Two periods in one tax year
You leave a job with a pension fund in June and start working for yourself in July without occupational pension membership. The same tax year now contains two different circumstances. FTA Circular 18a separates employment with pension membership from the subsequent period without membership. The first follows the ordinary ceiling for people with a pension fund. For the latter, up to 20% of the relevant earned income may be contributed if annual accounts have been prepared for the tax period. The higher annual ceiling limits the combined contributions; it does not apply separately to each payment.
A worked example using fictional figures
Assume someone has already contributed CHF 5,000 during employment and has CHF 18,000 of relevant self-employed income. The independent portion calculates to CHF 3,600, or CHF 8,600 when combined with the earlier contribution, subject to evidence and the overall ceiling. The ordinary 2026 federal ceilings are CHF 7,258 with occupational pension membership and up to CHF 36,288 without it. Neither amount is a tax saving, and the latter is not automatic permission to contribute CHF 36,288.
Why pension membership dates matter
Your resignation date, actual end of membership and recognition as self-employed can differ. Do not infer those dates from an invoice or business registration. Gather the pension fund confirmation and the compensation office decision. If you keep another job, join a fund voluntarily or have overlapping periods, verify the method rather than applying the example. It assumes two clear successive periods.
What to assemble before paying
List payments already credited across all 3a arrangements, including any policy premiums. Add the self-employed earnings figure used in the calculation, not turnover. If accounts are not final, label the estimate separately from the confirmed result. Ask the tax authority how to document the calculation and ask the institution when it can still process a contribution. Keep the reconciliation and certificates. Avoid tying up money you might need for the first operating expenses.
Check again once the accounts are final
Start-up profit may be lower than expected if the business incurs purchases or expenses before its first sales. Before deciding how much to pay, test a lower income assumption as well. If recognised income were only CHF 10,000 in the example, the 20% component would be CHF 2,000, a reduction of CHF 1,600. If a contribution already credited no longer fits the result, ask the authority how to handle it rather than assuming the bank will correct the amount on its own.