Register your nanny in Bern. Legal and insured.
You've already found your nanny. Clino prepares the paperwork.
Good to know in Bern
Three things that count here.
- 13monthly wages a yearNAV Bern
A 13th month's wage is foreseen.
It applies unless the contract says otherwise in writing.
Work out the costWhat it means for you
Add 8.33% to every wage.
- 80 %of the wage, for up to 720 daysNAV Bern
Sick-pay insurance is mandatory.
The NAV Bern requires a daily sickness allowance insurance for open-ended contracts or those of more than 3 months.
How long you payWhat it means for you
Without a policy, you pay the 80% yourself.
- 2steps: form first, then the portalAK Bern · ePortal
ePortal opens after registration.
Your household first registers with AK Bern. After that, wages and the annual declaration go through ePortal. For households on VAVplus, the AKB says its ePortal is not available yet (akbern.ch, as of 2.10.2026). The wage report then goes on paper, or the way the AKB says.
The four stepsWhat it means for you
Don't start in the portal. Start with the form.
Registering in Bern
AHV registration with AK Bern: four steps.
318.147
Employer registration
- 1
Fill in form 318.147
Online, with the federal government. Under «Employment for», pick «Domestic service».
- 2
Pick the right procedure
Above CHF 22'680 a year, the ordinary procedure applies. You then take out accident insurance and a pension fund yourself.
- 3
Register your nanny
With her AHV number (756.…) and first working day, within a month.
- 4
Wait for the confirmation
The settlement number arrives by post. Wages are declared every year by 30 January. After that it runs through ePortal. For households on VAVplus, the AKB says its ePortal is not available yet (akbern.ch, as of 2.10.2026). The wage report then goes on paper, or the way the AKB says.
Above CHF 22'680 a year, quickly reached full time, the ordinary procedure applies, with a pension fund (BVG).
The Bern office lists two forms: the federal form 318.147 and its own «BZ 100». The described path with question 4.2 applies to the federal form.
The fund
Ausgleichskasse des Kantons Bern ↗Chutzenstrasse 10, 3007 Bern
+41 31 379 79 79
Clino walks you through every step and fills in the wage fields from your payslip.
Try 30 days freeWages in Bern
What a nanny earns in Bern.
According to the Swiss Nanny Association, the market pays CHF 25 to 40 an hour.
According to SECO, the federal NAV does not cover nannies who mainly look after children. The NAV Bern does cover childcare too. A minimum wage is a floor, not a recommended rate.
Register at CHF 30.00/h →Free, no account
The Bern kit.
Three templates for hiring your nanny. As a PDF, right away.
Clino · Bern
Nanny contract
With the overtime rule and no banked hours.
Clino · Bern
Payslip
With the 2026 rates. Pick Bern, done.
Clino · Bern
AK Bern checklist
Every step to tick off, with the fund's address and phone number.
A new payslip every month? Clino makes it for you, free for the first 30 days. Then CHF 19.90/mo. Try 30 days free →
In the same household
Who else has a key?
Each role has its own rules in Bern.
- Register a cleaner in Bern
- Register a nanny in BernThis page
- Register a caregiver in Bern
Cross-border · Bern
Where does she live?
The simple registration isn't possible here.
Clino still does the payroll, the normal way, as a company would.
Already filled in: Bern.
Simplified settlement procedure: AHV leaflet 2.07 (as at 1.1.2026); directives on the collection of contributions, no. 2105
Comparison Bern
Nanny or daycare: what suits you?
Full-time daycare (Kita) per child vs. a full-time nanny (40 hrs/week). CHF/month, before subsidies.
Nanny, daycare, au pair & childminder in full comparison →- • From 2 children on, a nanny quickly becomes cheaper than daycare.
- • A tax deduction of up to CHF 25'800/child (federal) is also possible.
Childcare
Four rules for every nanny contract.
Childcare has its own rules. These four belong in every contract.
Overtime is paid
Overtime is the exception: only where it is needed and reasonable for the nanny (Art. 321c para. 1 OR), ideally agreed in advance. If it doesn't work for her (her own children, a course, a second job), she can say no. Beyond the agreed hours: a 25% supplement, or the same amount of time off if you both agree (Art. 321c OR). Waiving it only counts in writing. For Sundays the NAV Bern sets 25%. For overtime on Sundays and public holidays the Swiss Nanny Association recommends +50%; it is not the law, but it is what the Clino nanny contract agrees.
No banked hours
If you don't need the nanny because you are on holiday or a child is ill, you still pay the full wage (Art. 324 OR). Minus hours are not allowed.
An au pair is not a nanny
Au pair means at most 30 hours a week, room and board, a language course, and a parent at home at least half the time. Whoever looks after the children more, or alone, is a nanny.
Full time means a pension fund
Above CHF 22'680 a year, the pension fund (BVG) is mandatory. Clino includes it in every payslip.
The nanny contract in the kit already has the overtime and banked-hours clauses. ↑
Typical market rates, according to the Swiss Nanny Association
CHF 5'000–6'500
gross per month, or CHF 25–40 an hour, depending on experience. The minimum wage is a floor, not a recommended rate.
Independent support: Swiss Nanny Association
The Swiss Nanny Association is a nonprofit association supporting nannies and Au Pairs with information, resources, training and guidance on fair working conditions in Switzerland.
For information and resources, visit swissnanny.org ↗Guides
For families with a nanny in Bern
- SubsidiesChildcare vouchers for a nanny? What families getBern pays vouchers or subsidies for daycare and childminders only. For a nanny, the tax deduction remains.Read →
- ContractNanny contract Switzerland: 10 clauses to copyNotice under the standard contract: 1 month, 2 months in the 2nd and 3rd year of service, 3 months from the 4th.Read →
- HiringNanny interview and trial day: questions, pay, probationThe right questions, the paid trial day and the probation period in Bern.Read →
Tax deduction Bern
Registered? Then you get money back.
Declare your nanny properly and her costs come off your taxes. Work out how much:
Children under 14
What does she do?
Household taxable income
Tax return 2026
SampleDeductions
- Work expenses
- Insurance premiums
- Third-party childcare costs
- Federal tax deduction
- CHF 16'269
- Cantonal and municipal tax deduction
- CHF 16'269
- Estimated tax saving per year
- CHF 6'502
- Bern counts a flat half of a nanny's net wage, because running the household is not deductible.
When the deduction applies
- The child is under 14 and lives with you.
- You need the care because you work or study. For a couple, that goes for both of you.
- Only the childcare is deductible, not cleaning, cooking or laundry.
- You can prove the costs. That only works if the nanny is declared and you pay her wage by bank transfer.
- Per child at most CHF 25'800 for federal tax and CHF 16'000 in Bern.
The documents you attach
- The compensation office's statements and, in the ordinary procedure, the nanny's salary certificate (Lohnausweis)
- The employment contract with its task list, ideally stating the childcare share as a percentage
- Proof of payment: the wage transfers (the tax office may ask for them)
- Proof that you work: your own salary certificates
Clino prepares the contract, the payslips and a statement of the childcare costs for the tax office, plus the salary certificate in the ordinary procedure.
Paid cash and undeclared, there is no proof, so no deduction.
Some employers pay towards it
The federal administration pays its staff up to CHF 750 per child and month until the child starts school, Swiss Post up to CHF 12'000 a year depending on income, and the canton of Solothurn up to CHF 300 per child and month. All three also pay towards an employed nanny. They usually ask for the employment contract, proof of the costs and a confirmation from the compensation office. The contract and the costs come from Clino, the confirmation from your office.
Federal Personnel Ordinance (German)Swiss Post: fact sheet from HR or the social counselling serviceCanton of Solothurn
› How we calculate
A cautious estimate: the net wage before source tax (as on the salary certificate, box 11), the cantonal capital's tax rates, married, no church tax. A deduction lowers taxable income, not the tax itself. The tax office makes the assessment.
ESTV tax calculator for Bern: a family with two children and CHF 150'000 income, a nanny 25 hours a week. Deducted: half her net wage, as the canton's tax office provides, at most the deduction per child. At CHF 250'000 income, around CHF 6'860. Childcare deduction in Bern: up to CHF 16'000 per child (cantonal and municipal tax), up to CHF 25'800 for federal tax (2026). For a nanny or au pair, a flat half of the net wage counts, because housekeeping is not deductible.
The employer contributions for a registered nanny cost around CHF 4'110 a year in Bern. At CHF 150'000 income, that leaves around CHF 210 net.
If she falls ill: how long you keep paying the wage
How many days of full wage you owe in Bern depends on the year of service. This is the table that binds here when no policy sits behind it.
- Year 130 days of full wage
- Year 230 days of full wage
- Year 360 days of full wage
- Year 560 days of full wage
- Year 1090 days of full wage
- Year 20120 days of full wage
The duty only applies once the job has lasted more than three months or was agreed for more than three months.
Sick-pay insurance is mandatory in canton Bern.
It pays 80 % of the wage from day 31 of the illness.
Up to 720 days.
It applies to open-ended contracts and those of more than 3 months.
The contract may deviate from it in writing.
An employer who does not insure is liable for exactly the benefits the insurance would have paid.
Check what applies in your caseSource: NAV Hausdienst BE (BSG 222.153.22), Art. 31 Abs. 3 · Sick-pay insurance: NAV Hausdienst BE (BSG 222.153.22), Art. 35 Abs. 3 lit. b und Art. 36
Bern at a glance
- Fund
- AK Bern
- Portal
- ePortal
- Market rate (SNA)
- CHF 25–40/h
- Sick-pay insurance
- mandatory
- Child allowance
- CHF 250/month
Frequently asked questions
Do I really have to register my nanny, even for just a few hours?
Yes. For household employees there is no minimum number of hours and no de-minimis threshold. From the very first franc you pay AHV/IV/EO, ALV and UVG accident insurance. Exceptions are young people up to the year they turn 17 and, for employees up to age 25, wages up to CHF 750 a year; from reference age, an allowance of CHF 16'800 a year applies. The exemption for very small wages (CHF 2'500/year) explicitly does not apply to nannies and other household employees. Paying a nanny in cash and unregistered is undeclared work.
I've been paying my nanny without registering her for a while. What now?
No need to panic. You can register the employment retroactively (back-registration with the Ausgleichskasse des Kantons Bern). The sooner you do it, the smaller the back-payment, and you avoid a penalty if it comes to light in an inspection. Clino helps you with the back-registration and then sets up the ongoing payroll.
What exactly does Clino prepare for me?
Clino prepares the registration with the Ausgleichskasse des Kantons Bern, the nanny contract with the overtime rule, a comparison of UVG policies with the application ready, the monthly payslip, the wage statement (Lohnausweis) and the annual declaration. You enter the workload and wage, check and send. You take out the insurance yourself. CHF 19.90/month, cancel anytime.
Which compensation office is responsible for Bern?
Ausgleichskasse des Kantons Bern. With the federal online form 318.147. On the last page, choose «Ausgleichskasse des Kantons Bern» as the recipient. The ePortal only comes in after registration, for the annual wage report. For households on VAVplus, the AKB says its ePortal is not available yet (akbern.ch, as of 2.10.2026). The wage report then goes on paper, or the way the AKB says.
Is the canton of Bern bilingual?
Yes. Ausgleichskasse Bern provides all forms in German and French. You can draw up your employment contract in whichever language works for both parties.
How high is the FAK in Bern?
1.50% employer contribution (2026). Child allowance CHF 250/month, education allowance CHF 310.
Is there a minimum wage in the canton of Bern?
There is no cantonal minimum wage in Bern. The cantonal NAV for household service does cover nannies, though (Art. 1: «Betreuung»). Among other things it sets sick pay insurance, holidays and notice periods. The minimum wage of the federal NAV for household work (CHF 20.35/h unskilled, from 5 h/week) does not cover a nanny who mainly looks after the children. It applies as soon as housework makes up most of the job.
Which tax deductions are possible?
Yes. In Bern, up to CHF 16'000 per child a year (cantonal and municipal tax), and up to CHF 25'800 for federal tax (2026). Condition: the child is under 14 and both parents work or are in training. For a nanny or au pair, a flat half of the net wage counts, because housekeeping is not deductible.
Updated:
Canton Bern
One canton, one compensation fund.
Bern, Biel/Bienne or Ostermundigen: private households register with AK Bern.
Or tap your municipality
Founded in Zürich, for all of Switzerland
Goodbye, paperwork.
Sign up for free. Clino prepares your registration with AK Bern.
Try 30 days freeNothing charged before day 30. Cancel anytime.
2026 rates for all 26 cantons checked against official sources, as of · Sources and methodology