Family allowances in Switzerland 2026: CHF by canton

If you work in Switzerland and earn at least CHF 630 a month, you can get a family allowance of at least CHF 215 a month for each child, or CHF 268 while the child is in training after compulsory school, paid together with your salary. Your canton may pay more: in 2026 the child allowance for the first two children ranges from CHF 215 (Zurich and Lucerne for under-12s, and Glarus, Solothurn, Basel-Landschaft, Thurgau and Ticino) to CHF 330 in Zug, and five French-speaking or bilingual cantons pay more from the third child. It is not automatic: one parent applies through their employer, and missed months can be claimed back for up to five years.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. The figures are the 2026 rates, as at 1 January 2026. We expect the federal office's 2027 table in December (the 2026 edition was announced on 15 December 2025) and will update this page when it appears.

How much is the family allowance in 2026?

Federal law (the FamZG, the Family Allowances Act) sets a floor. The Federal Social Insurance Office (BSV) states: "Die Kinderzulage beträgt mindestens 215 Franken pro Monat" (the child allowance is at least CHF 215 a month), and the training allowance is at least CHF 268 a month. Cantons "können höhere Ansätze sowie weitere Zulagen vorsehen" (may set higher rates and add other allowances), such as a one-off birth or adoption allowance.

The German words you will see on forms and payslips: Kinderzulage (child allowance), Ausbildungszulage (training allowance), Geburtszulage (birth allowance) and Familienausgleichskasse or FAK (family compensation fund, the body that pays).

Family allowances by canton: CHF per child per month, as at 1 January 2026. Source: BSV, "Arten und Ansätze der Familienzulagen 2026", Stand 12 December 2025 (reprint permitted with source). Where two figures are given, the note says which applies.

Empty birth cells: no birth allowance listed for that canton. The BSV says the table is an overview and "Massgebend sind einzig die gesetzlichen Bestimmungen" (only the legal provisions are binding); your fund confirms your amount. The new Aargau and Graubünden rates apply "ab 1. Januar 2026" (from 1 January 2026). The Valais employee contribution is in the BSV table, footnote 11; in Zurich the contribution is paid by the employer alone.

Two changes to watch. Solothurn voters approved new rates on 8 March 2026: "Die Kinderzulagen betragen neu 230 Franken, die Ausbildungszulagen 280 Franken" (child allowances will be CHF 230, training allowances CHF 280), with the change "voraussichtlich für Anfang 2027 geplant" (expected early 2027); the canton has not given an exact date on that page. At federal level, a parliamentary initiative (23.406) proposes raising the minimums to CHF 250 and CHF 300. After the consultation, the National Council's social security committee proposed on 17 April 2026 to write the initiative off, and the National Council had not decided when we checked on 22 October 2026. It is a proposal, not a rate.

What does one family get in CHF?

Hypothetical example, not a real family. 2026 rates, canton of Zurich. Two parents live in Zurich; one is employed there. One child is under 12 all of 2026, the other is between 12 and 16 all of 2026, so neither crosses an age line during the year.

The same two children, at 2026 rates for the first two children (BSV table), in other cantons:

Our arithmetic on the BSV rates. In Solothurn the family would get CHF 460 a month if the voted CHF 230 applies; that is not yet in force.

The canton that counts is usually your canton of work, not where you live: employers join the family compensation fund in each canton where they have their seat or a branch, and branches follow the rules of their own canton. The table is not a reason to move.

Who gets it when both parents work?

Only one allowance is paid per child: "Für jedes Kind darf nur eine Familienzulage derselben Art ausgerichtet werden" (only one family allowance of the same kind may be paid per child). When both parents qualify, the law sets the order of priority:

1. the parent who works;
2. the parent with parental custody;
3. with joint custody, the parent the child mainly lives with;
4. if both live with the child, the parent who works in the child's canton of residence;
5. if both or neither work there, the parent with the higher income from employment (then from self-employment).

If the second parent's canton pays more, they can claim the gap, the Differenzzahlung (difference payment). The leaflet says the second parent "hat Anspruch auf den entsprechenden Differenzbetrag" (is entitled to the corresponding difference) when the legal allowances in their canton are higher; but "Für Nichterwerbstätige besteht kein Anspruch auf Differenzzahlung" (no difference is paid if that parent does not work).

Hypothetical example, not a real family. 2026 rates. The same family lives in Zurich. Parent A works in Zurich, parent B works in Zug. Both are employed, share parental custody and live with the children. A works in the children's canton of residence, so A is first in line (step 4) and A's fund pays the Zurich CHF 483. B's fund in Zug pays the difference to Zug's rate (BSV table):

That is CHF 2,124 a year on top of Zurich's CHF 5,796, so the family receives CHF 660 a month in total, the Zug amount (our arithmetic). The leaflet's own example 5 uses the same method with smaller numbers. The difference is not paid automatically; B applies through their own employer, as SVA Zurich notes: "kann er eine Differenzzahlung beantragen" (they can apply for a difference payment).

If you have several employers, your salaries are added together and the allowance comes from the employer who pays the highest salary.

From when to when is it paid?

The child allowance runs from the month the child is born up to and including the month of the 16th birthday. For a child aged 16 to 20 who cannot work for health reasons, the child allowance continues to 20.

The training allowance starts in the month post-compulsory training begins, at the earliest in the month of the 15th birthday, and stops when training ends, at the latest at the end of the month in which the child turns 25. If the child earns more than CHF 30,240 a year (gross, 2026 figure), there is no training allowance.

A new baby counts from the birth month, so the application fits into the same weeks as the newborn's health insurance. The insurance premium is a new cost; the allowance is a new income line. Our guide to health insurance costs in 2027 has the premium side.

A short break from work does not stop the allowance straight away. During illness or accident it is paid for the month the incapacity starts and the three following months, during maternity leave for up to 16 weeks and during the other parent's leave for up to two weeks. If a job starts or ends mid-month, Zurich pays a reduced amount for that month.

How do you apply, and what if you never did?

Employees apply with a form, usually through their employer. Self-employed people apply to the family compensation fund they belong to; people who do not work apply to the cantonal compensation office of their canton of residence. Once approved, the employer pays it with the salary, and "Die Zulagen sind in der Lohnabrechnung mit Bezeichnung und Betrag aufzuführen" (the allowances must be shown on the payslip with name and amount). If you cannot find the line, ask HR; our 13th salary guide covers another payslip line that is easy to misread.

If you never applied, the money is not necessarily lost. The leaflet allows a "rückwirkenden Anspruch" (retroactive claim), limited to five years from the time the allowances were owed. SVA Zurich adds: "Massgebend dafür ist der Zeitpunkt der schriftlichen Anmeldung" (the date of the written application is decisive). So apply in writing as soon as you notice.

Hypothetical example, not a real family. A family moves to Zurich and one parent starts a job on 1 September 2025. The children are the same as above: one under 12, one who turned 12 before September 2025. Nobody applies until a written application in January 2027. Zurich rates were the same in 2025 as in 2026 (SVA Zurich leaflet, version 01.2025; in the BSV 2026 table changes since January 2025 are in bold, and the Zurich row is not).

Our arithmetic. Only the months already past are counted; what is paid from January 2027 depends on the 2027 rates.

The rule works both ways. Allowances paid wrongly must be paid back, and changes such as a birth, a child moving abroad, the start or end of training, a separation or the other parent starting work or changing canton must be reported to the employer or fund without being asked.

What about part-time work, not working, or children abroad?

Part-time. There is no reduction for part-time work. The leaflet says you get the full allowance "sofern Ihr Lohn mindestens 630 Franken im Monat bzw. 7 560 Franken im Jahr beträgt" (provided your salary is at least CHF 630 a month or CHF 7,560 a year; 2026 figures). Below that, you may qualify as a non-employed person.

Not working. Non-employed people qualify only if their taxable income does not exceed CHF 45,360 a year (2026) and they receive no supplementary benefits (EL). Vaud has raised the limit to CHF 60,480; Geneva, Jura and Ticino have no limit.

Children abroad. Allowances are paid for children abroad only where an agreement requires it. Citizens of EU or EFTA states get them in full for children living in the EU or EFTA. The 2021 agreement with the United Kingdom does not cover family benefits, so children living in the UK generally get none, apart from cases under the citizens' rights agreement. Birth and adoption allowances are not paid abroad.

Where does it appear on your payslip and salary certificate?

The allowance arrives with your salary and is listed on the payslip with its name and amount. At year end it also appears on your Lohnausweis (salary certificate). The federal tax administration's guide to filling in the certificate lists, under box 1 (salary), "sämtliche Zulagen (z. B. Geburts-, Kinder- oder andere Familienzulagen" (all allowances, for example birth, child or other family allowances). So the salary in box 1 of your certificate already includes them. For how they are treated in your own tax return, ask your cantonal tax office.

In Zurich your employer pays the whole contribution that funds the allowances (SVA Zurich); in Valais, employees pay 0.13% of salary towards them.

What this means for your budget

The allowance is regular money, and it is easier to follow as its own income line than mixed into salary. Our guide to a CHF 100,000 salary shows how the other family lines sit next to it.

1. Its own line. In hypothetical example A that is CHF 483 a month at 2026 Zurich rates. Keeping it separate shows you what changes when a child turns 12 or 16, or starts training.
2. Dates to watch. December, when the new canton table is expected, and each child's 12th birthday (Zurich and Lucerne) and 16th birthday (the switch to training or the end of the allowance).
3. Waiting for a decision? One option is to budget without it until it shows on a payslip. Back pay, such as the CHF 7,728 in example C, will not repeat, so it fits better in savings than in the monthly budget.
4. Second parent in a higher-paying canton? Check the difference payment; in example B it was CHF 177 a month.

Any spreadsheet with an income section works. Our Swiss Budget Planner, which we sell, has an income section where the family allowance can sit as its own line next to salary.

Sources and last checked

Checked against these official pages on 22 October 2026 (German and French pages with an English gloss).

• BSV (Federal Social Insurance Office), Arten und Ansätze der Familienzulagen 2026 (types and rates of family allowances), Stand 12 December 2025: 26-canton table, footnotes.
• BSV, Mitteilung über die Durchführung der Familienzulagen Nr. 60 of 15 December 2025: publication date of the yearly table.
• BSV, Familienzulagen: Leistungen und Voraussetzungen (benefits and conditions) and Zulagen für Familien: minimums, thresholds, one allowance per child, age limits.
• BSV, Parlamentarische Initiative 23.406: proposed federal increase. Parliament, business 23.406: committee proposal of 17 April 2026 to write it off.
• AHV/IV information centre, leaflet 6.08 Familienzulagen (German) and Allocations familiales (French), status 1 January 2025: entitlement, priority order, back pay, children abroad, application.
• SVA Zurich, Merkblatt Familienzulagen für Arbeitnehmende (leaflet for employees), version 01.2025: Zurich rates, payslip, written application.
• ESTV / SSK, Wegleitung zum Ausfüllen des Lohnausweises (guide to the salary certificate), 2026 edition: box 1.
• Canton of Solothurn, Abstimmung: Ja zur Anhebung der Familienzulagen (vote: yes to higher family allowances), March 2026.