions

Can I deduct my cleaner from taxes?
No. Pure cleaning costs count as private living costs (Art. 34 lit. a DBG). Only these are deductible: childcare (nanny or au pair), household help needed because of a disability (with a medical certificate) and nursing care costs (above a 5% threshold). Where you can save in the household budget instead is covered in our savings guide for everyday costs.
How much can I deduct for childcare?
For federal tax, up to CHF 25,800 per child per year (for 2026). Cantonal and municipal taxes have their own limits, mostly lower, for example Zurich CHF 25,300, Bern CHF 16,000, Lucerne CHF 20,200. Check your canton’s tax guide.
What is the simplified procedure (VAV)?
In the simplified procedure (VAV), a flat 5% withholding tax is taken from the employee's wage, and she does not pay tax on it again in her own tax return. Everything is settled once a year through the compensation office, which issues a tax certificate automatically.
Do I need a salary certificate for the tax deduction?
In the ordinary procedure, yes. In the simplified procedure you don't issue one: the compensation office's statements then prove the wage, for childcare together with the employment contract. Without this proof the tax office accepts no deduction. Clino creates the documents for you. Whether you fill in the salary certificate yourself depends on the procedure: the salary certificate for household help, step by step.
Can I deduct daycare and a nanny at the same time?
Yes, you can combine them. As long as the total per child stays under the maximum (CHF 25,800 federal, mostly lower in the cantons), all of it is deductible.
Does the deduction also apply if only one parent works?
Usually not. The deduction applies only when care is needed because both parents (or the single parent) are working, studying or unable to work during those hours. A part-time job is enough, but the care hours must fall within the working hours (Art. 33 para. 3 DBG).

Sources and further information

Learn more

Tax Returns & Household HelpRead article
Filling out the salary certificate for household helpRead article
Childcare Costs Switzerland 2026Read article
Swiss tax software: the free official tool of all 26 cantonsRead article
Salvador Jovells

Salvador Jovells, founder of Clino