Premium reduction Zurich 2027: limits and deadline
By the Rappenwise team. Last checked .
Canton Zurich has set its health insurance premium reduction (Prämienverbilligung) for 2027. For a single adult over 25 in the City of Zurich, the income limit published by SVA Zürich is CHF 59,420 of "massgebendes Einkommen", an income figure taken from your tax return, not your gross salary. You can apply for 2027 until 31 March 2028, and the money is deducted from your insurance bills from January 2027.
Below are the 2027 limits for your household, the share of the premium you always pay yourself, and the dates that matter. Every rule links to the canton's decision or to SVA's own pages. This page is general information, not insurance, tax or legal advice, and it does not say whether you should apply.
What is premium reduction in Zurich?
Premium reduction is money from the canton towards your compulsory basic health insurance premium. In Zurich it is called individuelle Prämienverbilligung, IPV (individual premium reduction). Federal health insurance law obliges cantons to reduce premiums for people in modest financial circumstances (KVG Art. 65, as quoted in the canton's decision). In Canton Zurich, SVA Zürich (the cantonal social insurance office) runs it.
The Regierungsrat (cantonal government) set the 2027 figures on 16 September 2026 in decision RRB 980/2026 and announced them on 29 September 2026. The 2027 budget for IPV is CHF 799.4 million, out of CHF 1,385.8 million for premium reductions in total. By cantonal law, at most 30% of insured people may receive IPV.
Each canton has its own scheme. Everything here is for Canton Zurich only.
Do you qualify in 2027? The income and wealth limits
SVA publishes a table of 2027 income limits by household, age group, number of children and premium region. This table is the eligibility test. An extract for adults over 25:
| Household (adults over 25), 2027 | Region 1 (City of Zurich) | Region 2 (e.g. Winterthur, Uster) | Region 3 (rest of the canton) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single, no children | CHF 59,420 | CHF 54,235 | CHF 50,570 |
| Single parent, 1 child | CHF 73,700 | CHF 71,200 | CHF 71,200 |
| Married, no children | CHF 94,670 | CHF 86,410 | CHF 80,575 |
| Married, 1 child | CHF 106,040 | CHF 96,790 | CHF 90,240 |
Massgebendes Einkommen, not gross salary. Limits set by the canton for 2027; SVA notes they can still be changed by the Regierungsrat until autumn 2027. Columns for two and three children and rows for young adults aged 18 to 25 are in SVA's full table.
Which region are you in? The City of Zurich is Region 1. Region 2 includes Winterthur, Uster, Dübendorf, Kloten, Dietikon, Horgen, Wädenswil and Thalwil, among others. Every other municipality is Region 3. SVA's region list has the full split.
There is also a wealth limit for 2027: CHF 150,000 of taxable wealth for single people and CHF 300,000 for single parents and married couples (SVA's split by household), the same as in 2026 (RRB 303/2026).
Why CHF 71,200 appears in several cells with children: it is the floor set for the minimum claim of children and young adults in training. The canton set CHF 71,200 (families with only minor children) and CHF 94,900 (at least one young adult in training) as the 2027 income limits for this minimum claim, which federal law requires (RRB 303/2026, section 3c).
What does "massgebendes Einkommen" mean?
Massgebendes Einkommen (the relevant income) is the income SVA works with. It is built from your tax assessment, not from your payslip. SVA's definition, using the line numbers of the Zurich tax return:
- Starts from total income (line 199), minus total deductions (line 299), illness and accident costs (line 320) and the deductions for children and supported persons (lines 370, 372 and 374).
- Adds back pillar 3a contributions (lines 260 and 261), contributions to AHV, IV and the 2nd pillar (line 280) and losses from property and private assets (line 188). So paying into 3a lowers your tax but not the income SVA uses.
- Adds 10% of taxable wealth above CHF 75,000 for single people, or above CHF 150,000 for married people and people with children. SVA's example: a couple with CHF 200,000 of wealth adds CHF 5,000 (10% of CHF 50,000).
Taxed at source (Quellensteuer)? SVA: "Bei quellenbesteuerten Personen entspricht das massgebende Einkommen dem steuerbaren Einkommen unter Berücksichtigung des Kinderabzuges" (for people taxed at source, the relevant income is the taxable income, taking the child deduction into account). What taxable income is, and how source tax works, is in our guide to setting money aside for Swiss tax.
How much is the reduction?
The amount follows a formula set by the canton. To check whether you qualify, use SVA's income table above or its calculator, not the formula. The canton links the two: it says the own-share system "hat die bisherigen Einkommensgrenzen abgelöst" (has replaced the former income limits), and that, because the total IPV budget is fixed, a higher reference premium leads "zu einem höheren Eigenanteilssatz und damit zu sinkenden Einkommensgrenzen" (to a higher own-share rate and so to falling income limits; RRB 303/2026, sections 3c and 3f).
But the 2027 reference premiums in francs behind SVA's table are not published, so you cannot rebuild the table yourself. The formula below tells you how the amount is made up once you are inside the limits.
The formula: reference premium minus own share = premium reduction (RRB 303/2026, section 1c).
- Referenzprämie (reference premium): for 2027, 70% of the regional average premium, unchanged from 2026.
- Eigenanteil (own share): your massgebendes Einkommen times a fixed rate. For 2027 the rate is 9.4% for single people and single parents and 11.8% for married couples and registered partners.
- Grundbeitrag (basic contribution): the part of your premium above the reference premium is always yours. With the reference at 70%, that is 30% of the premium if your premium equals the regional average, more if your premium is above the average and less if it is below (RRB 303/2026, section 1c).
In words: take the reference premium for your region and age group, subtract your own share, and what is left is your reduction. Whatever your premium costs above the reference premium, you pay yourself.
What do you pay yourself at the 2027 rates?
The canton and SVA have not published the 2027 reference premium per region in any source we found, so we cannot work out a 2027 reduction for anyone. Your own figure comes from SVA: the notice it sends from December 2026, or its online calculator.
What we can show is the own share, the part you pay yourself at the 2027 rates whatever the reference premium is:
| Massgebendes Einkommen | Single / single parent (9.4%), per year | per month | Married (11.8%), per year | per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHF 20,000 | CHF 1,880 | CHF 156.67 | CHF 2,360 | CHF 196.67 |
| CHF 30,000 | CHF 2,820 | CHF 235.00 | CHF 3,540 | CHF 295.00 |
| CHF 40,000 | CHF 3,760 | CHF 313.33 | CHF 4,720 | CHF 393.33 |
| CHF 50,000 | CHF 4,700 | CHF 391.67 | CHF 5,900 | CHF 491.67 |
| CHF 60,000 | – | – | CHF 7,080 | CHF 590.00 |
| CHF 80,000 | – | – | CHF 9,440 | CHF 786.67 |
Arithmetic: massgebendes Einkommen × 9.4% or 11.8% (2027 rates, RRB 980/2026); per month = per year ÷ 12, rounded to the rappen. CHF 60,000 and above are left blank for single people because they are over every single, no-children limit in the table above; single parents have higher limits. This is your own share, not your reduction.
The rates change from year to year. In September 2026 the canton also adjusted the 2026 rates, from 8.4% to 8.8% for single people and single parents and from 10.5% to 11.0% for married couples (RRB 980/2026).
What are the 2027 dates, from form to final bill?
All dates are for the 2027 reduction, from SVA's customer sheet for 2027 (Kundeninformation, version 06.2026).
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| By the end of July 2026 | SVA sends an application form to people who are likely to qualify, based on the last definitive tax data, usually the 2024 Steuerfaktoren (tax figures) |
| From August 2026 | If you got no form, you can apply with SVA's online Nachmeldung (late registration) form at svazurich.ch/nachmeldung |
| From December 2026 | SVA tells you the provisional amount by post and pays 80% of it to your health insurer |
| 1 January 2027 | Where you live on this day decides whether Zurich is responsible for 2027 |
| From January 2027 | Your insurer deducts the amount from your monthly premium bills. Your policy still shows the full premium |
| 31 March 2028 | Last day to apply for 2027 |
| 2028/2029 | Final calculation on your 2027 tax figures: the remaining payment or a Rückforderung (repayment demand); SVA says a repayment is handled through your insurer |
In SVA's words, the deadline is: "bis spätestens 31. März 2028" (by 31 March 2028 at the latest). A decision can take up to six months. You can apply through SVA's online application.
Why the money is first provisional: whether you qualify for 2027 is known only once your definitive 2027 tax figures exist, normally in 2028 or 2029. If the final entitlement is lower, SVA says: "stellt die SVA Zürich eine Rückforderung" (SVA Zürich issues a repayment demand).
What if your situation changes in 2027?
These are SVA's rules from its 2027 customer sheet. They are not a recommendation either way.
- Young adults born 2002 to 2008 in training. SVA also counts your parents' tax figures, even though you are an adult. This does not apply if you are married or have children of your own. If you finish, drop out of or pause your training for more than three months, you have to tell SVA.
- Moving out of Zurich. If you no longer live in Canton Zurich on 1 January 2027, you have no Zurich claim for 2027. SVA asks you not to submit the form and to ask your new municipality whether you qualify there.
- Finished training and income rising sharply in 2027. In its section for young adults in training, SVA writes that you may no longer qualify, and that you can check with its calculator, without obligation, whether returning the form is worthwhile. It adds: "Um Rückforderungen zu vermeiden, verzichten Sie auf die provisorische Prämienverbilligung und reichen Sie den Antrag nicht ein" (to avoid repayment demands, do without the provisional premium reduction and do not submit the application). That is SVA's statement, not ours.
- Getting married. SVA needs your latest tax return or source-tax statement after the change.
- A new baby. Parents who qualify get IPV for the child automatically from the month after the birth, with no separate application.
- Unmarried parents living together. The parent with the higher massgebendes Einkommen applies for the child.
- Switching insurer. You do not have to report it: "Die alte Krankenkasse informiert die SVA Zürich" (the old insurer informs SVA Zürich), and the reduction moves to the new insurer. Switching itself is covered in our guide to switching health insurance for 2027.
What this means for your budget
If you receive IPV, your health insurance line is the monthly bill after the reduction, not the premium printed on your policy. The policy always shows the full premium, so check your first 2027 bill before you set the figure. The own-share table above shows the part you pay yourself at your income level, on top of the Grundbeitrag.
Two things stay outside the reduction. SVA describes IPV as a contribution to the premium and it is deducted from premium bills, so your franchise (deductible) and co-payments are still yours; our franchise guide for 2027 shows how to compare them. And the payment is provisional: if your 2027 income ends up higher than the figures SVA used (usually 2024), part of it can come back as a repayment demand in 2028 or 2029. A monthly set-aside line is one way to cover that case.
Any spreadsheet with one row for health insurance and one for a repayment reserve is enough for this. Our Swiss Budget Planner, which we sell, lets you rename categories, so you can enter the premium after reduction as a fixed monthly line and add a reserve line next to your tax set-aside. Our free tools are on the tools page.
For your own case, SVA Zürich's premium reduction team is on 044 448 53 75, and only SVA's decision counts: its customer sheet says no legal claims can be based on it.
Sources and last checked
Checked against these official pages on 18 October 2026 (German pages with an English gloss).
- Regierungsrat Kanton Zürich, RRB Nr. 980/2026, PDF, meeting of 16 September 2026: 2027 reference premium (as a share of the average), own-share rates, wealth limits, budget, 2026 rate adjustment.
- Regierungsrat Kanton Zürich, RRB Nr. 303/2026, PDF, meeting of 18 March 2026: own-share model, limits for the minimum claim of children and young adults, wealth limits 2027.
- Kanton Zürich, media release "Kanton legt Prämienverbilligungen 2027 fest" (canton sets 2027 premium reductions), 29 September 2026.
- SVA Zürich, Einkommensgrenzen 2027 (income limits 2027).
- SVA Zürich, Kundeninformation: Prämienverbilligung 2027, PDF (customer sheet, version 06.2026), points 2 to 15.
- SVA Zürich, Prämienverbilligung: Leistung (the benefit: definition of the relevant income, wealth add-on).
- SVA Zürich, Prämienregionen im Kanton Zürich (premium regions).
- SVA Zürich, Prämienverbilligung 2027, aktuell (current information, with links to the application and calculator).