Cross-border commuters working from home: where is the salary taxed?
One day a week at home, then two. For a cross-border commuter who lives in France and works in Switzerland, every day of remote work counts, and since 2026 the rule sets a numerical threshold.
The short answer
A cross-border commuter can work from home in France for up to 40% of annual working time without any change in how their salary is taxed. Above that, the remote share becomes taxable in France.Source: Avenant du 27 juin 2023 à la CDI franco-suisse ; SFI · checked on 27 September 2026
Since 1 January 2026, amendment to the France–Switzerland tax treaty (in force 24 July 2025): up to 40% of annual working time from home, the salary remains taxable in Switzerland; above that, the remote-work share is taxable in FranceSource: Amendment of 27 June 2023 to the France–Switzerland DTA; SIF; Geneva cantonal tax administration · checked on 27 September 2026
Key point: the limit is counted over the year, not week by week. Two days of remote work a week, over a full year, already reach the limit: a single work trip outside Switzerland pushes it over.
What counts towards the limit
Working from home in France, and some business travel outside Switzerland.
In practice: up to 10 days a year of temporary assignments outside Switzerland count towards the 40%; above 40%, France taxes the whole teleworked share, from the first day.Source: Geneva cantonal tax administration, cross-border remote work · checked on 27 September 2026
Key point: exceeding the limit affects more than the extra days. Above the limit, the whole remote share becomes taxable in France.
Geneva does not apply the same system as its neighbours
Not all French cross-border commuters are taxed the same way, and the remote work limit sits on top of two different systems.
Taxed in France (1983 agreement): Bern, Solothurn, Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel and Jura. Withholding tax in Switzerland: Geneva, with financial compensation paid to France (1973 agreement)Source: France–Switzerland agreement of 11 April 1983; Geneva cantonal tax administration · checked on 27 September 2026
In Geneva, a cross-border commuter's salary is taxed at source, by the employer. In the cantons of the 1983 agreement, it is taxed in France, and remote work within the limit does not cost the commuter their cross-border status.
What the employer must track
- Each commuter's remote working time, day by day, over the calendar year. The share taxable in France is determined on that basis.
- Work trips outside Switzerland, which go into the same count.
- The threshold during the year. An employee who is close to it in October can no longer correct course in December.
Salary data is exchanged automatically between Switzerland and France: an untracked overrun does not go unnoticed.
What this guide does not cover
Social security, which follows a separate rule, set by another agreement and with another threshold. A commuter can stay within the tax limit and exceed the social security one, or vice versa. Nor does it cover commuters from Italy, Germany or Austria, whose treaties are different.
Checked on 27 September 2026.