Swiss firms with cross-border staff in France woke up to new compliance obligations on 1 January 2026 as the telework provisions of the amended France–Switzerland double-tax agreement took effect. The transitional COVID-era arrangement, which allowed unlimited homeworking without tax consequences, expired on 31 December 2025.
Under the new framework, employees resident in France may telework up to 40 % of their annual workdays (including a 10-day allowance for other business travel abroad) while retaining Swiss taxation—provided their Swiss employer files monthly telework reports and secures A1 social-security certificates. Cantons party to the special cross-border accords—among them Geneva, Vaud, Basel-Stadt and Neuchâtel—must transmit salary data that will be automatically exchanged with French tax authorities from 2027.
For companies wrestling with these new cross-border formalities, VisaHQ can smooth the process. Its Switzerland desk (https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/) helps employers obtain A1 certificates, navigate work-authorization nuances and organise the supporting paperwork that both Swiss and French administrations now require, easing the compliance burden on HR teams.
![New France–Switzerland telework rules kick in: employers face real-time reporting duties]()
Failure to comply risks double taxation, payroll penalties and social-security back-payments. Multinationals are therefore updating HRIS systems to track work-location days in real time and revising employment contracts to spell out telework ceilings. Some firms are capping remote work at 30 % to create buffer.
Employees who exceed the 40 % threshold will fall under French tax and social-security rules for the entire year, dramatically increasing employer costs. Mobility managers should conduct scenario modelling and assess whether local French contracts or Swiss commuter status make better sense for frequent teleworkers.
The new reporting regime is also spurring interest in co-working hubs just inside the Swiss border, enabling French residents to record Swiss-territory workdays without long commutes.
Under the new framework, employees resident in France may telework up to 40 % of their annual workdays (including a 10-day allowance for other business travel abroad) while retaining Swiss taxation—provided their Swiss employer files monthly telework reports and secures A1 social-security certificates. Cantons party to the special cross-border accords—among them Geneva, Vaud, Basel-Stadt and Neuchâtel—must transmit salary data that will be automatically exchanged with French tax authorities from 2027.
For companies wrestling with these new cross-border formalities, VisaHQ can smooth the process. Its Switzerland desk (https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/) helps employers obtain A1 certificates, navigate work-authorization nuances and organise the supporting paperwork that both Swiss and French administrations now require, easing the compliance burden on HR teams.
Failure to comply risks double taxation, payroll penalties and social-security back-payments. Multinationals are therefore updating HRIS systems to track work-location days in real time and revising employment contracts to spell out telework ceilings. Some firms are capping remote work at 30 % to create buffer.
Employees who exceed the 40 % threshold will fall under French tax and social-security rules for the entire year, dramatically increasing employer costs. Mobility managers should conduct scenario modelling and assess whether local French contracts or Swiss commuter status make better sense for frequent teleworkers.
The new reporting regime is also spurring interest in co-working hubs just inside the Swiss border, enabling French residents to record Swiss-territory workdays without long commutes.
