French Cross-Border Employees

What Swiss Employers Need to Know

Employing French-resident workers in Switzerland has never been as simple as applying payroll and withholding tax. Different tax agreements have always existed depending on where the employee works in Switzerland, but from 2026 employers also need to prepare for new reporting obligations and increased responsibility for monitoring employee work patterns throughout the year.

Whether an employee works from home in France, travels for business, or spends nights away from their French residence may now have direct tax implications. Understanding which cross-border regime applies is no longer just a technical exercise. It is essential for ensuring compliance and avoiding unexpected tax consequences for both employer and employee.

In this article, we explain how to determine which regime applies, what employers need to monitor, the consequences if taxation changes, and the practical steps businesses should consider before the first annual reporting obligations become due in 2027.

Does this affect your business?

If you employ individuals who reside in France and work in Switzerland, the answer is yes.

For some employees, compliance may be relatively straightforward. For others, the following work patterns require ongoing monitoring throughout the year:

• Performing part of their work remotely from France

• Travelling to France or other countries for business purposes

• Not returning to their home in France for business reasons, including overnight stays in Switzerland or abroad

Understanding the applicable regime is the first step towards compliant payroll processing, accurate tax reporting and effective monitoring. Different tax agreements apply depending on the employee's place of work in Switzerland, and each regime has its own rules, thresholds and employer obligations.

Which regime applies?

The cross-border tax regimes you may already know can be simplified as follows:

1966 Double Tax Treaty	1973 Geneva Agreement	1983 Frontier Worker Agreement
Applies to all Swiss cantons unless a specific agreement applies. General principle: Swiss workdays → taxed in Switzerland French and third-country workdays → taxed in France	Applies to Geneva. General principle: Entire salary taxed in Switzerland under the Geneva-specific regime	Applies to BE, BL, BS, JU, NE, SO, VD and VS. General principle: Eligible frontier workers are taxed in France Eligibility depends on daily return, subject to the 45 non-return nights tolerance

1966 Double Tax Treaty

1973 Geneva Agreement

1983 Frontier Worker Agreement

Applies to all Swiss cantons unless a specific agreement applies.

General principle:

Swiss workdays → taxed in Switzerland
French and third-country workdays → taxed in France

Applies to Geneva.

General principle:

Entire salary taxed in Switzerland under the Geneva-specific regime

Applies to BE, BL, BS, JU, NE, SO, VD and VS.

General principle:

Eligible frontier workers are taxed in France
Eligibility depends on daily return, subject to the 45 non-return nights tolerance

What changed?

Teleworking was never addressed in the original tax agreements, all of which assumed physical presence in the country of the employer. The two countries first agreed on a temporary mutual accord (“accord amiable”) on telework in December 2022, which formed the basis for a permanent Addendum (“Avenant”) to the 1966 Double Tax Treaty, signed 27 June 2023 and entered into force on 24 July 2025.

Applicable from: 1 January 2026

The Addendum makes telework more manageable from a compliance standpoint, but it also increases the need for employers to monitor actual work patterns throughout the year, maintain reliable records and ensure that payroll and reporting treatment remain aligned with the employee's actual situation.

How the Addendum affects the regime you know

Employees under the Frontier Worker Agreement	Employees in all other cantons / regimes
Existing frontier-worker conditions remain relevant: Daily return feasible and within border limits No more than 45 non-return nights per year PLUS no more than 40% telework No more than 10 temporary missions to France If any threshold is exceeded: The employee loses frontier worker treatment Double Tax Treaty rules apply with the new Addendum Swiss taxation becomes relevant from the appropriate point in time (or from the outset if the pattern is known in advance)	Up to 40% telework can remain taxable in Switzerland Up to 10 temporary mission days may be tolerated within the relevant framework If 40% is exceeded: Salary allocation by workdays becomes relevant for the full tax year If the 10-day temporary mission limit is exceeded, or total non-Swiss activity exceeds the 40% framework: The excess or relevant workdays will need to be allocated to France

Employees under the Frontier Worker Agreement

Employees in all other cantons / regimes

Existing frontier-worker conditions remain relevant:

Daily return feasible and within border limits
No more than 45 non-return nights per year
PLUS no more than 40% telework
No more than 10 temporary missions to France

If any threshold is exceeded:

The employee loses frontier worker treatment
Double Tax Treaty rules apply with the new Addendum
Swiss taxation becomes relevant from the appropriate point in time (or from the outset if the pattern is known in advance)

Up to 40% telework can remain taxable in Switzerland
Up to 10 temporary mission days may be tolerated within the relevant framework

If 40% is exceeded:

Salary allocation by workdays becomes relevant for the full tax year

If the 10-day temporary mission limit is exceeded, or total non-Swiss activity exceeds the 40% framework:

The excess or relevant workdays will need to be allocated to France

⚠ Important for part-time and part-year employees: Thresholds are not always applied as full-year figures. They may need to be adjusted proportionally for part-time employees or employees who are employed for only part of the calendar year. A “standard” 40%, 10-day or 45-night view may therefore be misleading if the employee does not work a full-time full-year schedule.

Main consequences if the applicable taxation changes

A change in the applicable taxation rules affects payroll treatment, reporting, employer processes and employee cashflow.

For the employer	For the employee
Payroll will need to be adjusted, including the withholding tax treatment applied Depending on the applicable cross-border regime and the threshold exceeded, employment income may need to be reallocated between Switzerland and France, either from the relevant point in time or for the entire calendar year Retro-active corrections may be required where the change in taxation is identified only after the relevant threshold has been exceeded	Unexpected tax liabilities and temporary cash-flow implications may arise where a change in taxation is identified only after the relevant threshold has been exceeded Additional tax filing obligations or corrections may arise in one or both countries

For the employer

For the employee

Payroll will need to be adjusted, including the withholding tax treatment applied
Depending on the applicable cross-border regime and the threshold exceeded, employment income may need to be reallocated between Switzerland and France, either from the relevant point in time or for the entire calendar year
Retro-active corrections may be required where the change in taxation is identified only after the relevant threshold has been exceeded

Unexpected tax liabilities and temporary cash-flow implications may arise where a change in taxation is identified only after the relevant threshold has been exceeded
Additional tax filing obligations or corrections may arise in one or both countries

What can employers do now?

The new rules do not mean that French-resident employees can no longer work remotely or travel for business. They mean that employers need a clear process to track, plan and communicate.

1. Communicate

Communicate clearly with employees, HR, payroll and management. Employees need to understand that where they work, travel or stay overnight can affect their tax position and the employer's reporting obligations.

2. Track

Track employee work patterns throughout the year, including home office days in France, business travel, Swiss workdays and relevant overnight stays.

3. Plan

Plan before thresholds are exceeded. Remote work arrangements, business trips and expected travel patterns should be reviewed in advance, especially for employees under the Frontier Worker Agreement.

What must employers do in 2027?

The first annual reporting obligation will cover the 2026 calendar year and will be due in 2027. This reporting forms part of the automatic exchange of information between the Swiss and French taxauthorities.

Depending on the employee's circumstances, employers will be required to report information prescribed by the legislation, including:

• The employee's name, date of birth, postcode of residence and, where available, additional identifying information (such as address, place of birth, civil status and tax identification number)

• The calendar year to which the employment income relates

• The number of telework days or, alternatively, the telework percentage

• The total gross remuneration paid

While the statutory reporting requirements are relatively limited, employers should nevertheless maintain appropriate internal records throughout the year to support the reported information and to demonstrate the correct payroll treatment where required.

Employers should also distinguish between granted telework and actual telework. A policy that permits a maximum percentage is not enough on its own. What matters for reporting and risk management is what actually happened during the year.

Common misconceptions

“We only need to review the employee's situation at year-end.”

Unfortunately, not. Thresholds are exceeded during the year, not after it. Without ongoing monitoring, employers may only discover after year-end that payroll treatment should have changed months earlier, leading to corrections, amended reporting, additional administrative work and potential cash-flow issues for employees.

“We only allow 30% telework, so we have nothing to do.”

No. The reporting obligation is based on the actual telework performed, not merely the telework policy granted by the employer. Even if an employer allows only 30% remote work, the actual number of days worked from France must still be tracked and reported. This matters because the reported telework quota is not only relevant for payroll compliance. It also affects the compensation mechanism between Switzerland and France. Precise tracking is therefore essential, even where the employer believes the employee remains safely below the 40% threshold.

“As a Swiss employer, we must pay French income tax once the employee is taxable in France.”

Not quite. A Swiss employer is generally not permitted to withhold and remit French income tax through the Swiss payroll. If part or all of the employee's remuneration becomes taxable in France, the employee remains responsible for settling their French tax liability through the French tax system. The employer's role is to ensure the correct Swiss payroll treatment and meet any applicable Swiss reporting obligations.

“The employee can choose which cross-border regime applies.”

Not directly, but the anticipated tax treatment can often be planned. The applicable cross-border regime is determined by the relevant tax agreements and depends primarily on the employee's Swiss place of work. It cannot be chosen simply because one outcome is more favourable than another. However, an employer and employee can agree on a working arrangement that is expected to result in a particular tax treatment, provided that the agreed work pattern reflects reality and is followed consistently.

When to seek advice

Every cross-border employee should first be assessed to determine which regime applies. Once identified, employers should ensure they have appropriate processes in place to monitor thresholds and meet reporting obligations.

Advice is particularly recommended where employees have complex travel patterns, work in more than one country, change work pattern during the year, leave employment before year-end, work part-time, or are expected to exceed a relevant threshold from the outset.

If you are unsure whether your current approach remains compliant under the new rules, or if you have specific cases involving complex travel or remote work patterns, our team can help review your workforce, assess the applicable regimes, implement practical monitoring processes and advise on the appropriate tax approach.

People-driven, Technology-enabled, Globally connected.

Global mobility, tax, social security, payroll, Exactio handles it all efficiently and compliantly so you and your workforce can focus on what matters, anywhere in the world.

Contact