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Published on 17/07/2026 · Sources last reviewed: 21/09/2026 · Our method

Where do you pay your cross-border tax? It comes down to two things

Your canton of work and your country of residence — that is all. But the combination of the two produces four different regimes, and an amendment in force since 2025 set lasting remote-work rules — retroactive to 1 January 2023. Here is the complete map, checked.

Living in France

You work in Geneva: taxation at source

The 1966 France–Switzerland tax convention allocates your salary to Switzerland (art. 17): the tax is withheld on your Geneva payslip. No certificate to provide, but a French return is still due — form 2047-SUISSE, with a tax credit equal to the French tax. (The Geneva agreement of 1973, often cited here, only governs the compensation paid to the Ain and Haute-Savoie départements.)

You work in a canton under the 1983 agreement (Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel, Jura, Bern, Basel, Solothurn…)

Salary paid GROSS — with no Swiss tax — on production of your certificate of tax residence, to be given to your employer before 1 January, and then taxed in France. Forget the certificate and Swiss withholding tax applies by default.

Remote work: the 40% rule is PERMANENT and has applied since 1 January 2023 — for Geneva through the amendment of 27 June 2023, in force since 24 July 2025 with retroactive effect (art. 11 § 3), for the 1983 cantons through the mutual agreement of 22 December 2022. Up to 40% of annual working time — including a maximum of 10 days of assignments — nothing changes. Beyond that, the regime switches from the very first day: in Geneva, the days worked remotely become taxable in France; in the 1983 cantons, it is the cross-border regime itself that is no longer guaranteed. And the automatic exchange of payroll data between administrations has made "nobody will notice" obsolete.

Living in Germany

Grenzgänger regime: Switzerland withholds 4.5% of your gross salary, credited against your German tax. You keep the status as long as you do not exceed 60 working days of non-return home per year.

Living in Italy

New agreement (“new cross-border workers” since 17 July 2023): taxation at source in Switzerland (around 80%) and then in Italy with a tax credit, within a 20 km border zone. Remote work: 25% maximum with no tax consequence (protocol in force since 9 February 2026) — a LOWER threshold than the French 40%, and the two are often confused.

The third threshold everyone forgets: 49.9%

Tax aside, beyond 49.9% of remote work your social security affiliation switches to your country of residence (multilateral framework agreement, A1 certificate) — your contributions, your second-pillar pension and your health cover are all at stake. Three thresholds, three subjects: 40% (French tax), 25% (Italian tax), 49.9% (social security, everyone).

Frequently asked questions

I am taxed at source in Geneva. Do I still file in France? Yes. Geneva withholds the tax on your payslip because the 1966 France–Switzerland tax convention allocates the salary to the State where the work is done (art. 17) — the Geneva agreement of 1973 only governs the compensation paid to the Ain and Haute-Savoie. You still declare that salary in France (form 2047-SUISSE), where a tax credit equal to the French tax prevents you from being taxed twice. Being taxed at source in Switzerland and filing in France are two separate obligations, and the second one does not disappear because the first exists.
What happens if I forget the residence certificate? In the cantons covered by the 1983 agreement, your salary is paid gross — without Swiss tax — only if your employer holds your certificate of tax residence, which must be given to them before 1 January. Without it, the employer applies Swiss withholding tax by default, and you then have to sort out the double charge with two administrations.
Do the 40% and the 49.9% mean the same thing? No, and confusing them is expensive. 40% is the French TAX threshold for remote work, 25% is the Italian one, and 49.9% is a SOCIAL SECURITY threshold that applies to everyone: beyond it, your affiliation moves to your country of residence, which affects contributions, your second-pillar pension and your health cover. Three thresholds, three separate subjects.

How much is actually left at the end of the month? The Decision Engine prices your full scenario — tax for your canton and status, contributions, LAMal or CMU, disposable income — on the 2026 scales.

Work out what I keep

Official sources

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