The founder tax stack
If you own a Swiss GmbH (or are weighing GmbH vs Einzelfirma), the salary/dividend split changes your total tax + AHV bill by tens of thousands a year. This tool compares the three main payout strategies at your real numbers.
+ CHF 131'730 as dividend
total tax + AHV: CHF 73'574
| Strategy | Salary | Dividend | Co. tax | AHV total | Income tax | Div. tax | Net to you |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All salary (no dividend) | 193'893 | 1 | 0 | 52'212 | 50'336 | 0 | 117'451 |
| Balanced (CHF 120k salary) | 120'000 | 72'700 | 11'835 | 30'931 | 31'360 | 12'432 | 133'442 |
| Min salary + max dividend | 60'000 | 131'730 | 21'444 | 13'651 | 15'952 | 22'526 | 146'426 |
| optimum (CHF 60'000 salary) | 60'000 | 131'730 | 21'444 | 13'651 | 15'952 | 22'526 | 146'426 |
Founder payout mechanics
Salary path. Owner pays themself as an employee. AHV 10.6% (5.3% employer + 5.3% employee), ALV 2.2%, LPP ~10% of insured salary (above the CHF 22 680 coordination amount). Salary is deductible at the company, taxed as ordinary income at the owner.
Dividend path. Profit stays at the company (taxed at the corporate rate ~12-21% combined depending on canton), then distributed as dividend. Because the owner holds ≥10%, dividends are taxed at a privileged rate: 70% taxable at federal (Art. 20 DBG), 50-60% taxable at cantonal level depending on canton.
Trade-off. Salary builds your AHV / LPP pension and unlocks full 3a (CHF 7'258); dividend avoids AHV entirely and benefits from privileged taxation but doesn't accrue pension entitlement. The optimum is almost always a mix: a salary high enough to cover the LPP coordination amount + 3a cap, with the surplus as dividend.
The "underpaid CEO" risk. Take too low a salary (the "Lohnkürzungsstrategie") and the AHV authority can re-classify dividend as salary, levying retroactive AHV + penalties. Rule of thumb: salary should be defensible as market-rate for your role + workload. Most Swiss fiduciaries recommend ≥ CHF 60 000-100 000.
GmbH vs Einzelfirma. Below ~CHF 80 000 net profit, Einzelfirma is usually simpler (no double taxation, but no privileged dividend either). Above ~CHF 150 000, GmbH almost always wins because of the dividend privilege + the ability to retain earnings inside the company.