Salary statement
The salary certificate is the employer’s annual statement of pay, allowances, expenses and deductions; it is intended for the employee’s tax return and follows a form that is uniform across Switzerland.
Definition
The pitfall lies in the boxes that are not salary: private share of a company car, subsidised meals, contributions to further training, expense allowances. Whoever enters these wrongly creates a tax consequence for the employee they did not expect.
Flat-rate expense reimbursements can stay off the certificate where expense regulations approved by the tax authority exist. Without regulations they must be declared on the certificate — which is why regulations pay off in businesses with travel.
Where to read it
What the software must be able to do
Check whether the software produces the certificate on the official form, files it electronically via Swissdec, and lets you configure the mapping of wage types to the certificate’s boxes. The last point decides how much manual work January brings.
Checked Aug 2026
More terms under Payroll, staff and expenses: Accident insurance (UVG) AHV contributions BVG and pension fund Collective agreement rules Construction agreement Coordination deduction Cross-border workers Employer’s payroll costs Expense flat rates Expense policy Extra-mandatory pension cover Family allowances Gross and net pay Holiday pay in cash Hospitality agreement Hospitality collective agreement IV and EO Maternity allowance Owner’s salary Payslip Pension (BVG) deductions Pillar 3a Private share Secondary employment Sickness daily allowance (KTG) Staff meals Swissdec ELM Thirteenth month salary Unemployment insurance (ALV) Withholding tax Work permits Working-hours recording (ArG)