Employees in the Jura arc and Basel
Residents of the Doubs, Haut-Rhin or Territoire de Belfort working in Neuchâtel, the Jura or Basel: the 1983 agreement applies.
Agreement of 11 April 1983 · 1966 treaty · 40% remote work
Cross-border workers France-Switzerland: where your salary is taxed
It all depends on your employer's canton. In eight cantons, the 1983 agreement reserves taxation of the salary to the State of residence. In Geneva, which did not join that agreement, the salary is taxed in Switzerland at source and France takes it into account for the rate. Remote work, capped at 40% since 2023, sits on top of these two regimes without merging them.
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Does a cross-border worker living in France and working in Switzerland pay tax in France or in Switzerland?
If they work in the canton of Bern, Solothurn, Basel-City, Basel-Country, Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel or Jura and, as a general rule, return to France every day, their salary is taxable only in France under the agreement of 11 April 1983; in return, France pays Switzerland 4.5% of the gross payroll of these cross-border workers. Each year they must give their employer a French tax residence certificate to avoid Swiss withholding tax.
If they work in the canton of Geneva, the agreement does not apply: the salary is taxable in Switzerland, where tax is withheld at source, under Article 17 of the 1966 treaty. It is also reported in France, which grants a credit equal to the corresponding French tax: the salary is not taxed twice, but it raises the rate applied to the household's other income.
France-Switzerland agreement of 11 April 1983 on the taxation of cross-border workers' remuneration, Articles 1 to 3; treaty of 9 September 1966 as amended, Articles 17 and 25, texts published on impots.gouv.fr.
— In brief
- Eight cantons
- Bern, Solothurn, Basel-City, Basel-Country, Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel, Jura: salary taxed in the State of residence
- Geneva
- Outside the agreement: Swiss tax at source, salary counted in France for the rate
- Remote work
- Up to 40% of working time per calendar year with no change of regime
- Key document
- Tax residence certificate (2041-AS or 2041-ASK) given to the employer before 1 January
— The 1983 agreement, condition by condition
What it takes to be taxed only in your State of residence
- An employer in one of the eight cantons. The agreement of 11 April 1983 was concluded by the Swiss Federal Council on behalf of the cantons of Bern, Solothurn, Basel-City, Basel-Country, Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel and Jura. It forms an integral part of the 1966 treaty (Article 17, paragraph 4) and works both ways: a resident of these cantons working in France is taxed only in Switzerland.
- Exclusive taxation in the State of residence (Article 1). Cross-border workers' salaries are taxable only in their State of residence, in return for financial compensation paid to the other State equal to 4.5% of the total annual gross payroll (Article 2). On the French side, no withholding tax is therefore due on these salaries.
- Returning home every day as a general rule (Article 3). A cross-border worker is a resident of one State who works in the other for an employer established there and who, as a general rule, returns every day to their State of residence. Commuting time alone cannot deprive a worker of the regime: the French administration confirmed this for a round trip of more than three hours (ministerial answers Duby-Muller, National Assembly, 10 March 2015, no. 49529, and Grangier, National Assembly, 7 July 2026, no. 13614).
- No more than 45 nights away. Under the exchange of letters of 21 and 24 February 2005, the status is kept if the employee stays away from home on no more than 45 days a year, business trips to third countries included. The ceiling is reduced to 20% of working days for part-year employment, and proportionately for part-time work. Having exclusive use of a home in the State of work creates a rebuttable presumption that the employee is not a cross-border worker.
- Excluded income (Article 17, paragraph 4). The agreement does not cover directors' fees and similar pay (Article 18), artistes' and sportspersons' income (Article 19), or public remuneration (Article 21). A French resident who holds Swiss nationality and is paid by a Swiss public body for non-commercial services therefore falls under Article 21, not the cross-border regime; industrial or commercial activities of public bodies remain under Article 17.
- The residence certificate, every year. To avoid Swiss withholding tax, a cross-border worker resident in France gives their employer, before 1 January of the year concerned, a tax residence certificate: form 2041-AS stamped by the tax office for the first two years, then, in principle from the third year and if reporting obligations have been met, the pre-filled form 2041-ASK. Without it, the Swiss employer withholds tax. The Conseil d'État has made clear, however, that the missing certificate does not transfer the right to tax to Switzerland: an employee who meets the substantive conditions remains taxable in France only (CE opinion, 29 November 2021, no. 456995). It is then for the employee to seek correction or refund of the withholding from the cantonal tax authority, under each canton's procedures and time limits. The process is slow: better not to miss the deadline.
- The French return. The calculation starts from the gross salary in Swiss francs shown on the salary certificate, entered on the 2047-SUISSE schedule; allowable charges (compulsory social contributions, ordinary occupational pension contributions) are deducted, then the net income is converted into euros and carried to the income tax return. Professional expenses, flat-rate or actual, follow French rules. Keep the salary certificate.
— The Geneva case
Taxed in Switzerland, reported in France: how Geneva works
Outside the 1983 agreement. The canton of Geneva did not join the agreement. The salary of a French resident employed in Geneva therefore falls under Article 17 of the treaty: it is taxable in Switzerland, where the employer withholds tax at source. The daily return condition and the 45-night ceiling do not apply here.
Taken into account in France. The Geneva salary is included in French taxable income. France grants a tax credit equal to the French tax corresponding to that salary (Article 25, A, 1, a), provided it has been subject to Swiss tax, which the administration checks on the salary certificate or withholding statement. In practice, the Geneva salary is not taxed a second time, but it raises the rate applied to the household's other income, such as rental income or a spouse's salary earned in France.
Days worked in France. Days of work physically performed in France for the Geneva employer are, in principle, taxable in France. Remote work now follows a rule of its own, set out below; occasional missions in France or in a third country are counted with it.
— Remote work: the 40% rule
How many remote work days without changing your taxation
- Workers under the 1983 agreement. Under the mutual agreement of 22 December 2022, applicable from 1 January 2023, the employee may work remotely from their State of residence for up to 40% of working time per calendar year without losing the cross-border regime. The 4.5% compensation is calculated as before.
- Geneva employees and other Article 17 employees. The protocol of 27 June 2023, in force since 24 July 2025 and applicable to remuneration paid from 1 January 2023, deems remote work performed from the State of residence, up to 40% of working time per calendar year, to be performed with the employer, and therefore in Switzerland for a Swiss employer. In return, the taxing State pays the State of residence compensation of 40% of the tax due on the remote work portion; for a Geneva employer, it applies only to the share of remote work between 15% and 40%. This compensation regime applies from 2026: for 2023 to 2025, the protocol replaces it with transitional compensation from Switzerland to France of 2.3% of the tax due on the salaries of French residents, prorated and net of any compensation due by France. For the employee, the allocation of taxing rights has been the same since 2023.
- Above 40%. For an employee covered by the protocol, once the limit is exceeded the ordinary rule applies from the first day of remote work: each remote work day in France becomes taxable there, and the allocation must be rebuilt for the whole year. For a worker under the 1983 agreement, it is the cross-border regime itself that is at stake. The ceiling is assessed per calendar year, hence the value of monitoring during the year rather than finding out in December.
- Missions included. Remote work includes temporary missions for the employer in the State of residence or in a third country, up to a cumulative 10 days a year. Ordinary remote work days are counted first, then missions in the State of residence, then those in a third country; the 10-day limit is prorated for part-time or part-year work. On-call periods count only if they lead to an actual intervention. Mission days beyond these limits are not remote work: they follow the place where they are performed.
- The trap specific to the 1983 agreement. Under the mutual agreement of 30 June 2023, if the mission days exceeding these limits include even one mission day in the State of residence, the cross-border regime does not apply. Excess missions in a third country remain acceptable, within the 45-day ceiling.
- An automatic exchange in the pipeline. Under Article 28 ter, introduced in 2023, the employer's State must send the State of residence each year, no later than 30 November of the following year, the number of days or percentage of remote work and the gross pay of each employee, including cross-border workers under the 1983 agreement. In principle applicable to remuneration paid from 2026, this exchange means returns must match the employer's data.
— What you need to know
Two regimes that look nothing alike, and a border that moves with remote work
People speak of cross-border workers as a single category. For tax purposes there are two. A worker under the 1983 agreement is taxed only in their State of residence, provided they return home every day as a general rule and file their certificate in time. A worker employed in Geneva falls under the ordinary treaty rules: they are taxed in Switzerland, and France merely includes their salary when computing their rate.
Costly mistakes rarely come from the rule itself. They come from a certificate filed late, a studio rented near the workplace, mission or remote work days miscounted, or a French return that leaves out the Geneva salary. Each can cost the regime for a whole year or create double taxation.
— Who is concerned
Six profiles, six points of attention
Employees in Vaud and Valais
Residents of the Ain or Haute-Savoie working in Lausanne, Nyon or the Chablais: same agreement, same daily return condition.
Employees in Geneva
Swiss tax at source, a French return and inclusion for the rate: the most misunderstood regime.
Remote workers
One or two days a week from France: no effect up to 40%, but missions must be counted precisely.
Travelling executives
Nights away from home and missions in third countries: an annual ceiling to watch to keep the status.
Public employees and directors
Public salaries, directors' fees and artistes' pay fall outside the cross-border agreement.
— Frequently asked questions
What clients ask us about cross-border workers' taxation
I live in Haute-Savoie and work in Lausanne: where am I taxed?
In France only, if you meet the conditions of the 1983 agreement: an employer established in the canton of Vaud, returning home every day as a general rule, no more than 45 nights a year away from home, and a residence certificate given to your employer before 1 January. Your employer then withholds no tax at source.
I live in the Ain and work in Geneva: why must I report my salary in France if I am taxed in Switzerland?
Because France, as the State of residence, includes the salary in your taxable income and then neutralises it with a credit equal to the corresponding French tax. The Geneva salary is therefore not taxed twice, but it counts for the rate applied to your other income and your household's. Leaving it out exposes you to a reassessment with penalties.
I gave my residence certificate late: what happens?
Your Swiss employer must withhold tax at source, while France taxes you as a cross-border worker. The Conseil d'État has made clear that the delay does not transfer the right to tax to Switzerland (opinion of 29 November 2021, no. 456995): if you meet the substantive conditions, you remain taxable in France only and must seek correction or refund of the withholding from the cantonal tax authority, under its procedures and time limits. The treaty's mutual agreement procedure remains available if the matter stalls.
I work from home in France two days a week for an employer in Vaud: is that a problem?
Two days out of five is 40% of working time, exactly the limit allowed by the mutual agreement of 22 December 2022. Above that, or if missions in France exceeding the set limits are added, the cross-border regime may be lost for the year. A precise day-by-day count is essential.
I rent a studio near my workplace in Switzerland: am I still a cross-border worker?
Exclusive use of a home in the State of work creates a presumption that you are not a cross-border worker. The presumption is rebuttable: you can show that you return home as a general rule and that your nights away do not exceed 45 a year. Keep the evidence.
Are my Swiss pension fund contributions deductible in France?
Ordinary occupational pension contributions withheld by the Swiss employer are deductible, as are compulsory Swiss social security contributions. Buy-ins are deductible only for their legally compulsory part, on a certificate from the fund and within a limit set by the 2047-SUISSE schedule. The third pillar and the lump sum paid on departure require a separate analysis; we cover them on our page on the France-Switzerland tax treaty.
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© BENSAID Avocats. The information on this site does not constitute legal advice. Source: France-Switzerland agreement of 11 April 1983 on the taxation of cross-border workers' remuneration and exchange of letters of 25 April and 8 June 1984; treaty of 9 September 1966 as amended; protocol of 27 June 2023; mutual agreements of 22 December 2022, 30 June 2023 and 29 April 2026, published on impots.gouv.fr.