Undeclared work in Switzerland: what you really risk, and how to avoid it in 10 minutes
Risk calculator
A rough, honest estimate of the AHV contributions you would owe if you were audited. Set up your case:
Hourly wage (guideline)
Retroactive AHV/IV/EO + ALV owed
CHF 1'780
Employer and employee share combined, you are liable for both.
AHV/IV/EO 10.6%: CHF 1'474 · ALV 2.2%: CHF 306
Penalty, only if it is uncovered
up to 180 daily units
Monetary penalty, an offence under AHVG Art. 87. If you report it yourself first, you usually pay only the contributions plus 5 % late interest per year.
The real damage is usually not the AHV, but that your cleaner is left without pension contributions and, after an accident, first has to prove she worked for you. That part cannot be fixed retroactively.
The compensation office settles the back payment. From today it runs clean: registration and a payslip every month, prepared. 30 days free.
Register correctly from today →Illustrative estimate, not legal or tax advice. Calculated with AHV/IV/EO 10.6% and ALV 2.2% (employer plus employee share) on the estimated gross wage of the period, as a rule max. 5 years retroactive. Hourly wages are NAV guideline values, varying by canton. UVG, FAK, withholding tax, late interest and penalties are not fully reflected here. (As of 2026)
In short: not registering your cleaner is an offence, with a monetary penalty of up to 180 daily units (AHVG Art. 87). Most households that pay cash and skip the registration think: nobody will ever notice. Usually that holds, until the cleaner has an accident, falls ill, or there is a row about money. Then it gets expensive fast: back-payment of contributions over five years as a rule, up to seven after an offence, 5% default interest, and in an accident the substitute premiums claimed by the UVG substitute fund.
What counts as undeclared work in Switzerland?
Undeclared work is precisely defined by Swiss law. Under the Federal Act on Measures to Combat Undeclared Work (BGSA) (Source: BGSA) undeclared work occurs when:
- 1
No registration with the compensation officeYou pay someone for work in your home without registering them. Domestic service has no de-minimis threshold. The duty starts with the first franc. When you must register.
- 2
No social-security contributionsAHV/IV/EO and ALV are never settled. It is the employer, you, who owes them to the office, including your employee's share.
- 3
No accident insuranceThere is no UVG policy. It is compulsory from the first hour worked and cannot be taken out retroactively.
- 4
Wrong or incomplete declarationsThe wage is declared too low, or an employment relationship is passed off as self-employment when it is not one.
- 5
No permitThe person has no valid residence or work permit. That is the variant that turns criminal fastest (AIG art. 117).
Swipe right for true, left for false.
Statement 1 of 4
For two hours of cleaning a week I don't have to register anyone.
More on this: Bogus self-employment for cleaners · The gratuity in a private household
For a long time nobody notices. Until something happens. Then it all comes at once:
180
daily units of monetary penalty at most (AHVG Art. 87)
5 years
of contributions back-paid, including your employee's share (AHVG Art. 16)
5 %
default interest a year on the back payment
2×
substitute premiums from the UVG substitute fund if the omission is inexcusable (UVG Art. 95)
Penalties for undeclared work: up to 180 daily units
Anyone caught in an inspection pays the contributions back and risks criminal proceedings: not registering is an offence, with a monetary penalty of up to 180 daily units (AHVG Art. 87). The tax penalty under DBG Art. 175 (up to three times the evaded tax) mainly concerns your employee. It reaches you if you deducted the costs from your taxes (more below).
The most expensive item is usually not the fine but the back-payment. The compensation office recalculates the contributions on the actual wage, as a rule up to five years back (up to seven after an offence) and with 5% default interest, and it claims the full contribution from you, your employee's share included. How large it gets depends purely on the wage and the duration. The calculator above works out your case.
Sources: AHVG Art. 87 · AHVG Art. 16 · DBG Art. 175
Insurance gaps: what happens after an accident or illness
The expensive case is the accident. If your cleaner is registered, the accident insurer carries the consequences. If she is not, the UVG substitute fund steps in and bills you the premiums afterwards:
Your cleaner has an accident at work
Registered, with a UVG policy
Treatment costs, daily allowances and, in case of invalidity, the pension all run through the insurer. For you the matter ends there. (Suva)
For you, the case is closed
Not registered
The UVG substitute fund pays the injured woman the statutory benefits and then reclaims substitute premiums from you for the whole period of the breach, up to five years and doubled if you evaded the duty inexcusably (art. 95 UVG). Insuring retroactively is no longer possible at that point.
The bill comes to you
A concrete example shows what happens when it goes wrong: if your cleaner has an accident without insurance, the Ersatzkasse UVG pays and charges you, as the employer, substitute premiums. More in the article Cleaner injured without insurance: who pays?
And tax? Who is hit by what
A lot gets mixed up here. Your cleaner's wage is not a business expense your private household could be evading tax on. The tax risk sits elsewhere:
For your employee
She has to declare the wage. Without a registration she has no document proving it, and the back-tax plus evasion penalty (DBG art. 175) falls on her, not on you. Exception: if she is taxed at source (as a rule, without a Swiss passport or C permit), you should have withheld that tax; the tax office claims it from you, possibly with a fine (DBG art. 138, 175). (DBG Art. 175)
For you, if you claimed a deduction
Some cantons allow household-help or childcare costs to be deducted. Claiming such a deduction while never having registered the person risks back-tax and a penalty on exactly that deduction.
Under the simplified procedure
You deduct the 5% withholding tax from the wage and pass it to the compensation office together with the contributions. That settles your employee's income tax on this wage. For her, that is the real upside of being registered.
Default interest
Contributions and taxes paid late accrue roughly 5% a year, which is why waiting makes the bill grow month by month.
By the way: if you register your household help correctly, you can, depending on the canton, claim the costs in your tax return and deduct cleaning costs from your taxes. For foreign employees, withholding tax also applies, something undeclared work ignores completely.
How to legalize undeclared work
The good news: there are legal ways to regularize previous undeclared work, including through the simplified settlement procedure (FSIO simplified procedure). You have to approach the office yourself, and that is exactly what makes the difference between instalments and penalties:
Stop 1 · Contact the compensation office
Sign an employment contract and register. Whether the simplified or the ordinary procedure applies is decided by the annual wage. Where you currently stand is shown by the Undeclared work check. Employing someone without a residence or work permit is a separate offence (AIG art. 117) and is not settled by a late registration. Which permit is needed when is explained in the guide to work permits for household staff.
The compensation office and the steps for your canton: register household help by canton. The same applies to a nanny or babysitter: registering a nanny retroactively.
Already paid without declaring? Here's how to set it right from today, calmly and without drama.
Moving from cash to registered
Maria
online
Hi Maria, I want everything in our home to be above board. I'll register you officially from next month, your hourly wage stays the same, and I'll cover the contributions as the employer. That way you're protected for accidents and illness.
18:10Oh, that's kind, thank you! Does anything else change for me?
18:25Only for the better: you get a payslip and are properly insured. I'll take care of the registration.
18:28Already paying someone without registration? Ask us discreetly on WhatsApp
A real person answers, usually the same day: how to get compliant, what it costs and how to explain it to your cleaner. No obligation, no blame.
The simple solution: which procedure applies to you
Honestly, the Swiss state makes this unnecessarily hard for private households. No single point of contact, five different insurances, cantonal variations. It's absurd bureaucracy for someone who comes two hours a week. That doesn't change the liability. And the liability is real.
For a private household there are exactly two statutory procedures, plus one variant in which you never become the employer at all:
Your options at a glance
Simplified settlement procedure (up to CHF 22,680 a year)
The normal case in a private household: one settlement a year with the compensation office, the 5% withholding tax included. Clino prepares the contract, the registration and the payslips and walks you through each step. You remain the employer and you file.
Ordinary procedure (from CHF 22,680 a year)
Above that annual wage you settle quarterly, occupational pension (BVG) joins in, and your employee declares the wage herself. More paperwork, same logic.
Through a cleaning company (you never become the employer)
You book a company instead of employing someone. The company then carries every employer duty. In exchange you pay the company rate and usually get changing staff. Here is how to register yourself instead.
What does not work: treating her as self-employed
A cleaner who works only for you, uses your equipment and follows your schedule is an employee, even if she writes an invoice. Whether someone is self-employed is decided by the compensation office, not by the arrangement between the two of you.
Why registering pays off
Peace of mind
No more risk that an accident or an argument about money unravels the whole thing. That is the real gain.
Full cover from day one
Occupational accidents from the first hour, non-occupational from 8 h/week, and the claim then belongs to the insurer, not to you.
Your employee is protected
Contribution years towards the AHV, entitlement to unemployment and maternity benefits: none of it exists before the registration.
You can prove what you paid
The contract and the payslips are your evidence, including towards the tax office, if your canton allows a deduction for household help.
Not much work
The first registration takes an hour or two. After that it is one payslip a month and one declaration a year.
Checklist: How to stay on the safe side
Conclusion: Undeclared work costs more than it saves
Undeclared work saves a few francs in the short run and postpones the risk to the day something happens: an accident, an illness, an argument about money. Then it all arrives at once: back-payment of contributions over five years as a rule, up to seven after an offence, 5% default interest, a fine, and in an accident the substitute fund's premiums.
And it can be put right at any time. Approach the compensation office yourself and you negotiate instalments, not penalties.
Sample with made-up details
Registration of a household employee
to the cantonal compensation office
- Employer
- Familie Muster
- Employee
- Ana Beispiel
- AHV number
- 756.9217.0769.85
- Start
- 1 October
The first step: register your cleaner properly. Our guide shows you how in 5 steps.
Open the guide: registering a cleanerCalculate your costs with our Cost calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What fines can I expect for undeclared work in Switzerland?
Not registering a household worker is an offence: a monetary penalty of up to 180 daily units (AHVG Art. 87). On top comes a tax penalty of up to three times the evaded tax (DBG Art. 175). The largest item is usually the back-payment of social insurance contributions, as a rule up to 5 years back, plus default interest.
Does undeclared work affect my insurance coverage?
Yes, significantly. Without a UVG policy, the UVG substitute fund pays after a work accident and you pay substitute premiums up to 5 years back, doubled if the failure is inexcusable, up to ten times for repeat offenders (Art. 95 UVG). AHV pension entitlements are also permanently reduced due to missing contribution years.
Can I retroactively register my domestic worker?
Yes, at any time. As a rule, the compensation office then claims the contributions for up to the last 5 years (AHVG Art. 16), up to 7 after an offence (AHVG Art. 87), plus 5% default interest; older ones are time-barred. The sooner you register, the smaller the back-payment.
How do authorities detect undeclared work?
Cantonal inspectors carry out spot checks, often triggered by reports from neighbours, ex-partners, or insurance companies. Tax audits and cross-referencing AHV data with tax returns can also uncover undeclared work.
What is the difference between undeclared work and legal employment?
With legal employment, the domestic worker is registered with the AHV compensation office, social insurance contributions are paid, and a UVG policy is in place. With undeclared work, none of this exists, creating significant risks for both parties.
How far back can the compensation office claim contributions?
As a rule, five years: AHV contribution claims become time-barred after five years (AHVG Art. 16); if the office derives the claim from an offence (AHVG Art. 87), the longer seven-year period applies (StGB Art. 97), so an inspection can trigger back-payments over the entire period. The earlier you register the employment, the smaller that bill gets.
Sources
- 1BGSA: Federal Act on Combating Undeclared Work. Control and sanction measures. fedlex.admin.ch
- 2FSIO: social insurance contributions. Current contribution rates and back payments. bsv.admin.ch
- 3AHV/IV leaflet 2.06: domestic work. Obligations as a private employer. ahv-iv.ch
- 4Suva: UVG premiums and accident insurance. Occupational and non-occupational accident insurance. suva.ch
- 5DBG Art. 175: tax evasion. Fine of up to three times the evaded tax. fedlex.admin.ch
Working without a contract?
We help you for free to understand your work situation and get things sorted. Write to us or leave your details. We'll get back to you personally.
One quick thing: where are you right now?
Legal notice: This article provides general information about undeclared work in Switzerland. It does not replace legal advice. Exact penalties and regulations may vary by canton. For specific questions, please consult a tax advisor or lawyer. The information is based on the Federal Act on Measures to Combat Undeclared Work (BGSA), as of 2026.