On 18.12.2024, the FTA (Federal tax administration) published the guidelines for the 2025 salary certificate.
As in previous years, the changes are indicated by a bar. The modifications are also pointed out as part of the communication. (free translation into English)
The following significant changes have been made to the instructions for completing the salary statement and pension certificate with effect from 1 January 2025:
– RZ (margin number of the guidelines) 10: Addition of the word ‘exclusively’;
– RZ 11: The following text has been added: ‘complete and up to date at the time of completion’;
– RZ 62: Adjustment of the amount for minimal wages in accordance with the AHV (Old age insurance) to CHF 2,500 as of 01.01.2025;
– RZ 67: Deletion of the sentence ‘It is desirable to state the level of employment, e.g. “50% position”’.
What does this mean in practice for companies?
The adjustment of the text in margin no. 62 is due to the increase in the maximum limit for minimal wages from CHF 2,300 to CHF 2,500 for the calendar year 2025.
Otherwise, the provisions are clarifications of the existing guidelines, which in principle can already be applied to the 2024 salary certificates.
For the 2024 salary statements, it should be noted that ‘part-time employment’ must be printed as a minimum piece of information in the comments (section 15 of the salary statement). To be more precise: if employees were not employed at 100% at some point during the certification period, this comment must be included on the salary certificate. For 2024, it is optional to list the periods with a reduced level of employment separately. It is important that the information should be absolutely correct. Depending on the industry, this can be a laborious task. It is therefore easier to focus on ensuring that the part-time employment note is included for all those concerned.
Depending on the software solution, this may not be possible without manual intervention. The percentage no longer needs to be specified for salary statements for the 2025 certification period. It is only necessary to distinguish whether a situation exists in which the part-time employment note must be added or not.
As in previous years, it should be noted that the residential address (main residence) is certified for the 2024 wage statements. The 2025 version merely clarifies that it is the residential address at the time the wage statement is created. This means that, in particular, the residential address for those who have left the company may need to be updated before the wage statement is created.
