Which insurance premiums can you deduct in your Swiss tax return?

In your tax return you subtract expenses from your income. You then pay tax only on the rest. For insurance and pension provision, these items are deductible.

• Health and accident insurance premiums. You declare what you paid yourself. You subtract any premium subsidy you received. Life insurance of pillar 3b and savings interest also count, but all together only up to a maximum amount.
• Pillar 3a. These payments are deductible up to the maximum amount. For 2026 it is at most CHF 7,258 with a pension fund. Without a pension fund it is 20 percent of earned income, at most CHF 36,288. More on the page Pillar 3a.
• Pension fund. Your ongoing contributions are deductible. A voluntary buy-in to the pension fund is also deductible, as long as you do not exceed the gap set by the fund’s regulations.
• Illness costs. What you pay yourself for the doctor, dentist or medication is deductible, to the extent it exceeds 5 percent of your net income.

For the direct federal tax, a maximum amount applies for tax year 2025. It depends on your marital status and on whether you pay into the pension fund or pillar 3a.

• Single, with pension fund or pillar 3a. Up to CHF 1,800.
• Married, with pension fund or pillar 3a. Up to CHF 3,700.
• Single, with neither. Up to CHF 2,700.

You find the amount for your tax year on the FTA website. Basic insurance premiums are often already higher than this maximum.

Besides the federal tax, you pay cantonal and municipal taxes. Each canton sets its own deductions. A single person with a pension fund can deduct CHF 2,450 in the canton of Bern in 2025, and CHF 4,600 in the canton of Graubünden. In this case Bern uses a fixed amount. Other cantons require proof of the actual premiums.

So check your canton’s tax guide. It shows you the amount and the documents you need. This page gives an overview and does not replace tax advice. In individual cases, the tax authority of your canton decides.

For the insurance deduction, the law names only life, health and accident insurance. So property insurance and insurance for everyday risks are not deductible.

• Household contents. See Household contents and underinsurance.
• Personal liability.
• Legal expenses.
• Motor vehicle, travel and mobile phone.

The deductible and the excess count only as illness costs above the 5 percent threshold. The part of the premium that the canton covers as a premium subsidy is also not deductible. More on the page Premium subsidies.

After a buy-in you may not withdraw capital from the pension fund for three years. Otherwise the tax authority can cancel the deduction afterwards. So plan the buy-in for the long term.

• “I can deduct all insurance.” No. The deduction applies only to health, accident and life insurance, and even there only up to the maximum amount.
• “The deduction is the same everywhere.” No. The federal government and each canton have their own rules and amounts.
• “I only have to enter the premiums.” No. You also need the certificates for pillar 3a and for a pension fund buy-in.