Young people in the household
Young people working in your household: what applies for AHV, accident insurance and tax?
Check for young people
CHF 1'991.52Annual wage with you · incl. 10.64 % holiday supplement
- AHV: no contributions and no registration until the end of the year in which she turns 17.
- Accident: insured, you pay the premium for occupational accidents.
Calculated for 2026, by year of birth. Five weeks of holiday until 20, then four.
Until the end of the year in which they turn 17, young people pay no AHV contributions. From 1 January of the year in which they turn 18, AHV applies. In a private household, however, a wage of up to CHF 750 a year per family still stays contribution-free, right up to the year in which they turn 25. Young people are always insured against accidents, from their very first job.
Up to 17
No AHV, no registration
18 to 25
AHV-free up to CHF 750 a year
Accident insurance
Always, from the first hour
From 18
Contract without the parents
What counts is the year in which she reaches the age, not her birthday.
Which jobs this covers
A Wochenplatz (a weekly helping placement with a family), babysitting, homework help, mowing the neighbours' lawn or helping with the shopping: anyone who helps in a private household for pay is doing domestic work. AHV fact sheet 2.06 explicitly names babysitters, homework help and the neighbour who works in the garden for payment. That makes the family an employer, even if the wage is called pocket money.
This does not cover the pocket money parents give their own children.
Three age groups, by year of birth
For AHV, what counts is not the birthday but the calendar year. The obligation to contribute starts on 1 January after the 17th birthday (AHVG Art. 3), and the exemption for small wages in households ends on 31 December of the year in which someone turns 25 (AHVV Art. 34d). In 2026 this means:
2009 and younger
AHV: No contributions. You do not need to register with the compensation office (Ausgleichskasse).
Accident insurance: Insured. A premium is only due once the wage with you exceeds CHF 750 a year.
2008 to 2001
AHV: Contribution-free up to CHF 750 a year with you. Above that, the whole annual wage must be declared, from the first franc.
Accident insurance: Insured. No premium up to CHF 750 a year.
2000 and older
AHV: Contributions from the first franc.
Accident insurance: Insured, premium from the first franc.
The CHF 750 limit applies per family. If a 19-year-old helps two families for CHF 600 a year each, she stays contribution-free with both. If she asks for contributions to be paid, you declare them anyway.
What changes at 18
Many Wochenplätze and babysitting jobs end at 18, often with the remark that AHV works differently from then on. That is true, with two clarifications.
AHV starts on 1 January, not on the birthday
What counts is the year in which the young person turns 18. If her birthday is in December, she has to pay contributions from January, even though she is still 17 then. Until the end of the previous year, no contributions are due, however much she earns.
Small jobs stay exempt until 25
In a private household, a wage of up to CHF 750 a year and per family stays contribution-free. A regular Wochenplatz quickly goes over this limit, though: at 3 hours a week at CHF 15, it is reached after 16 weeks including the holiday supplement. Then the whole annual wage counts, and the family registers with the compensation office.
At 18 she is of age
From 18 she signs the employment contract herself (ZGB Art. 14). Before that, her parents' consent is needed (ZGB Art. 19). In both cases she manages her wage herself (ZGB Art. 323).
What stays the same at 18: accident insurance, which applies at every age, and five weeks of holiday until the age of 20 (OR Art. 329a). So a Wochenplatz after 18 is not forbidden. With the simplified procedure, registering takes little effort: the family settles up with the compensation office once a year.
Accident insurance: from the first hour, at every age
Anyone who works for pay in Switzerland is compulsorily insured against accidents (UVG Art. 1a), including a 14-year-old who babysits once a month. As the family, you take out the policy with a private insurer; Suva does not insure households. Below 8 hours a week with you, it covers accidents at work; from 8 hours, accidents in her free time too (UVV Art. 13).
There is a relief for young people: on a wage of up to CHF 750 a year with you, no premium is charged until the year in which they turn 25 (fact sheet 2.06, point 10). They are still insured. If you have no policy, the UVG substitute fund (Ersatzkasse UVG) takes over the case after an accident and can charge you a substitute premium, going back at most five years.
If a 15-year-old earns more than CHF 750 a year with you, she owes no AHV, but the accident premium is due: for accident insurance her wage still counts (UVV Art. 22 para. 2 let. a). For small workloads, many insurers offer flat annual premiums. More on this in the article on accident insurance in the household.
Working hours, holidays and minimum wage
The Labour Act and its youth protection rules do not apply in private households (ArG Art. 2 para. 1 let. g). Working and rest times are set by your canton's standard employment contract for domestic staff, some of which have their own rules for young people. Agree on times, the way home and tasks with the parents, and let school come first.
Until the age of 20, young people are entitled to five weeks of holiday (OR Art. 329a). With an hourly wage, you pay this as a supplement of 10.64 % on every hour.
You only owe the minimum wage of the NAV Hauswirtschaft (federal standard employment contract for domestic work) of CHF 20.35 an hour from an average of 5 hours a week with you, and not for young people who only look after children occasionally (NAV Hauswirtschaft Art. 2). Some cantons and cities have their own minimum wages with their own exceptions; see the overview of the minimum wage in the household.
Tax and salary certificate
The wage is taxed in the young person's own name, not the parents': children's earned income is assessed separately (DBG Art. 9 para. 2). Whether and from when a young person fills in her own tax return is up to her canton of residence.
As the employer, you confirm the wage in writing (DBG Art. 127), in the ordinary procedure with the salary certificate (Lohnausweis). In the simplified procedure, you deduct 5 % withholding tax and pay it to the compensation office together with the contributions; this settles the tax on that wage (DBG Art. 37a).
In the ordinary procedure, withholding tax only affects employees without a Swiss passport and without a C permit. For Swiss young people, it does not apply there. Even if neither AHV nor tax is due: keep a note of hours and pay, and give her a short confirmation at the end of the year.
An example: Lea, Wochenplatz in the canton of Bern
Lea's year of birth is 2009. She helps out with a family during school weeks: 3 hours a week, 40 weeks a year, CHF 15 an hour.
120 hours at CHF 15CHF 1'800.00
Holiday supplement 10.64 %CHF 191.52
Annual wageCHF 1'991.52
2026: Lea turns 17
AHV: no contributions, no registration.
Accident: insured. Because the wage is above CHF 750, the family pays the premium for occupational accidents.
2027: Lea turns 18
AHV: the wage is above CHF 750, so the whole annual wage is subject to contributions. The family registers with the compensation office. Lea pays 6.4 %, i.e. CHF 127.46 a year; the family pays the same, plus family allowances and administration costs.
Accident: as in the previous year. Non-occupational accidents would only be added from 8 hours a week.
The family does not owe the NAV minimum wage, because Lea works fewer than 5 hours a week; the canton of Bern has no minimum wage of its own. With one hour a week, Lea would earn CHF 663.84 a year and would stay below CHF 750 in 2027 too: no AHV, no accident premium. Contribution rates as at 2026.
Frequently asked questions
From what age do I have to register a young person for AHV?
Does the CHF 750 limit apply per month or per year?
Do I have to insure a 15-year-old babysitter against accidents?
Why do many Wochenplätze end at 18?
Do under-18s need their parents' consent?
Do young people pay tax on their wage?
Will it be more than CHF 750 a year?
Then registering with the compensation office is part of it. Clino prepares the registration and creates the payslips; you sign.
Prepare registrationHow registration works, step by step: register a babysitter, nanny or au pair.
Sources
- Fact sheet 2.06 Domestic work, as at 1 January 2026, points 5, 7, 9 to 11www.ahv-iv.ch/p/2.06.e
- AHVG Art. 3: obligation to contribute from the year after the 17th birthdaywww.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/63/837_843_843/de
- AHVV Art. 34d: small wages in private householdswww.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/63/1185_1183_1185/de
- UVG Art. 1a: compulsory accident insurancewww.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1982/1676_1676_1676/en
- UVV Art. 13 and 22: non-occupational accidents from 8 hours, insured earningswww.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1983/38_38_38/de
- ArG Art. 2: not applicable to private householdswww.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1966/57_57_57/en
- NAV Hauswirtschaft Art. 2 and 5: scope and minimum wagewww.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2010/724/de
- ZGB Art. 14, 19 and 323: age of majority, consent, child's earningswww.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/en
- OR Art. 329a: five weeks of holiday until 20www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/27/317_321_377/en
- DBG Art. 9, 37a and 127: children, simplified procedure, wage confirmationwww.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1991/1184_1184_1184/de
Updated: 2 November 2026. For individual cases, your cantonal compensation office can advise you.