Tax
Got a company? See how much tax you can save
If your company closes the year with significant profits, part of those profits is yours to decide on: they can go to taxes or — legally — build your retirement provision. On high incomes, the difference runs into tens of thousands of francs.
The principle, before the tricks: saving tax legally doesn't mean hiding profits, but using the tools the law provides. The most powerful one, for a business owner, is occupational pension provision: the contributions paid reduce taxable profit, and the money stays yours.
Why pension provision is the most effective tax lever
The company's profit is taxed. But the pension contributions paid by the company are a deductible expense: they lower taxable profit and, with it, the tax. Unlike other expenses, here the money doesn't really leave — it goes into your 2nd pillar, where it grows in a tax-privileged environment.
In Ticino, corporate profit tax ranges, depending on the municipality, between 14.5% and 16% (federal, cantonal and communal combined). Every franc of profit moved into provision, and deducted, is a franc that doesn't pass through that rate.
The concrete levers
A more generous pension plan
The legal minimum BVG only covers a salary band (up to CHF 90,720, with an entry threshold of CHF 22,680). Above those minimums you can set up an extra-mandatory plan: higher, company-paid, deductible contributions that build your retirement capital much faster.
1e plans, for high incomes
On the portion of salary exceeding 1.5 times the upper LPP limit (above CHF 136,080 per year), you can use a 1e plan: you choose the investment strategy for your pension capital yourself, and the contributions remain deductible. It's the instrument designed for owners and senior staff with high salaries.
Voluntary LPP buy-ins
If your 2nd pillar has gaps (years when you paid in less), you can fill them with voluntary buy-ins, deductible from your taxable income. It's often the simplest and most immediate move. One limit to remember: after a buy-in, the capital cannot be taken as a lump-sum withdrawal for 3 years.
Pillar 3a
Don't forget pillar 3a: deductible up to CHF 7,258 per year for those who already have a pension fund, or — if you're self-employed without a 2nd pillar — up to 20% of net income, with a maximum of CHF 36,288. For employees it's small compared with the instruments above, but it's pure tax saving, year after year; for the self-employed it becomes a far more substantial lever. New in 2026: you can also catch up on years when you didn't pay the maximum (gaps from 2025, up to ten years back), with retroactive buy-ins that are also fully deductible.
Example. Your company closes with CHF 50,000 of additional profit. You allocate part of it to your provision with a more generous plan (or a 1e on the high salary band): those deductible contributions lower taxable profit. With profit tax (between 14.5% and 16%), the company saves between CHF 7,250 and CHF 8,000 in tax. But the real point is elsewhere: those 50,000 didn't go to taxes — they're in your provision, where they grow, and on withdrawal they'll be taxed at a reduced rate, separate from the rest of your income.
Corporate welfare / employee benefits
There's also a lever that doesn't go through pension provision but follows the same logic: measures in favour of employees are generally a deductible expense for the company. Beyond the tax effect, it's an investment in the internal climate — and a company that's doing well retains people and works better. For the details (what's deductible and how it affects each employee), we coordinate with the fiduciary.
Where provision ends and the fiduciary begins
Provision is the lever a consultant like us can activate directly. But a company's tax picture is broader: depreciation, provisions, R&D deductions, managing holdings and dividends. That's the domain of the fiduciary and the tax expert — and we work alongside them, not in their place: you have a single point of direction, each plays their part.
What about real estate?
For those with significant capital, provision isn't the only lever. Real estate too, financed with the right level of debt, can lighten the tax burden and generate passive income that covers its costs — earnings that come in even when you're not working. It's a topic in its own right, with its own rules: we'll devote a dedicated article to it.
A timing rule that makes the difference
Almost all these levers must be activated before the end of the tax year: an LPP buy-in or a new plan decided in December affects the current year; decided in January, it doesn't. Those who plan ahead save; those who remember at year-end usually don't.
Frequently asked questions
Does provision really save my company tax?
Yes: the pension contributions paid by the company are a deductible expense and reduce taxable profit. On top of that, the capital goes into your provision instead of into taxes, and will grow in a tax-privileged environment.
What is a 1e plan and who is it for?
It's a pension plan for the high salary band (above CHF 136,080 per year), in which you choose the investment strategy. It suits owners, executives and senior staff with high salaries who want to deduct more and manage their own capital.
Do I need to change fiduciary to optimise my taxes?
No. The fiduciary remains your point of reference for the balance sheet and tax return. We handle the provision lever and coordinate with them: no overlap, a single point of direction.
Do you have significant profits and pay too much tax?
Let's look together at how much you can move, legally, from the "taxes" box to the "your provision" box — with the figures of your situation, not in the abstract.
Talk to GROVA →General informational content; it does not constitute tax advice nor replace personalised advice. Rates, thresholds and amounts (LPP, 1e, 3a, profit tax) change over time and by municipality: choices should be made on your specific situation, in coordination with your fiduciary.