Side jobs for retirees and students: AHV, tax, permits and first steps

Small jobs for private households include cleaning, garden work, babysitting, homework help and tutoring, language lessons in English or another language, computer help, dog walking and pet sitting, or keeping an older person company.

For AHV/AVS – Swiss old-age and survivors' insurance – much of this is household work: the household that pays is then in general the employer and must settle AHV/IV/EO contributions from the first franc.

Household help and companionship for older people are fine. Care – including basic care such as help with washing, dressing or getting up – usually requires professional training and a cantonal authorisation.

People who keep working after reference age still pay AHV/IV/EO contributions, but no unemployment insurance. In general, CHF 16'800 per year and per employer (CHF 1'400 per month) stays contribution-free. People who draw their old-age pension early do not get this allowance.

The allowance applies to each job, including household work for private clients. If you do not work for an employer for the whole year, it is CHF 1'400 for each full or partial month. You can waive it: tell the employer by the first wage payment after you reach reference age, and then each year.

The reference age is 65. For women born between 1960 and 1963 it is slightly lower:

The CHF 2'500 per year and per employer limit does not apply to work in private households. Exception: young people up to 31 December of the year they turn 25, if they earn no more than CHF 750 a year from that household. They can still ask for contributions to be paid.

In 2026, this exception covers people born between 2001 and 2008: if a household pays them more than CHF 750 in the year, it must register them and settle contributions. For people born in 2000 or earlier, contributions are due from the first franc. Babysitting in the parents' home counts as employment.

Outside private households, AHV contributions on wages up to CHF 2'500 per year and per employer are in general levied only if the insured person asks for it. There are exceptions, for example in the culture and media sector. Whether you count as employed or self-employed is decided by the compensation office case by case, based on the actual circumstances, not on the contract.

If a household employs you, it must insure you against accidents with an approved insurer (not Suva). From 8 hours per week with the same employer, non-occupational accidents are covered too. Below that, only occupational accidents are covered, including accidents on the way to work. The premium for non-occupational accidents can be deducted from your wage.

Self-employed people have no compulsory accident insurance, so check how you are covered before you start.

Income from side jobs is taxable and in general must be declared in your tax return, in retirement as much as during your studies. There is no amount below which it is tax-free, and a salary certificate (Lohnausweis) is required for every wage.

Wages settled through the simplified procedure are already taxed by the 5% withholding tax. They are not declared as main or side income.

For the direct federal tax, a flat deduction of 20% of the net side income (at least CHF 800, at most CHF 2'400 a year) covers the costs of an employed side job; cantonal rules may differ.

If you are not Swiss, your permit determines what you may do. EU/EFTA nationals with a B permit may change jobs and become self-employed; with an L permit you may change jobs, but switching to self-employment needs a new permit. Cross-border commuters (G permit) must report changes concerning their employer before the new activity starts. Whether an additional employer counts as such a change is a matter of interpretation, so confirm it with the cantonal migration office. A G permit can never be combined with the notification procedure.

EU/EFTA nationals may work up to 3 months (90 days) per calendar year without a permit, but the employer must notify the job online by the day before at the latest – from the first day, including for household cleaning.

Non-EU/EFTA nationals with a B permit for employment may in principle change jobs without further authorisation, subject to any conditions on their permit; B permits for other purposes, such as family reunification, have their own rules. Recognised refugees, provisionally admitted persons (F) and people with protection status S may work once the job has been reported. Asylum seekers (N) need an authorisation.

On Workpop, people in your area post jobs and you choose the ones that suit you. Signing up is free, Workpop takes no commission on the price you agree, and you must be at least 18.

You set your price, respecting minimum wages. Payments do not go through Workpop, and it does not handle AHV or insurance for the household that employs you. The steps:

• Create your profile: name, photo and a short introduction.
• Add your skills and the cantons you want to work in.
• Browse open jobs by canton, category and distance; your dashboard also suggests jobs that may suit you. Jobs can be written in English, German, French or Italian, and you can translate one into your language with one click.
• Apply with your price, a date and a short message. Each job accepts up to 5 applications, so reply promptly to the ones that interest you.
• Negotiate in the chat (up to 10 proposals, all saved), then confirm what you agreed in the digital contract.
• Do the job and get paid directly by the client: cash, bank transfer or TWINT.
• After each completed contract, the client can leave a review on your profile.