Lower return
1.5% annual return assumption
Understand your third-pillar options before committing. We compare your goals, monthly budget, investment exposure, protection and flexibility.
Compare source tax, TOU and 3a20–30 minutes · English or French · No obligation
Simulate my third pillar
Geneva frontier worker, Swiss resident or another situation: start here. TOU is a recalculation of your overall tax, with or without Pillar 3a. Your tax domicile, the competent canton and the household’s worldwide position determine the next step.
Annual source tax withheld
TOU with current deductions and current 3a
Same TOU, with an additional 3a payment
First check access or an obligation to use TOU. Then compare A − B, B − C and A − C. Passing the 90% test or being allowed to pay into 3a does not establish a tax advantage.
Calculation coverage: standard Swiss-resident situations can use the official FTA estimate below. Non-residents and complex situations use a detailed preparation worksheet, an indicative access check where relevant, and a comparison using B and C copied from the same identified official Swiss calculator. An automatic full non-resident tax-return calculation is not available on this website.
A guided comparison for employees living in Switzerland and taxed at source, including permit B holders. Enter annual salary-certificate figures and household expenses; the FTA calculation service estimates ordinary taxes for your commune. No taxable-income figure to work out yourself.
What your employer withholds
Ordinary taxes with your current 3a payments
Ordinary taxes with an additional 3a payment
Provenance: A is the source tax actually entered from the salary certificate. Resident B and C come from the official FTA service for tax year 2026. Only the differences A − B, B − C and A − C are calculated locally by this website.
Prefer the full official calculator? Open the FTA tool →
Prepare each spouse’s salary certificates (all Swiss jobs), annual withholding, ages, children’s ages, actual health premiums and subsidies, commuting and meal expenses, rent, debt interest, taxable savings/assets and 3a certificates. Enter CHF for the whole of 2026; use 0 when absent. An unknown amount is not zero. In an unfinished year, use a consistent full-year projection for every field.
This estimate covers a full year in one Swiss commune, salaried income, a standard household and ordinary 3a payments. Foreign income/assets, property, self-employment, arrival/departure, a move, shared custody, a family-status change, special deductions or 3a catch-up payments need a full cantonal calculation. For those cases, do not treat this estimate as a recommendation.
Swiss-resident employees taxed at source can generally request TOU even below CHF 120000. The 90% test concerns non-residents. TOU is mandatory from CHF 120000 gross annual employment income for one person, without adding spouses’ salaries; other income, taxable wealth and cantonal rules may also trigger it. A permit alone does not determine tax status.
For tax year 2026, the ordinary request deadline is 31 March of the following year and cannot be extended; an earlier departure has its own deadline. Once requested by a resident, TOU cannot be withdrawn and generally continues in subsequent years while source taxation applies. Payroll withholding continues and is credited against the ordinary assessment. Verify your canton’s procedure before filing.
A positive A − C suggests a refund of excess withholding; a negative amount suggests additional tax. A is a withholding credit, not a separate ordinary-tax bill. B − C isolates the tax effect of the new 3a payment; it does not by itself establish that requesting TOU is beneficial. Source withholding already includes standard deductions: they must not be added again as separate “savings”.
An estimate, not a tax assessment or filing recommendation. The FTA model applies commune/year-specific rates and its own deduction assumptions, which may differ from a complete cantonal return. Tax on wealth and personal/church taxes are included where returned. Filing/advice fees, interest, tax paid at 3a withdrawal, product fees and investment returns are excluded. A 3a payment remains locked pension savings, not spendable income. Review the full return and future-year implications before an irrevocable TOU request.
Review my TOU and 3a situation with MathiasFor this comparison the entered year-end net assets are kept identical in B and C. Any additional wealth-tax reduction caused by funding the new 3a payment from those assets is not modelled.
Tax year 2026. Basis verified on 2026-10-20. A is the household’s annual withholding copied from salary certificates. B is ordinary tax returned by the official FTA detailed calculator with existing 3a. C is the same official calculation with existing plus additional 3a. The website performs only A − B, B − C and A − C; it applies no private rate or substitute result.
The FTA service incorporates commune- and canton-specific parameters for supported resident estimates. TOU access, filing, special allocations and the final assessment remain with the competent canton. A cantonal calculator is official only when it is published by that Swiss authority; it is not replaced by a private calculator.
Prepare the full household position, then compare results copied from the same identified official Swiss calculator. The automatic resident model is not an international tax-return calculator.

This worksheet does not calculate a full tax return. It organises the figures needed for the official cantonal calculation and can transfer the gross totals into the indicative 90% check. All entries stay in this page; no data is sent or saved by this worksheet.
Use annual 2026 figures in CHF, including both spouses/registered partners. Convert foreign amounts consistently using the appropriate official rate; retain the original amounts and exchange-rate evidence for your return. Zero means absent; a blank expense means not yet verified. Do not upload documents or enter names, addresses or tax identifiers here.
The file is created on your device. It is not sent to Mathias, a government service or an advertiser. Review it before sharing through an agreed secure channel.
Complete the income fields to see your indicative result.
Eligibility formula from the official rule: Swiss-taxable gross income ÷ household worldwide gross income × 100. The unrounded result must be at least 90%. This is an access test, not a tax calculation; it does not decide treaty treatment, exceptions, ex-officio TOU or 3a suitability.
Geneva lists exceptions involving insufficient income for deductions in the residence country, treaty-recognised foreign pension contributions, and qualifying equal shared custody. TOU can also be imposed ex officio, for example with Geneva property or self-employment, including certain spouse situations. Ask the competent cantonal tax authority to determine these cases under the official rules.
The website subtracts the official amounts entered. No tax amount or saving is assumed.
Positive = lower Swiss tax in the official results entered; negative = additional Swiss tax. This is local arithmetic on A, B and C, not another official tax calculation or a guarantee. The 3a contribution is money committed to your pension, not a tax refund. French tax, costs, investment risk and tax on withdrawal are not included.
For non-residents, a voluntary TOU request is renewed each year and eligibility must be checked again. A request cannot be withdrawn because the final bill is unfavourable. For Swiss residents, TOU normally continues while source taxation applies. The ordinary 2026 deadline is 31 March 2027; an earlier departure has its own rules. Verify any obligation or ex-officio case with the competent canton.
This preparation worksheet, the 90% test and the comparison run only in your browser, with no saving or transmission of their entries. The separate standard-resident estimate uses the FTA service only after its own agreement. Official links open external services with their own privacy terms. Foreign-country tax, tax credits and 3a withdrawal tax need their own review; a Swiss-only difference is not the household’s global tax result.
Calculation bases verified on 2026-10-20. Geneva-specific exceptions are shown only for Geneva; other cantons require their own procedure.
Review my complete TOU position with MathiasEnter your situation and the contribution you are considering. We compare two calculations from the Federal Tax Administration: without and with that additional pillar 3a deduction.

Your estimate will appear here.
2026 tax data · Swiss Federal Tax Administration. The annual taxes before and after are official service outputs; taxable wealth is fixed at zero in both scenarios. The displayed difference and effective cost are local arithmetic, not an assessment.
The complete contribution goes into your 3a plan. The tax saving reduces its effective cost; it is not a guaranteed investment return.
You could use the saving to ease your household budget, build an accessible emergency reserve, or fund additional long-term saving. Extra 3a contributions remain subject to your annual allowance. Compare the complete plan: fees, insurance protection, investment risk and flexibility all matter.
For ordinary 2026 contributions: CHF 7258 with a pension fund; without one, up to 20% of eligible earned income, capped at CHF 36288. These parameters come from the FSIO and OPP 3. This tool excludes catch-up contributions and assumes eligibility. Pillar 3b does not have the same general 3a deduction. 3a withdrawal is restricted and benefits are taxed when paid out. Source-tax and cross-border situations require an individual check.
Explore monthly savings and illustrative retirement scenarios, then discuss the options that fit you.
Loading the verified official 3a basis. The return assumptions below are illustrative and are not tax calculations.
Choose your goal and budget. See what regular contributions could become under three hypothetical returns, without providing contact details.
Your simulation stays in your browser until you choose to send an enquiry.
1.5% annual return assumption
3.5% annual return assumption
5.5% annual return assumption
These are nominal investment illustrations, not AXA or another insurer’s quotes or guaranteed benefits. Returns are hypothetical; losses are possible. The uninvested share is excluded. Actual policy costs, protection premiums, investment fees, surrender values, inflation and withdrawal taxes require a personalized illustration.
Compare source tax, TOU and 3aClarify the role of each pillar, your eligibility and how each could fit your wider pension plan.
Compare banking and insurance structures, investment risk, fees and the time you have before retirement.
Review life cover, premium waiver where offered, payment commitments and the consequences of changing or stopping a plan.

I will take the time to understand what matters to you, explain the choices and help you compare suitable options. You can ask questions and decide at your own pace.
01 · Review your needs and current arrangements.
02 · Compare benefits, costs and important limitations.
03 · Agree on the next steps, if you want to proceed.
Regular contributions and an investment strategy matched to your horizon. Market-linked capital can rise or fall.
Explore the options+02Life cover can provide an agreed death benefit to eligible beneficiaries, subject to the policy terms.
Explore the options+03Premium waiver can cover future premiums after qualifying disability, subject to waiting periods and policy conditions.
Explore the options+For people with eligible Swiss earned income. Contributions can reduce taxable income within the annual limit. Access is restricted to retirement and legally permitted early withdrawals; withdrawal tax applies.
No statutory 3a contribution ceiling. An insurance contract can support other savings and protection goals. Flexibility depends on the policy; tax treatment depends on your canton, circumstances and contract.
Insurance plans have savings, protection and administration costs. Early surrender may return less than you paid in, particularly in the first years. We compare the premium split, surrender values, investment risks and options to change contributions before you commit.
Further reading: ch.ch — Third pillar · AXA — Assurance-vie
Yes. The initial 20–30 minute conversation is free and without obligation. Before any further service that carries a fee, we will clarify the terms.
Absolutely. Your current arrangements are a useful starting point. We can review what they include before discussing alternatives.
The booking button takes you to the calendar on my contact page. Choose a time and enter your contact details there. You can also contact me by email or WhatsApp.
“super helpful in navigating the choice”

Your existing third-pillar plans, pension certificate, savings budget and retirement priorities.
You can book even if you do not have everything yet. Please do not send confidential documents through WhatsApp; we can agree on a suitable way to share them.
Coverage and acceptance depend on the selected insurer and policy terms. Investment values can fall as well as rise. We will discuss the relevant conditions and risks before you decide.