Newland Chase has alerted mobility managers that the protocol amending the 2023 Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) between Switzerland and France entered into force on 1 January 2026 and was formally published on 28 January 2026.(newlandchase.com) The amendment permanently embeds a 40 % annual teleworking threshold—plus up to ten days of other short assignments abroad—during which French-resident cross-border employees can work remotely without shifting income-tax liability from Switzerland to France.
The change matters to thousands of ‘frontaliers’ who hold the Swiss G-permit, live in the French border regions of Haute-Savoie, Ain and Doubs, and commute weekly to jobs in Geneva, Lausanne or Basel. Under the Covid-era temporary accords these employees enjoyed similar flexibility, but companies lacked long-term certainty. The new rules provide clarity until further notice: stay below 40 % telework and Swiss withholding tax continues to apply, with Switzerland compensating France via a revenue-sharing mechanism.
Companies seeking practical support on cross-border immigration and travel compliance can turn to VisaHQ, whose Swiss portal (https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/) centralises visa, work-permit and travel-document information and offers concierge services for filing and status tracking. Leveraging VisaHQ’s tools allows HR teams to streamline permit renewals for frontaliers and monitor travel documentation as they balance on-site and remote days under the 40 % rule.
![New Swiss-French Double-Taxation Rules Lock In 40 % Telework Threshold for Cross-Border Staff]()
For employers the compliance burden is non-trivial. From 2027 they must file an annual telework report with the Swiss Federal Tax Administration, tracking each employee’s remote-work days and foreign business trips. HRIS systems should therefore be upgraded in 2026 to capture daily work-location data and flag when staff approach the 40 % ceiling. Mobility experts warn that travel-intensive roles risk breaching the limit unintentionally because foreign-assignment days count towards the quota.
Importantly, exceeding the tax threshold does NOT invalidate the individual’s G-permit or other immigration status. However, once the 40 % line is crossed, part of the salary becomes taxable in France, potentially triggering social-security and payroll-registration obligations. Companies should run cost-splits and shadow-payroll scenarios now to avoid surprises.
With hybrid work now the norm, the protocol offers rare regulatory predictability. Multinationals can leverage it to expand talent pools in the French border area while retaining the salary attractiveness of Swiss contracts—so long as robust time-tracking and employee-education programmes are in place.
The change matters to thousands of ‘frontaliers’ who hold the Swiss G-permit, live in the French border regions of Haute-Savoie, Ain and Doubs, and commute weekly to jobs in Geneva, Lausanne or Basel. Under the Covid-era temporary accords these employees enjoyed similar flexibility, but companies lacked long-term certainty. The new rules provide clarity until further notice: stay below 40 % telework and Swiss withholding tax continues to apply, with Switzerland compensating France via a revenue-sharing mechanism.
Companies seeking practical support on cross-border immigration and travel compliance can turn to VisaHQ, whose Swiss portal (https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/) centralises visa, work-permit and travel-document information and offers concierge services for filing and status tracking. Leveraging VisaHQ’s tools allows HR teams to streamline permit renewals for frontaliers and monitor travel documentation as they balance on-site and remote days under the 40 % rule.
For employers the compliance burden is non-trivial. From 2027 they must file an annual telework report with the Swiss Federal Tax Administration, tracking each employee’s remote-work days and foreign business trips. HRIS systems should therefore be upgraded in 2026 to capture daily work-location data and flag when staff approach the 40 % ceiling. Mobility experts warn that travel-intensive roles risk breaching the limit unintentionally because foreign-assignment days count towards the quota.
Importantly, exceeding the tax threshold does NOT invalidate the individual’s G-permit or other immigration status. However, once the 40 % line is crossed, part of the salary becomes taxable in France, potentially triggering social-security and payroll-registration obligations. Companies should run cost-splits and shadow-payroll scenarios now to avoid surprises.
With hybrid work now the norm, the protocol offers rare regulatory predictability. Multinationals can leverage it to expand talent pools in the French border area while retaining the salary attractiveness of Swiss contracts—so long as robust time-tracking and employee-education programmes are in place.
