Canton of ObwaldenIs your cleaner in Sarnen correctly registered?
Not a paid placement, not a partnership.
Set hours and wage. Cost, procedure and insurance appear instantly.
Responsible office
AK Obwalden
online via AHVeasy
Your procedure
Simplified procedure
One statement per year · 5% withholding tax included.
Accident insurance
Your cost per month
≈ CHF 16'346.88 / year
What Clino does for you
Three questions that only come up later
She has health insurance. If something happens, she is covered.
Accidents at work are not her health insurer's business. They fall under accident insurance, which you as the employer have to take out: from the first hour for occupational accidents, and from 8 hours a week for her free time as well. If she is not insured, the Ersatzkasse UVG steps in for your cleaner and bills you for up to 5 years of premiums. Whether cover applies retroactively is handled differently by each insurer: register before she comes for the first time.
With ClinoAccident insurance is included in the simplified procedure plus, via AK Obwalden. Clino shows you where to tick the box.
She has a permit B. Taxes are her business, aren't they?
No, yours. In the simplified procedure you deduct 5 % withholding tax from the gross wage and pass it on to the compensation office with the annual wage declaration, whatever her permit, even with a permit C or a Swiss passport. As the employer, you are liable for this tax. Your cleaner receives a certificate from the office for her tax return.
With ClinoThe 5 % appear on every payslip; they go to AK Obwalden with the annual declaration.
She also cleans for three other families. Surely someone has registered her already.
Each household is its own employer: its own registration, its own payslip, its own accident cover. An invoice does not make anyone self-employed; the compensation office decides that, not the paperwork. Without registration, your cleaner builds up no AHV years; an estimated 73'000 women in Switzerland are in this situation.
With ClinoYou register your household, in 5 minutes. What the other families do remains their duty.
Sources: UVV Art. 13 · Art. 95 UVG, Ersatzkasse UVG (written reply, August 2026) · AHV info sheet 2.07 · AHVG Art. 12 · Clino studies «Wer putzt die 10-Millionen-Schweiz» and «AHV-Rentenlücke Haushaltshilfen»
Short and honest
Do I really have to register her? She only comes every two weeks.
Yes, from the first franc.
There is no minimum threshold in a private household, not even during the trial period. The only exception: at most CHF 750 in wages per year, up to and including the year your cleaner turns 25.
What does it cost me in the end, all in?
Hourly wage plus roughly 17 percent. Plus CHF 19.90 for Clino.
FAK rate in the canton of Obwalden: 1.4 %. Add 8.33 % holiday supplement and your contributions for AHV, IV, EO, ALV and occupational accident insurance. The calculator above shows the exact amount.
Go to the cost calculatorHow long does it take?
5 minutes, once. Then once a year.
The registration goes to AK Obwalden, online via AHVeasy, within one month of the first working day. You may pay wages before that. Then, by 30 January, you declare the previous year's wages. Clino pre-fills, you sign and send.
And what if I just leave it?
Inspections are rare. You pay anyway.
In 2025 there were 239 inspections of private households in the whole of Switzerland. It gets expensive even without an inspection: if your cleaner falls off a ladder, the Ersatzkasse UVG pays her benefits and bills you for up to 5 years of missed premiums. AHV also claims contributions back for 5 years, plus a fine of up to CHF 10'000.
Details from Ausgleichskasse IV-Stelle Obwalden per its info sheet. Sources: AHV info sheets 2.06 and 2.07, SECO report on the Federal Act against Undeclared Work 2025, Ersatzkasse UVG (written reply, August 2026). 2026 contribution rates last checked on . Sources and methodology
Canton of ObwaldenEvery municipality, one office: Ausgleichskasse IV-Stelle Obwalden.
Register in ObwaldenObwalden authorityThe responsible authority is Ausgleichskasse IV-Stelle Obwalden. You register online through the AHVeasy portal, no counter and no paper.
You use AHVeasy. Behind it is Ausgleichskasse IV-Stelle Obwalden.
Collects AHV, IV, EO, ALV and family allowances for private-household employers in Canton Obwalden and issues one statement per year.
Open websiteSet up the account, register the cleaner and report wages here. Under the simplified procedure (VAVplus) up to CHF 22'680/year, your only touchpoint.
Open portalClino walks you through each step with screenshots and pre-fills the wage fields from your monthly payroll.
Rates and registration route last checked on July 17, 2026.
Ausgleichskasse IV-Stelle Obwalden uses the federal form 318.147 (online). No office visit needed.
Important: under «Employment for», pick «Domestic service», only then does question 4.2 about accident insurance via the compensation office appear.
The simplified procedure plus (accident insurance included) is offered, but you must actively request it; it is never automatic.
Register: within one month of the first working day. Annual wage declaration: by 30 January for the previous year.
The confirmation with your settlement number arrives by post, usually within a few weeks. You may already pay wages in the meantime.
Free, no signup, every step, ready to tick off.
Other Obwalden offices (only if relevant to your situation)
Obwalden Labour Office. Small team, quick response times, the Sarnen administration is known for being pragmatic.
Obwalden Tax Administration. For the tax already paid, your employee receives a certificate for her tax return from the Obwalden AVS fund; as the employer you produce no wage certificate.
Official cantonal portal, with an overview of all administrative services.
Ausgleichskasse IV-Stelle Obwalden charges an administrative fee of 3.40% of the AHV/IV/EO contributions (AHVV Art. 157, capped at 5%). Expressed against the gross wage that is 0.36%.
If you file online
The rate stays at 3.40% of the AHV/IV/EO contributions all year. Employers who declare through AHVeasy are credited 25% of the administrative fee already billed, after the wage declaration.
Source: Ausgleichskasse Obwalden, Merkblatt Verwaltungskostenbeiträge ab 2026
What you have to research, word and keep track of yourself, and what Clino handles for you.
Preconfigured for Ausgleichskasse IV-Stelle Obwalden and Obwalden rates, not a generic solution.
Been at it for a while?
If you register yourself, you pay the AHV contributions for the past years, at most 5 years, plus 5 % default interest. Clino issues the contract and registration from today; the past is something you discuss with the compensation office, and we help you with the wording via WhatsApp.
Four small tools, no signup, pre-loaded with Obwalden rates.
Clino knows the rules, rates and compensation office of Obwalden in detail, so you don't have to deal with any of it.
Registration directly with Ausgleichskasse IV-Stelle Obwalden, the competent body for Obwalden.
Obwalden's family-allowance rate, child benefits and minimum wage are built in.
AHV, UI and accident insurance (VAVplus) run through a single procedure.
Rates verified on July 17, 2026 · 2026 tariffs
Whoever you employ at home. Clino prepares the registration and the insurance and runs payroll, all for in Obwalden.
Last updated:
Through AKOW's AHVeasy portal in Sarnen. Clino prepares all forms, you upload them directly to AHVeasy.
The FAK contribution is 1.40% of gross wages, paid solely by the employer.
The average is around CHF 25/hour (gross) in Sarnen and Kerns. No statutory minimum wage.
CHF 220 per child per month, CHF 270 for the education allowance from age 16.
AHV, ALV, withholding tax and UVG are settled together through AKOW. Applies to wages up to CHF 22,680 per year per employer.
Fines up to CHF 10,000 plus back-payment of all social insurance contributions, retroactively up to 5 years.
CHF 19.90 per month. First 30 days free. Cancel monthly.
You register as an employer with AK Obwalden (the responsible compensation office) and add your cleaner with her AHV number (756.…). Under the simplified procedure (VAVplus) one filing per year is enough. Clino prepares the AHV registration for Obwalden and guides you step by step.
Registration itself is free. Only the social contributions apply: AHV/IV/EO 10.6% and ALV 2.2% (split in half), plus the cantonal FAK contribution (employer only) and UVG. Clino calculates all Obwalden rates automatically.
In a private household, AHV registration is mandatory from the first franc – across Switzerland, including in Obwalden. Only wages of employees under 25, up to CHF 750/year, stay exempt on request.
These days are assimilated to Sundays (Art. 20a Labour Act). Only 1 August is paid by federal law, whether other holidays are paid depends on the contract or the NAV. Source: SECO, as of 12.12.2024.
This is how fast it goes in Obwalden
Clino
online
Grüezi! We've found a cleaner in Sarnen, what do we need to do now?
09:12Great! Done in 5 minutes: we prepare her registration with the AK Obwalden, you sign it, plus the contract + payslips. Valid across the whole canton of Obwalden.
09:14New to Switzerland, or cross-border?
Hiring as an expat works exactly the same, in English. And if your helper lives across the border, the cross-border rules apply, AHV and accident insurance stay Swiss, withholding tax depends on her country of residence. The guide explains your case.
Are you the cleaner?
Pay, insurance, your rights, plus a ready-made pack you can send your employer so they register you legally.
ObwaldenContract and payslip in 5 minutes. 30 days free, nothing charged before day 30. Not for you? Delete your account, done. Zero risk.
Register my cleaner, ObwaldenNothing charged for 30 days • CHF 19.90/month after
then just CHF 19.90/mo. · cancel anytime
