Can I fill my 2025 gap?
The 2025 gap stays open until 2035. But on 31 Dec 2026 the deduction for tax year 2026 and your buy-in room for this year end: a few weeks left. Three of the four providers below state application deadlines between 30 Nov and 15 Dec.
I built the check because the buy-in rules are scattered across BSV, ESTV and provider pages. It sorts your answers by the published rules and names the sources. Free, no sign-up, nothing stored.
Maximilian Stroh, Anonyfox Lab, Hamburg · Questions? [email protected]
How the buy-in works
- Ask your provider for the application deadline, the payment deadline, the payment route and the credit day. There is no uniform bank cut-off.
- Pay the regular contribution of the year in full (Art. 7a para. 1 c BVV 3), to the franc: rounding up is not allowed (ESTV).
- File a written buy-in application: amount, gap year and amount, contributions already paid with payment date, plus four confirmations (Art. 7b BVV 3).
- Wait for the payment details and transfer the buy-in to the IBAN given, usually a separate one.
- Check the credit: the day it is credited to your individual pension account counts, by 31 Dec (ESTV circular 18a, no. 5.1).
- Keep the certificate: for a buy-in it must also show the date, amount, gap years and contributions already paid (Art. 8 para. 2 BVV 3).
Deadlines: examples from providers
Your provider sets the deadlines. This is what four providers state on their own pages (German):
| Provider | Statement on provider page | Source |
|---|---|---|
| UBS / Fisca Vorsorgestiftung | application by 15 Dec 2026; payment to a separate IBAN after confirmation | page |
| Aargauische Kantonalbank | application by 30 Nov; QR-bill to be paid by 20 Dec | page |
| Luzerner Kantonalbank | application by 1 Dec; regular contribution by 20 Dec; buy-in in the same calendar year | page |
| CIC (Stiftung Sparen 3) | application by form, payment by QR-bill, not to the normal account; no date stated | page |
The figures: maximums 2025 to 2027
| Tax year | With pension fund ("small") | Without pension fund ("large") |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | CHF 7,258 | 20 % of earned income, max CHF 36,288 |
| 2026 | CHF 7,258 | 20 %, max CHF 36,288 |
| 2027 | CHF 7,373 | 20 %, max CHF 36,864 |
Source: ESTV, maximum deductions for pillar 3a, retrieved 15 Oct 2026; 2027 per ESTV notice of 5 Oct 2026. The buy-in cap is always the "small" amount of the buy-in year, also for self-employed people without a pension fund (Art. 7a para. 2 BVV 3).
Questions
Is 31 December 2026 a hard deadline for the catch-up?
Not for the gap itself. A 2025 gap can be bought in until 2035 (ten years, Art. 7a BVV 3; BSV). What ends on 31 Dec 2026: the tax deduction for tax year 2026 (the credit date on your pension account counts), your buy-in allowance for this year (CHF 7,258) and your provider's cut-offs, which are often in November or December. Buying in during 2027 shares the 2027 limit (CHF 7,373) across all gaps closed that year.
Is the buy-in deducted in the 2025 or the 2026 tax return?
2026: buy-ins are deductible in the year you make them (BSV). A payment in 2026 for the 2025 gap shows up in the 2026 return you file in 2027. It cannot be deducted for tax year 2025.
Do I have to pay the regular maximum for 2026 first?
Yes. The regular contribution of the year must be paid in full before the buy-in (Art. 7a para. 1 c BVV 3; BSV): CHF 7,258 with a pension fund, 20 % of earned income up to CHF 36,288 without one. Your provider has you confirm this in the application (Art. 7b para. 2 a).
So can I pay 7,258 + 7,258 in 2026?
Only if you really have a 2025 gap. You can buy in at most the gap, and never more than CHF 7,258 in total per year (2026), also without a pension fund. If you paid CHF 3,000 for 2025 your gap is CHF 4,258.
Can I fill gaps before 2025?
No. Only gaps arising from 1 Jan 2025 (transitional provision of the BVV 3 amendment of 6 Nov 2024). The first buy-in is possible in 2026, for the 2025 gap.
Can I close the gap in instalments?
No. A yearly gap can only be closed with one single buy-in (Art. 7a para. 3 BVV 3). One buy-in can close several yearly gaps together within the yearly limit. Whatever you leave open in a partial buy-in is forfeited.
I am self-employed without a pension fund. What applies?
Your regular contribution is 20 % of earned income up to CHF 36,288 and must be paid in full in 2026. The buy-in itself is still capped at the 'small' amount (CHF 7,258 in 2026). Your 2026 income is only known after year-end, so be conservative: excess payments are not deductible and get refunded. Ask your provider what proof it wants for the estimate.
Do I pay into a special account?
Often yes: UBS and CIC require the buy-in to go to a different IBAN or QR-bill than your normal 3a payments, after the application has been reviewed. Ask your provider for the right IBAN before you transfer.
Do I need AHV income in both years?
Yes: in the gap year (2025) and in the buy-in year (2026) (BSV; Art. 7b para. 2 b BVV 3). If you were not allowed to contribute in 2025, there is no gap for that year.
When does my payment count as made?
The day it is credited to your individual pension account counts, not the debit at your bank and not the credit at the provider in general (ESTV circular no. 18a, no. 5.1). There is no uniform bank cut-off; your provider can tell you what applies to your payment route.
What does the tax return need?
The certificate from the 3a institution. For a buy-in it must also state the date, the amount, the gap years with amounts and the contributions already paid for those years with payment date (Art. 8 para. 2 BVV 3). In canton Zurich the buy-in goes on line 14.3 of the 2026 return; other cantons use other lines.
Method and sources
The check follows Art. 7a and 7b BVV 3, the ESTV circulars and the BSV pages. Every statement here is tied to one of these sources; what they do not settle (e.g. details on early withdrawals, cantonal form lines, uniform bank cut-offs) is not stated as fact. Sources are the official Swiss pages (German):
- BSV: Die dritte Säule (Nachträgliche Einkäufe)
- BSV: Ihr Beitrag an die 3. Säule
- BVV 3, Art. 7a, 7b, 8 (Änderung vom 6.11.2024, AS 2024 622, Fedlex)
- Fedlex: BVV 3 (SR 831.461.3)
- ESTV: Kreisschreiben Nr. 18a (22.12.2025), Säule 3a
- ESTV: Höchstabzüge Säule 3a 2022 bis 2027
- ESTV: Höchstabzüge im Steuerjahr 2027 (5.10.2026)
- Kanton Zürich: Wegleitung zur Steuererklärung 2026 (Beispiel Ziffer 14.3)
German page with optional PDF checklist: Säule 3a: Nachzahlungs-Check.