Reading your salary certificate, figure by figure

Your employer gives you this document every year, in January or February. It fits on one page, it is numbered from 1 to 15, and two boxes alone are enough to tell whether you are paying too much tax.

Updated 2026-08-14

The salary certificate — Lohnausweis in German, certificato di salario in Italian — is the official document summarising everything your employer paid you during the year, and everything they withheld from it. Its form is identical throughout Switzerland: same numbers, same labels, in three languages on the same form.

It is the key document for any tax procedure. Without it, no serious estimate is possible; with it, everything is settled in two minutes.

The two figures that matter

To find out whether ordinary taxation would be favourable to you, only two are needed. Here they are on a real certificate.

Figure 11 of the salary certificate: net salary, showing an amount of 99'140 francs — Figure 11 — the net salary, after deduction of social and occupational pension contributions.

Figure 11 carries your net salary. It is what remains of the gross salary once AHV, unemployment, accident and occupational pension contributions have been removed. It is not what you received in your account: the withholding tax has not yet been deducted from it.

Figure 12 of the salary certificate: withholding tax deducted, showing an amount of 12'089 francs — Figure 12 — the total withholding tax deducted over the year.

Figure 12 gives the total withholding tax deducted over the year. This box exists only for people taxed at source: if it is empty although you hold a B permit, your employer may have failed to declare you, and that should be checked without delay.

The rest of the document, box by box

The other figures serve the full tax return, once the TOU has been accepted. It is useful to know what they contain.

Figure	Content	What to look at
1	Gross salary	The contractual salary, before any deduction.
2	Fringe benefits	Company car, accommodation, free meals. These benefits are taxable.
3	Non-periodic benefits	Bonus, gratuity, thirteenth salary paid separately.
4 to 7	Capital, participations, other	Rarely filled in for an ordinary employee.
8	Total gross salary	The sum of figures 1 to 7. It is this amount that decides the CHF 120'000 threshold.
9	AHV / IV / EO / ALV / NBU contributions	The mandatory social contributions, already removed.
10	Occupational pension	10.1 the ordinary contributions, 10.2 the buy-backs — often a large forgotten deduction.
11	Net salary	The first of the two figures needed for the estimate.
12	Withholding tax deducted	The second. Absent if you are not taxed at source.
13	Expenses	13.1 actual expenses reimbursed, 13.2 flat-rate expenses. What appears here is no longer deductible.
14	Other employer benefits	Various contributions, to be read together with figure 15.
15	Remarks	Level of employment, periods of employment, details on expenses. To be read carefully.

The reading traps

Four confusions come up constantly, and each skews the estimate in the wrong direction.

Confusing the net of figure 11 with what you receive. The withholding tax is not yet deducted at figure 11. The amount transferred to your account is lower.
Taking the gross for the net. Figure 8 is much higher than 11; confusing them artificially inflates the estimate.
Forgetting expenses already reimbursed. What appears at figure 13 has been borne by the employer: deducting it a second time is a mistake the administration picks up.
Ignoring figure 15. A part-time level of employment or an incomplete period of employment are mentioned there, and they change the meal and travel flat rates.

If you do not have it

The employer is obliged to provide it, generally at the beginning of the following year. If it is overlooked, ask for it: this is not a favour.

If you have left the company, the same obligation applies for the period worked. And if the company has disappeared, the cantonal administration holds the statements the employer sent it — that is who you should then approach.

In the meantime, your last December payslip often carries annual totals that allow a first estimate. Do not use it for the return itself: only the certificate is authoritative.

Entering the figures in the estimate

01
Find figure 11
Net salary. Enter it as it stands, without rounding.
02
Find figure 12
Withholding tax deducted over the year. If you had several employers, add them together.
03
Add your municipality
The communal rate shifts the result by several hundred francs — the postcode is enough.
04
Answer about your situation
Civil status, children, religious affiliation. These are the parameters of the tariff applied.

Frequently asked questions

My certificate is in German. Is that a problem?

No. The form is identical throughout Switzerland and the labels appear in three languages on the same line. The numbers never change: 11 is the net salary everywhere.

Figure 12 is empty although I have a B permit.

Two explanations. Either you are not subject to withholding tax — that is the case if you are married to a person of Swiss nationality or holding a C permit. Or your employer has not declared you, and you should tell them quickly: regularisation is then carried out over several years.

Do family allowances appear on it?

Yes, when they pass through the employer: they are included in the gross salary. They are taxable, contrary to a widespread belief.

What should I do if the certificate contains an error?

Ask your employer for a corrected certificate. Never change the amount yourself in a tax return: the administration receives a copy of the statement and the discrepancy would be immediately visible.

Do I have to attach it to my TOU request?

The request itself generally requires only your personal details. The certificate is asked for later, with the full tax return. Keep it: it is the document the administration asks for first.