Minimum subsistence level
Income can be seized only above what you and your family absolutely need (SchKG, Art. 93). That amount is the Existenzminimum, and each canton sets guidelines for working it out.
The canton of Zurich’s guidelines, for example, start from a monthly base amount of CHF 1’200 for one adult living alone. They add actual costs such as rent, heating, health insurance premiums and travel to work.
What it means for your loan
A lender must check that you can repay without touching it, worked out with the guidelines of your canton (KKG, Art. 28). The credit check also counts your taxes, which the Existenzminimum used in debt collection leaves out (Caritas).
Explained in full
How much can I borrow?
How Swiss law decides how much you can borrow: your Existenzminimum, rent, taxes, other credits and the 36-month rule, and how to work out your own figure.
Sources
- Federal Act on Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy (DEBA), SR 281.1, as in force on 1 January 2026, Art. 93Swiss Confederation, Fedlex, read on
- Kreisschreiben: Richtlinien für die Berechnung des betreibungsrechtlichen Existenzminimums (16 September 2009)Obergericht des Kantons Zürich (High Court of the Canton of Zurich), read on
- Ratgeber Betreibung und PfändungCaritas Regionalorganisationen, read on
- Bundesgesetz über den Konsumkredit (KKG), SR 221.214.1, as in force on 1 September 2023, Art. 7, 9, 22, 28 and 31Swiss Confederation, Fedlex, read on