Fees for services provided by natural persons domiciled in Switzerland and abroad (outside the EU/EFTA/UK) must be subject to the deduction of the AVS/AI/APG/AC if they are not self-employed.
The work must be done from Switzerland.
These may include services from external providers in the field of education (lecturers, experts) as well as other services such as consulting, translation and event management.
EPFL employees who invite, hire and set the remuneration conditions for external service providers must inform them that the work cannot be done remotely from abroad and that their fees will be subject to Swiss social security and tax in accordance with the laws and directives in force.
Before signing a contract or assigning work to a person domiciled abroad for an activity that will be carried out from abroad, human resources ([email protected]) must be contacted and their permission granted. According to international conventions, remote work from abroad may not be possible.
In detail
- Fees less than or equal to CHF 2,300 from individuals are paid without deduction. The accounsting documents (payment order A/invoice and required annexes) must be sent to the Accounting Department.
- Fees in excess of CHF 2,300 from individuals are subject to deductions of social security contributions and/or withholding tax. Accounting documents (payment order C/invoice and required attachments) must be sent to Human Resources.
If the person is a foreign national and domiciled in Switzerland, a copy of the work permit must be attached to the mailing.
Les bases légales reposent sur les Loi fédérale et Règlement sur l’assurance-vieillesse et survivants (LAVS RS 831.10 et RAVS RS 831.101).
The main elements to remember are as follows:
- Persons insured under section 1 of the AHV/AVS Act:
- Natural persons domiciled in Switzerland.
- Natural persons engage in gainful employment in Switzerland.
- Exception for small incidental income according to Art. 8bis of the AHV Regulations.
- By extension, any fee subject to AHV is also subject to other social insurances.
The Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons between Switzerland and the European Community provides that a person shall be covered by social insurance in only one country at a time.
Therefore, any individual of EU/EFTA nationality and domiciled in an EU or EFTA country must declare income earned at EPFL.
In practice, their must ask the authorities in their country to provide them with the European form A1. They are also required to pay contributions due to their social insurance institution.
EPFL will only pay invoices/honoraria to natural persons if it holds the two forms mentioned above, A1 and the Agreement pursuant to Article 21. Only the withholding tax can be deducted from the salary.
The legal bases are based on the Federal Direct Tax Act, articles 86-100 and 136-139, and the Cantonal Direct Tax Act, articles 130-149 and 190-197.
For any natural person domiciled abroad, the IS is levied according to the single rate (Tariff A) applicable according to the canton of employment.
- Persons who are self-employed contribute themselves to their social benefits in their country of residence. They must prove this status by providing a certificate of independence from their AVS compensation fund (valid for Switzerland) or a similar foreign body.
- For persons domiciled in Switzerland, the activities of a teacher or lecturer are, by definition, activities of a dependent nature.
Useful link
Paiement Order C (Payment to natural persons) (DOC)
Contact Information
To send us your questions or suggestions, please contact either the finance support at [email protected] or the human ressources support at [email protected]