Pillar 3a calculator disclaimer

Not tax advice: the figures and calculations in this calculator are a model calculation and constitute neither tax advice nor any tax assurance. They are a general, illustrative and simplified presentation. The actual tax treatment depends on individual circumstances. The binding assessment is made by the competent tax authority. An individual assessment requires a tax adviser. No liability is accepted for consequences arising from the use of this information.

Risk notice: the calculator shows an estimated tax saving only. It projects no investment performance and says nothing about the amount a policy will pay out later. The value of your investment may fluctuate.

All amounts are shown in Swiss francs and rounded to whole francs. Pillar 3a is governed in particular by the BVV 3 (SR 831.461.3). As of: tax year 2026.

What happens to your entries: income, canton and contribution are computed in your browser only. They are neither transmitted nor stored, and the route into a conversation carries none of them.

What this page covers: the Pillar 3a calculator on this website and the tax saving shown by the product finder on the home page. Both rest on the same basis.

Basis of the tax rates

The prefilled marginal rate comes from the official calculator of the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) and is the combined federal, cantonal and communal rate.

Method: the saving is the tax on the slice of taxable income the contribution removes — the difference between the tax with and without it. That is how the FTA's own calculator arrives at its figure. For this, the tax curve is stored per canton and profile: at every reference point, the taxable income and the tax due on it.
Profile: marital status and children are yours to enter. Held constant: the cantonal capital as commune of residence, no church tax, age 35, no wealth, tax year 2026.
Reference points: CHF 20,000 to 100,000 in steps of CHF 5,000, then to 200,000 in steps of CHF 10,000 — denser at the bottom, where the curve bends most. Between two points the value is interpolated linearly, beyond them the edge value applies.
Accuracy: checked against the FTA calculator over random combinations of canton, profile, income and contribution: under one per cent deviation on average, around ten per cent in the worst case tested. Interpolation between two points is the reason — only the FTA calculator itself is exact.
Small amounts: below roughly CHF 150 the calculator still shows the figure but says the saving can also be nil. Whether any tax is due at all turns on deduction thresholds that can fall between two reference points. A comparison of 16,640 combinations against the FTA calculator shows it: every case where the authority owes nothing and this calculation still yields an amount sits under that line.
The rate is editable in the calculator. The actual burden depends on the commune, marital status, denomination and other deductions, and will normally differ.

The individual rate can be worked out with the FTA tax calculator.

Maximum contribution 2026

With a pension fund (2nd pillar): CHF 7,258 per year, regardless of income.
Without a pension fund: 20% of net earned income, up to CHF 36,288 per year.

We apply the 20% limit in simplified form to the gross income entered. Legally it is net earned income that counts, so after social contributions — the actual limit is therefore somewhat lower than the one shown, by exactly 20% of social contributions. The salary statement is what counts.

Limits of the model

The model simplifies deliberately, so that it stays understandable:

Income range: the calculator covers CHF 60,000 to 200,000 — exactly the range for which rates were gathered. Below it, the calculator does not fit: the marginal rate is then lower and the estimate would come out too high. Above it, we continue with the rate for CHF 200,000, which makes the estimate rather too low.
Cantonal capital only: within a canton, communal taxes can differ markedly. Only the capital was measured.
The marginal rate does not rise evenly everywhere. In some cantons it falls across an income band because a deduction phases out. That is not a data error — it reflects the tariff.
Saving = contribution × marginal rate. This is a linearisation. The exact saving is the difference in tax with and without the contribution, and can diverge if the contribution crosses a tariff step.
The monthly figure is the annual saving divided by twelve. Tax is not due monthly — the number only makes the annual value easier to picture.
Swiss residence only. Anyone living abroad sees no 3a amount: for cross-border commuters, whether a deduction is possible depends on the individual case and belongs in a conversation, not an estimate.
The FTA figures here are derived values with the source cited, not a reproduction of the official data.