Compensation office · Appenzell Ausserrhoden
Sozialversicherungen Appenzell Ausserrhoden
The compensation office for households in Appenzell Ausserrhoden
If you employ a cleaner, nanny or carer in Appenzell Ausserrhoden, you register them with SOVAR. Here is what you need: contact details, registration route and costs, and what we experienced with the office ourselves.
Contact
- Address
- Sozialversicherungen Appenzell Ausserrhoden
Neue Steig 15, 9100 Herisau - Phone
- +41 71 354 51 51
- info@sovar.ch
- Website
- www.sovar.ch
- Online portal
- connect
How to register
SOVAR uses the federal form 318.147. You fill it in online. At the end, SOVAR must be selected as the recipient.
Open the registration form ↗- Deadline: within one month of the first working day.
- The confirmation with your settlement number then arrives by post.
- Accident insurance: SOVAR offers the simplified procedure plus. You must choose it explicitly when you register.
What the office costs
Admin fee: 5 % of the AHV/IV/EO contributions.
On CHF 10,000 annual wage that is about CHF 53.00 a year.
For comparison: across the 26 offices the same amount ranges from CHF 14.84 to CHF 53.00. Compare all offices →
- Family allowance contribution: 1.6 % of the wage, paid by you as the employer.
- Child allowance: CHF 230 per child and month.
- Education allowance: CHF 280 per child and month.
During the year
- You report wages through the connect portal or by post.
- Annual declaration: by 30 January for the previous year. The office then invoices the contributions.
Our experience with SOVAR
What we learned filling in the forms, from the office's own information and documents, and with our customers. Always with date and source.
Office documents
Accident insurance through SOVAR
On sovar.ch the office describes the «vereinfachte Abrechnungsverfahren plus» with accident insurance, intended only for private employers of household staff. The employer pays the occupational accident premium, and the non-occupational accident premium may be deducted from the wage. The insurer is Solida.
Source: Sozialversicherungen Appenzell Ausserrhoden, page «Vereinfachte Abrechnung» (sovar.ch), read on 6 August 2026
Information from the office
connect, not AHVeasy
The annual wage declaration goes to the office by 30 January, on paper or through its own portal «connect». AHVeasy is not used in Appenzell Ausserrhoden. The connect page on sovar.ch explains how to stay with paper.
Source: Written reply from Sozialversicherungen Appenzell Ausserrhoden, 5 August 2026; «connect» page on sovar.ch, read on 6 August 2026
Information from the office
Invoices arrive quarterly
SOVAR invoices contributions and administration costs quarterly, or once a year if the annual payroll is very small. It calculates the administration fee on the AHV contributions, not on the wage. In the tier where private households sit, there is no minimum charge.
Source: Written reply from Sozialversicherungen Appenzell Ausserrhoden, 10 August 2026
Information from the office
No salary certificate under the simplified procedure
Under the simplified procedure you do not have to issue a salary certificate for your employee. You settle the source tax with the office.
Source: Written reply from Sozialversicherungen Appenzell Ausserrhoden, 5 August 2026
Have your registration with SOVAR prepared
Clino prepares the contract, the registration and the payslips and goes through every step with you. 30 days free, then CHF 19.90 a month, cancel anytime.
Frequently asked questions about SOVAR
How do I contact SOVAR?
By phone on +41 71 354 51 51, by post to Neue Steig 15, 9100 Herisau. By email to info@sovar.ch.
How do I register my household employee with SOVAR?
SOVAR uses the federal form 318.147. You fill it in online. At the end, SOVAR must be selected as the recipient. Deadline: within one month of the first working day. Accident insurance: SOVAR offers the simplified procedure plus. You must choose it explicitly when you register.
What does SOVAR cost?
Admin fee: 5 % of the AHV/IV/EO contributions. On CHF 10,000 annual wage that is about CHF 53.00 a year.
Do I need an AHVeasy account in Appenzell Ausserrhoden?
No. SOVAR works with its own portal, «connect». You can also keep filing the wage declaration on paper; the deadline is 30 January.
May I deduct the accident premium from the wage?
Partly. According to sovar.ch, the employer pays the occupational accident premium itself. The non-occupational accident premium may be deducted from the employee's wage.
How often does SOVAR send me an invoice?
Usually once a quarter. If the annual payroll is very small, the office bills once a year.
More in Appenzell Ausserrhoden
SVA St. Gallen
AKAIClino is a private company and is not affiliated with SOVAR. The office's own information is binding.
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