Update on Switzerland/France cross-border taxation: new telework and reporting obligations

• New reporting obligations for teleworking employees will take effect on 1 January 2026.
• An automatic exchange of salary information will commence in 2027 based on data from 2026.
• Employers are required to update their policies, obtain A1 certificates and implement tracking tools for compliance.

Executive summary

France and Switzerland have agreed to extend the transitional arrangement under the existing mutual agreement from 22 December 2022 to 31 December 2025 in an additional mutual agreement .

Effective 1 January 2026, Swiss employers of employees teleworking from France face new reporting obligations.

Summary of changes to France–Switzerland tax agreement

France has recently ratified the amendment of the double tax treaty between Switzerland and France. It entered into force on 24 July 2025, which implies new applicable rules regarding telework, effective 1 January 2026, marking the end of the transition agreement valid until the end of 2025.

This amendment confirms the implementation of the previously communicated rules. There are no changes to the cross-border taxation status provided the following conditions are met:

• Up to 40% telework in France
• Up to 10 days of business travel abroad (included in 40% telework in France)
• Applicable to cantons with specific agreements granting taxation rights to France, e.g., Bern, Solothurn, Basel-Stadt, Basel-Land, Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel and Jura. 
  o   Up to 45 overnight stays
  o   Up to 10 days of business travel in France

Until 31 December 2025, employers must be able to attest the telework rate granted to employees based on contractual documents (e.g., telework agreement or employment contract related to teleworking).

As of 1 January 2026, employer obligations will evolve due to the implementation of the automatic exchange of information.

Automatic exchange of information from 2027 onwards (based on 2026 data). Payroll software should be updated to ensure compliance.

The automatic exchange of information concerning salary data will not apply to the 2025 data, but to the 2026 data. The first exchange of information will take place in 2027.

According to the provisions related to an automatic exchange of information, Swiss employers will be expected to report to the Swiss tax authorities the relevant information pertaining to their employees such as first and last names, calendar year, number of days of teleworking, total amount of gross salary paid. Swiss tax authorities will then exchange information with the relevant French authorities.

The Swissdec ELM 5.3 wage standard was created for a digitalized exchange. This allows the processed data to be transmitted electronically.

Payroll software vendors are currently adapting to these new requirements. Make sure the software you use will support these adaptations.

Note that the authorities have not decided to add any telework fields to the salary certificate for the time being.

As of January 2025, employers must provide a leaver’s attestation upon request in accordance with the new requirements.

The Swiss Federal Tax Administration has just published the attestation for employment relationships of less than one year in accordance with article 127 paragraph 3 LIFD, resp. article 5a OIS.

The certificate is already available for periods starting on or after 1 January 2025, and it must be completed if an employee requests it.

To ensure that the rules of public international law agreed between Switzerland and France are applied correctly in the event of a change of employer during the same calendar year, the former employer must, at the request of any employee who leaves the company before 31 December, issue a certificate concerning the following pre-departure events:

• days of remote work or remote work rate,
• days worked on temporary assignments in the country of residence,
• days worked on temporary assignments in third countries and/or
• number of overnight stays in Switzerland for employees subject to the amicable agreement of 11 April 1983 between Switzerland and France on the taxation of cross-border workers' remuneration. Since the canton of Geneva is not part of such an agreement, this item does not apply to employees of companies based in Geneva.

Employers should file an A1 certificate for eligible employees.

Employers should ensure that an A1 certificate is filed to confirm Switzerland as the country of affiliation for social security purposes when EU or Swiss citizens residing in France are employed by a Swiss company and perform telework from home. The application for an A1 certificate must be mutually agreed upon by the employer and the employee.

Please note the following Swiss guidelines regarding cross-border employees working from France:

• Telework framework agreement: Employees without regular business trips within the EU may work between 25% and 49.9% of their working time from their home office in France and remain covered by the Swiss social security scheme. To proceed, an A1 telework certificate must be requested through the Swiss A1/CoC application platform ALPS. If employees have regular business trips within the EU (including France) they do not qualify for the telework agreement and are considered as multi-state workers (see bullet point below).
• Multi-state worker regulation: For individuals working 5% or more but less than 25% of their overall EU (including France and Switzerland) working time from France, an A1 multi-state worker certificate must be applied for with URSSAF in France to secure their Swiss social security position.

Please note that the telework and multi-state rules are based on EU regulations 883/2004. From a Swiss perspective, these regulations are applicable to EU and Swiss nationals only. Therefore, non-EU or non-Swiss nationals are generally not covered under these provisions and remote work scenarios should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine the social security implications. Since France is the country of residence and may also determine applicable social security affiliation, the French interpretation should also be considered.

Tracking A1 certificate expiration and renewals

For A1 telework applications submitted at the end of the transition period covering 01.07.2023 – 30.06.2026, these certificates are generally valid until 30.06.2026 (three-year period). Employers should plan ahead to file extensions in 2026 to avoid coverage gaps.

Please note:

• A1 telework certificates can only be backdated by a maximum of three months, so timely action is essential.
• A1 multi-state certificates may allow for longer backdating, but proactive tracking is still strongly recommended to ensure confirmed coverage remains in place and avoid gaps.

We recommend actively monitoring expiration dates for both A1 telework and A1 multi-state certificates to ensure compliance and avoid last-minute issues.

Employers should review and adapt home office policies and employment contracts to align with the new rules.

Review home office policies and employment contracts to adjust the permitted teleworking time according to these new rules. The interplay between the various tax rules – employment taxation, corporate income taxation and social security – needs to be considered too, as well as the roles and functions of cross-border commuting employees within an organization, e.g. with regards to the risk of permanent establishment.

Employers should implement a tracking tool for telework days and days worked abroad to ensure compliance.

Employers should implement a tool to track the location and nature (teleworking or business travel) of the working days of their cross-border employees.

When launching the new tool and informing the employees, a letter/addendum to the employment agreement should be shared with the employees indicating that

o   i) employees are bound by the information they enter into the tool,
o   ii) the data should correspond to the reality,
o   iii) they are liable in case of any damage caused to the employer resulting from incorrect data, as stated in  Article 321e of the Swiss Code of Obligations: “The employee is liable for any damage he causes to the employer whether willfully or by negligence.”

Next steps

Stay up to date about further changes and communication on requirements for the transition period up until the end of 2025 and beyond for the tax rules as well as for the A1 application format and process.

Additionally, employers should communicate any updates to their employees, so they are aware of the relevant rules and what they mean for their personal tax compliance requirements in Switzerland and France.