The Swiss Financial Calendar — Eight Dates That Matter Every Year

Financial admin in Switzerland is not constant — it clusters. Eight dates repeat every year, each with one specific action attached. Put them in your calendar once and most of your household's financial hygiene runs on autopilot.

January — the pension certificate arrives

Your Pillar 2 fund sends the annual certificate (Vorsorgeausweis). Action: read it. Note current capital, projected capital and buy-in potential. Fifteen minutes, once a year, on the largest asset you own.

January — reset the 3a standing order

New year, new allowance (CHF 7,258 in 2026 for employed persons with a pension fund). Action: confirm the standing order is running and sized to reach the limit by November — not December (see below).

March — tax return season opens

Cantonal deadlines for the ordinary tax return cluster around 31 March, with extensions available. Action: file or request the extension deliberately — an extension is a plan; a lapsed deadline is a default assessment. Source-taxed below CHF 120,000: 31 March is also the binding deadline to request a retrospective ordinary assessment for last year — the decision worth actually calculating (see our Quellensteuer article).

June — mid-year household review

No institution prompts this one; it's yours. Action: savings rate over the last six months, buffer coverage vs target, any life changes that reprice them. One hour, both partners, with the actual numbers.

September — health insurance premiums announced

Insurers publish next year's premiums in the autumn. Action: compare your basic-insurance premium on the official Priminfo tool. Same mandatory coverage, materially different prices — switching is a letter, not a project.

30 November — health insurance switch deadline

Notice to change basic insurance for 1 January must generally reach your insurer by the end of November. Action: if September's comparison found savings, send the registered letter now. For a family, the difference is often four figures per year.

Early December — 3a contribution cut-off

The legal deadline is year-end, but the money must be credited by then, and providers set internal cut-offs. Action: top up any remaining allowance in the first days of December, not the last. Both partners.

December — bonus season allocation

If part of your compensation arrives as bonus or equity: decide its allocation before it lands — buffer top-up, buy-in, 3a gap, investments, and a deliberate share for living. A bonus with no prior plan defaults to the current account, and current accounts absorb windfalls without a trace.

What are you optimising for?

None of these dates is difficult. Their cost lies in being missed: an unread certificate defers a buy-in decision another year, a missed November letter locks in a premium for twelve months, a late 3a transfer forfeits a deduction permanently.

Control question: how many of the eight are in your household calendar right now — with the action, not just the date?