AHV contributions for the self-employed 2026 and 2027: 10 %, scale

As a self-employed person in Switzerland you pay 10.0 % of your earned income to AHV, IV and EO in 2026, and you pay all of it yourself. If your income is below CHF 60,500, the rate falls step by step to as low as 5.371 %; below CHF 10,100 you pay the minimum contribution of CHF 530 a year (2027: CHF 61,500, CHF 10,300 and CHF 541).

Law as of 12 November 2026

Information, not tax or legal advice.

On top come the administrative costs of your Ausgleichskasse (AHV compensation office), at most 5 % of the contributions. You pay provisional contributions every quarter during the year; the final bill follows the tax assessment.

Contribution rates 2026 and 2027

The rates stay the same in 2027; under the new version of Art. 36 EOV, the EO rate of 0.5 % also applies from 1 January 2027. Older pages still quote 0.45 % EO or a minimum of CHF 514: both are out of date.

For comparison: employees pay 10.6 % AHV/IV/EO, and the employer bears half of it (Arts. 5 and 13 AHVG). As a self-employed person you have no employer to pay half, but your rate is 0.6 points lower.

The sliding scale 2026 and 2027

Lower incomes pay a lower total rate (Art. 8 para. 1 AHVG, Art. 21 AHVV). The rate of the band applies to the whole income, not only to the part in the band. The income is first rounded down to the nearest CHF 100.

The 2026 values come from leaflet 2.02 of the AHV/IV information office. On 2 October 2026 the Federal Council raised the limits for 2027 to CHF 10,300 and CHF 61,500; the 2027 rates are the sum of the new scales in Art. 21 AHVV, Art. 1bis IVV and Art. 36 EOV. The percentages stay the same; only the bands move up.

The minimum contribution

If your income is below the lowest band, you pay the minimum contribution: CHF 530 in 2026 (AHV 435, IV 70, EO 25) and CHF 541 in 2027 (AHV 444, IV 71, EO 26). The basis is Art. 8 para. 2 AHVG with the ordinance on the adjustments from 2027.

Two exceptions help with small incomes:

• Side income up to CHF 2,500: if you earn at most CHF 2,500 a year from self-employment on the side, contributions are only charged if you ask for it (Art. 19 AHVV). The limit stays in 2027. The often quoted CHF 2,300 has been out of date since 2025.
• Minimum already paid on a salary: if you already paid the minimum as an employee in the same year, you can ask for your small self-employed income to be charged only at the lowest rate of 5.371 % (Art. 8 para. 2 AHVG).

Which income counts

What counts is your income from self-employment as determined for direct federal tax (Art. 9 AHVG, Art. 17 AHVV), essentially the net profit of your Einzelfirma (sole proprietorship). Three things change it:

1. AHV contributions are added back. If you deducted your personal AHV contributions as an expense in your books, the Ausgleichskasse adds them back to the net income from the tax assessment (leaflet 2.02, item 9).
2. Interest on equity is deducted. Interest on the equity invested in the business on 31 December is deducted from the income (Art. 9 para. 2 lit. f AHVG, Art. 18 para. 2 AHVV). The rate follows bond yields: 1.5 % for 2024 and 1.0 % for 2025. The rate for 2026 is published in early 2027.
3. Rounding down: the result is rounded down to the nearest CHF 100 (Art. 8 para. 1 AHVG).

What counts is the result of the business year that ends in the contribution year (Art. 22 AHVV). The Ausgleichskasse takes the income from the report of the cantonal tax office, and that report is binding on it (Art. 23 AHVV).

Quarterly payments, final bill and late interest

This is how a contribution year runs:

1. Recognition: you register with an Ausgleichskasse and have your status as self-employed recognised (Art. 9 para. 1 AHVG). It decides for each activity separately; economic facts count more than contracts.
2. Provisional contributions: the Ausgleichskasse sets Akontobeiträge (provisional contributions) based on your expected income for the current year (Art. 24 AHVV). If your income changes significantly, you must tell it.
3. Quarterly payment: each instalment is due 10 days after the end of the quarter, so by 10 April, 10 July, 10 October and 10 January. A payment only counts once it has reached the Ausgleichskasse's account.
4. Tax report: after the final direct federal tax assessment, the tax office reports your income. This can take time: in the example in leaflet 2.02, the bill for 2024 arrives in January 2026.
5. Settling the difference: the Ausgleichskasse sets the final contributions and refunds any overpayment or bills the difference. The bill must be paid within 30 days.

Late interest: 5 % a year, without a reminder and regardless of fault (Art. 41bis AHVV). It is calculated with 30 days per month and 360 days per year. A CHF 2,100 instalment that arrives one month late costs CHF 2,100 × 30/360 × 5 % = CHF 8.75.

The 25 % rule: if your provisional contributions reach less than 75 % of the final contributions, interest runs on the difference from 1 January after the following year (Art. 41bis para. 1 lit. f AHVV). For 2026 that is 1 January 2028, even if the tax assessment comes later. If your business grows, report the higher profit early.

The Ausgleichskasse also pays you 5 % interest on contributions you did not owe (compensatory interest, Art. 41ter AHVV), from 1 January after the year of payment.

Worked examples for 2026 and 2027

Web developer with an Einzelfirma in Zurich, 2026. Her net profit in the tax return is CHF 76,000. She deducted provisional contributions of CHF 8,000 as an expense. She has hardly any equity in the business.

• AHV income: CHF 76,000 + CHF 8,000 = CHF 84,000. That is above CHF 60,500, so the full rate applies.
• Contributions: CHF 84,000 × 10.0 % = CHF 8,400.
• Administrative costs: at most 5 % × CHF 8,400 = CHF 420; the exact rate depends on her Ausgleichskasse.
• Top-up: CHF 8,400 − CHF 8,000 = CHF 400 plus administrative costs on it.
• 25 % rule: CHF 8,000 is 95 % of CHF 8,400. That is above 75 %, so no interest from 2028 if she pays the bill within 30 days.
• Provisional contributions for 2027 at the same profit: CHF 8,400 ÷ 4 = CHF 2,100 per quarter, plus administrative costs.

Graphic designer in the canton of Bern with a lower income, 2026. His AHV income is CHF 42,000. It falls in the band from CHF 40,500 to under CHF 43,000 at 6.976 %.

• Contributions: CHF 42,000 × 6.976 % = CHF 2,929.92.
• At the full rate it would be CHF 4,200. The sliding scale saves him CHF 4,200 − CHF 2,929.92 = CHF 1,270.08.

Same income, different year. With CHF 61,000 you pay the full rate in 2026: CHF 61,000 × 10.0 % = CHF 6,100. In 2027, CHF 61,000 is below the new upper limit of CHF 61,500, so 9.321 % applies: CHF 61,000 × 9.321 % = CHF 5,685.81. That is CHF 414.19 less.

GmbH and AG: salary instead of self-employment

If you work in your own GmbH or AG and draw a salary, you are an employee for AHV purposes (Art. 5 para. 2 AHVG). The company deducts 5.3 % from your salary and adds 5.3 %, plus unemployment insurance, accident insurance and, above an annual salary of CHF 22,680, the pension fund. The sliding scale and the minimum contribution for the self-employed do not apply to you.

Dividends are in principle not AHV wages. But if you pay yourself no salary or a very low one and at the same time an obviously excessive dividend, the Ausgleichskasse may treat part of it as salary (leaflet 2.01).

Special cases

• After the reference age: if you keep working after 65, you only pay on income above CHF 16,800 a year (Art. 6quater AHVV). You can waive this allowance by 31 December of the contribution year to fill gaps in your pension.
• Closing the business: if you report a liquidation gain to the Ausgleichskasse by the end of the following year, late interest only runs from the bill (Art. 41bis para. 1 lit. g AHVV, since 1 January 2026).
• No unemployment cover: as a self-employed person you are not insured against unemployment and cannot insure yourself voluntarily (Art. 2 AVIG).

What is planned and what is not

The vote on 29 November 2026 is about VAT: if it is accepted, the standard rate rises from 8.1 % to 8.5 % in 2028 at the earliest to fund the 13th AHV pension. It does not change your AHV contributions.

The AHV2030 reform proposes an AHV rate of 8.7 % instead of 8.1 % for self-employed people with higher incomes. That is a Federal Council proposal; the consultation ended on 11 September 2026, and there is no message to Parliament yet. Today the rate is 8.1 %.

What Germans mix up

Switzerland has no pension insurance at 18.6 % and no Künstlersozialkasse. Every self-employed person pays AHV/IV/EO to the Ausgleichskasse, at 10.0 % with a sliding scale for small incomes. Health insurance is separate: you take out basic cover yourself, and it never appears on an AHV bill (Art. 3 KVG).

Norman in Switzerland

Norman is an AI bookkeeping app for the self-employed and small companies. In Germany and Poland it captures receipts, matches bank transactions, writes invoices and prepares tax returns today; you review and approve. For Switzerland, Norman is in preparation. Until then, the free guides and calculators on norman.finance/ch/en help, for example the pillar 3a calculator for the self-employed and the guide to pillar 3a for the self-employed.

Frequently asked questions

How much AHV do I pay as a self-employed person in Switzerland?

From an income of CHF 60,500 it is 10.0 % for AHV, IV and EO, plus at most 5 % administrative costs on those contributions. Below that, the sliding scale applies from 5.371 %, and below CHF 10,100 the minimum contribution of CHF 530.

What is the AHV minimum contribution in 2027?

CHF 541 a year, up from CHF 530. It applies to self-employed people with an income below CHF 10,300.

When do I have to pay the provisional AHV contributions?

Every quarter, at the latest 10 days after the end of the quarter: 10 April, 10 July, 10 October and 10 January. What counts is the date the money reaches the Ausgleichskasse.

Do I have to pay AHV on a small side business?

Up to CHF 2,500 a year from self-employment on the side, only if you ask for it (Art. 19 AHVV). Above that, the sliding scale or the minimum contribution applies.

Why does the Ausgleichskasse send me a bill years later?

The final contributions follow the tax assessment, which often comes long after the contribution year. If your provisional contributions were too low, the Ausgleichskasse bills the difference; if they were below 75 %, late interest is added.