Skip to content

Hiring a cross-border worker: source tax, AHV and G permit

Social insurance always runs in Switzerland: you register your cross-border employee with the compensation office and insure her against accidents like any other employee. Only source tax differs, and it depends on her country of residence. If she lives in France and works in BE, SO, BS, BL, VD, VS, NE or JU, you withhold no Swiss source tax. In every other case you do: up to CHF 22,680 a year a flat 5% through the compensation office, above that your canton's tariff, and for residents of Germany at most 4.5%.

· Sources: WBB Rz 2105, ESTV, SEM

What applies to your cross-border employee?

  • France, place of work BE, SO, BS, BL, VD, VS, NE or JU
    Wage up to CHF 22,680 a yearSimplified procedure not available (WBB Rz 2105 d)
    Wage above thatNo Swiss source tax if she hands you form 2041-AS every year. Settled on the ordinary procedure.
  • France, place of work Geneva or another canton
    Wage up to CHF 22,680 a yearFlat 5% through the compensation office
    Wage above thatYour canton's source-tax tariff. Geneva is not part of the 1983 accord.
  • Germany
    Wage up to CHF 22,680 a yearFlat 5%. Ask the compensation office whether it caps this at 4.5%.
    Wage above thatAt most 4.5% with the Gre-1 residence certificate (treaty Art. 15a). More than 60 nights a year away from home for work: normal tariff.
  • Austria
    Wage up to CHF 22,680 a yearFlat 5% through the compensation office
    Wage above thatNormal source-tax tariff. The treaty with Austria has no cross-border rule.
  • Italy, place of work TI, GR or VS
    Wage up to CHF 22,680 a yearFlat 5% through the compensation office
    Wage above thatNew since 2024: 80% of the tariff, Italy taxes as well. If she already commuted between 31.12.2018 and 17.07.2023: full tariff, Switzerland only.
  • Liechtenstein
    Wage up to CHF 22,680 a yearSimplified procedure not available (WBB Rz 2105 c)
    Wage above thatCheck the source-tax deduction with your cantonal tax office.

Under the simplified procedure the flat 5% is final; how a treaty limits it in a given case is for your compensation office to answer. Social insurance is the same in every row: AHV/IV/EO, ALV and accident insurance in Switzerland.

Social insurance and the G permit

The place of work decides (Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, Art. 11): someone who works only in Switzerland is insured in Switzerland, wherever she lives. The exception: if 25% or more of her work is in her country of residence, that country's social insurance applies, confirmed with an A1 certificate. Clino does not cover that case.

The G permit is issued by the migration office of the canton where she works, on the basis of the employment contract. For EU/EFTA nationals: return home at least once a week, valid 5 years on an open-ended contract. For employment of less than 3 months, the online notification procedure is enough. SEM

Your four steps

  1. Before the first working day: apply for the G permit or notify the short job online.
  2. Accident insurance from the first working day. It does not apply retroactively.
  3. Register with your canton's compensation office within one month of the start.
  4. A payslip every month, with the source-tax deduction from the table above.

Clino picks the right procedure for your case and prepares the registration, accident insurance and payslips. You sign and send them yourself. CHF 19.90 a month, 30 days free.

Register my cross-border employee
Tages-AnzeigerBeobachter24 heureswatson.chMoneycabBlicktio.ch / 20 minuti

Frequently asked questions

Do I withhold source tax for a cross-border worker from France?
Not in BE, SO, BS, BL, VD, VS, NE and JU: with the yearly residence attestation 2041-AS her wage is taxed in France (1983 accord). You settle on the ordinary procedure instead. In Geneva and the other cantons you withhold source tax: up to CHF 22,680 a flat 5%, above that the tariff.
What applies to a cross-border worker from Germany?
She is taxed in Germany; Switzerland withholds at most 4.5% if she gives you the Gre-1 residence certificate. If she stays overnight in Switzerland for work on more than 60 days a year, this rule lapses. Under the simplified procedure the office withholds a flat 5%; ask whether it caps this at 4.5%.
And from Austria?
The treaty with Austria has no cross-border rule: Switzerland taxes the wage in full, at the normal source-tax tariff. Up to CHF 22,680 a year that is a flat 5% under the simplified procedure.
Does she need a permit if she only works for a short time?
Under 3 months the online notification procedure is enough; beyond that she needs the G permit. Both concern her right to work here. Registering with the compensation office is a separate step and always comes on top.
Can I use the simplified procedure?
Usually yes. Only cross-border workers from Liechtenstein, and from France with a place of work in BE, BL, BS, JU, NE, SO, VD or VS, are excluded (WBB Rz 2105). Everyone else can use it as long as the annual wage stays within CHF 22,680.

Sources

Ready? First payslip in 5 minutes.

Start for free