Register a household employee yourself — and finally understand it
A click-through guide: forward and back, a checklist per step, adapted to your canton, with time estimates and the documents you need. It teaches the concepts and steps — so you can do it yourself, with or without Clino.
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How this guide works
Hiring a cleaner, nanny, gardener or carer for your own home makes you the employer. Switzerland treats that seriously: you must register the job, pay social contributions, and declare wages once a year. It feels like a lot, but it's the same handful of steps repeated — and the simplified procedure exists exactly so private households can do it without an accountant.
Do this
1Set it up — the one-time things you do when you hire someone (eligibility, registration, contract, insurance).
2Every month — the short recurring cycle: hours → pay → deductions → payslip.
3Every January — the annual wage declaration and the employee's wage statement.
☑ Checklist
I've picked my canton at the top
I understand the three tracks: Set up → Monthly → January
Tip: use ← and → to move through the steps.
Study sheet
All 17 steps at a glance
The same guide, all at once — to skim, to print, to link to. Every step has its own address, so you can point someone at one single step.
Hiring a cleaner, nanny, gardener or carer for your own home makes you the employer. Switzerland treats that seriously: you must register the job, pay social contributions, and declare wages once a year. It feels like a lot, but it's the same handful of steps repeated — and the simplified procedure exists exactly so private households can do it without an accountant.
–Set it up — the one-time things you do when you hire someone (eligibility, registration, contract, insurance).
–Every month — the short recurring cycle: hours → pay → deductions → payslip.
–Every January — the annual wage declaration and the employee's wage statement.
☐ I've picked my canton at the top
☐ I understand the three tracks: Set up → Monthly → January
The simplified procedure lets private households settle all social contributions and a flat tax through the compensation office with one annual declaration — no separate tax filing for that wage, no monthly paperwork. This is almost certainly the route you want. But it has limits.
–Each employee earns ≤ CHF 22’680 per year, and
–your household's total wage bill is ≤ CHF 60’480 per year, and
–you're a private individual employing for your own home.
☐ I know the per-employee cap (≤ CHF 22’680) and household cap (≤ CHF 60’480)
☐ I've decided whether the simplified procedure fits me
☐ I understand the procedure doesn't change WHAT I owe, only how it's billed
The Ausgleichskasse (compensation office, AK) is your single counterpart for everything: registration, contributions, the annual declaration and the flat tax. You deal with the AK of the canton where you (the employer) live — not where the employee lives.
–Open your AK's simplified-procedure page for private households (box below).
–Note the portal login (or the paper form) and the contact.
–Clear up open questions by phone — AKs handle private households routinely.
☐ I've identified the AK of the canton where I live
☐ I've found their simplified-procedure / household page
☐ I've created the portal login OR located the paper registration form
Before you can register the job, you need a small set of facts about the person. Gathering them up front prevents the most common cause of rejected registrations: a wrong or missing AHV number.
–Full name and date of birth.
–AHV number (the 13-digit 756.xxxx.xxxx.xx on their insurance card).
–Residence address in Switzerland and residence/work permit (B, C, …) for non-Swiss.
–Bank details (IBAN) to pay the salary.
☐ I have the name and date of birth
☐ I have the AHV number (or noted that one must be issued)
Even a few hours a week is a real employment relationship. You don't need a fancy contract, but you must agree and write down the key terms. Switzerland sets minimums (the NAV standard contract for domestic work) you can't go below.
–Hourly wage — at or above the legal minimum (see table).
–Hours / schedule — fixed or on-call, and roughly how many per week.
–Holiday — at least 4 weeks (5 under 20 / over 50). For hourly work, usually a supplement.
–Notice period, start date and sick-pay continuation.
☐ We've agreed an hourly wage at or above the minimum
☐ We've agreed hours, holiday and notice period
☐ I've written the terms down and both of us have a copy
☐ I know how holiday is handled (supplement vs paid leave)
Two insurances sit outside the AHV bundle and trip people up: accident insurance (UVG), mandatory for every employee, and occupational pension (BVG), which only kicks in above a wage threshold most household jobs never reach.
–Occupational accident (BU) must be covered — that's 0.505%, paid by you.
–If they work 8+ hours/week, they also need non-occupational (NBU) — 1.432%, deducted from them.
–For households this is often arranged via a solution like VAVplus — available nationwide.
–BVG only if the annual wage from you reaches CHF 22’680 — usually not the case.
Before the first payday, get clear on the deductions. Some come out of the employee's wage, some you add on top. Under the simplified procedure the AK bills you for everything once a year — but you still withhold the employee's share each month.
☐ I know which deductions come out of the employee's wage
☐ I know which contributions I pay on top as the employer
☐ I've budgeted for the employer add-on, not just the wage
☐ I understand the AK will bill the total once a year
The monthly cycle starts with a simple, honest record of hours. Fixed or on-call, write down what was actually worked — it's the basis for pay and the year-end declaration.
–Note the days and hours this month.
–Note any holiday taken or absences.
–Keep it somewhere stable (notebook, spreadsheet, notes app).
From gross, withhold the employee's share: their half of AHV/IV/EO + ALV, the flat 5% tax, and NBU if 8+ hours/week. What's left is net — what they receive.
Under the simplified procedure the AK only bills you once a year. Convenient — but a lump sum lands early next year. Smart move: park the employee's withheld share and your employer share aside each month so the January invoice isn't a shock.
–Each month, move the contribution money (employee share + your share, roughly 20%+ of gross) into a separate pot.
The annual wage declaration (Lohnmeldung) is the heart of year-end. You report each person's annual gross wage to your AK. Under the simplified procedure it's the only regular government filing.
–Log in to the AK portal (or fill the annual paper form).
–Enter each person's annual gross wage.
–Submit by the deadline (typically end of January).
After you declare, the AK sends an invoice for the year's contributions — all of it: AHV/IV/EO, ALV, FAK, admin, the flat tax and (if arranged through them) accident cover. You pay; the AK forwards the tax to the authority for you.
–Check the invoice against your contribution pot.
–Pay by the due date.
–File the statement — it's your proof everything was settled.
Your employee needs a Lohnausweis (wage statement) for their own tax return. Under the simplified procedure the AK's confirmation often serves this — but make sure they get clear written proof of the year's gross wage and deductions.
–Give a statement of the year's gross wage and deductions.
–Pass along any AK confirmation of simplified settlement.
Close the loop so next year is on autopilot. Two things matter: the recurring deadlines and record retention.
–30 days after any new hire — register.
–End of January — submit the annual wage declaration.
–Monthly — record hours, pay, set contributions aside.
☐ I added the end-of-January deadline to my calendar
☐ I know the 30-day rule for future hires
☐ I'm keeping all records for 10 years
Straight up
Why a company shows you how to do without it
This guide was written for ourselves first. To build Clino at all, we had to understand every rule: which compensation office is responsible, where the limits of the simplified procedure sit, which deduction belongs to whom, which deadline falls in January. The result then sat around for months as a working note — for us only.
We are publishing it because this knowledge should not belong to anyone. If you employ a cleaner, a nanny or a carer, you should not have to pay just to understand what is being asked of you. If you go on to do all of it yourself, the guide did exactly its job.
Clino does not sell you the knowledge, it sells you the work: the monthly payslip, the insurance, the annual declaration. If you would rather do that yourself, do it here yourself. Both are fine.
Who this is for
Households about to hire
You see the whole order of operations before you sign anything.
Households already registered
As a check: is an insurance, a payslip or a deadline missing?
Employees themselves
So you can look up what your employer owes you — contract, AHV, UVG, salary statement.
Professionals with rare cases
Fiduciaries, home-care coordinators, relocation agents, advice centres: household staff is a niche you see once or twice a year. The whole process is here in one place.
Please do share it
No sign-up, no paywall, no email address needed. Copy the link, pass it on, post it in a forum or a parents' group. If it saves someone a phone call to their compensation office, it paid for itself.
Every amount and rate in this guide comes from the same data the Clino calculators use, kept up to date per canton. It explains the rules, but it is not legal advice and does not replace a binding answer from your compensation office.
Frequently asked questions
Can I really register a household employee myself — without an accountant?▾
Yes. That's exactly what the simplified procedure is for. You register the job with your canton's compensation office, withhold contributions each month, and file one annual wage declaration. This guide walks you through every step.
What does it cost me as an employer on top of the wage?▾
Budget noticeably more than the gross wage. Your employer share (AHV/IV/EO and ALV) plus FAK, occupational accident and admin costs add roughly 12–18% on top, depending on canton. Your AK's statement is the source of truth.
How long do I have to register the employment?▾
Within 30 days of the first working day. Late registration can trigger back-payments — register first and refine the details later.
What happens in January?▾
You total the year's gross wages, submit the annual wage declaration to the AK (usually by end of January), settle the final invoice, and give the employee their wage statement.
What if I'd rather not do it myself?▾
Clino handles registration, payroll, insurance and the annual declaration for CHF 19.90/month, 30 days free. You can still use this guide to understand what happens behind the scenes.
