New 25 % telework threshold clarifies tax status for Italian–Swiss cross-border workers

A specialist guide published on 26 September 2026 by the portal Frontalieri Ticino confirms that the long-awaited telework protocol to the Swiss-Italian frontier worker agreement is now fully in force. Since 9 February 2026, employees who reside in Italy but work for a Swiss employer may perform up to 25 % of their annual working time from their Italian home without losing the privileged “frontalieri” tax status. Practically, the 25 % ceiling equals one day of remote work in a standard five-day week (20 %). Two days—40 %—would breach the threshold. Within the limit, remuneration continues to be taxed exclusively in Switzerland; above it, Italy obtains taxing rights on the Italian-sourced portion. The protocol applies retroactively from 1 January 2024, giving HR departments an immediate need to audit past hybrid-work arrangements and, where necessary, correct payroll withholding. For companies the clarification removes months of uncertainty that had complicated talent acquisition in Switzerland’s southern cantons. Firms may now advertise a predictable hybrid-work option to highly-skilled Italian professionals and to existing commuters who want to reduce daily border crossings. Payroll teams must, however, implement time-tracking systems capable of proving compliance with the 25 % rule and update A1 social-security certificates via the ALPS portal. Tax advisers warn that the 25 % limit is assessed on total working hours, not calendar days, and interacts with the separate 45-day allowance under the social-security framework. An employee could therefore stay within one regime but overshoot the other. Both countries’ revenue agencies are expected to exchange information automatically from 2027, increasing audit risks. Because neighbouring France, Germany and Austria still operate under the 2023 multilateral telework agreement (threshold 49 % for social insurance, 34 days for tax), multinational employers with staff in multiple border regions must juggle different percentages. Nevertheless, observers say the Swiss-Italian deal signals a broader European trend to codify remote-work rules, a boon for corporate mobility managers seeking to institutionalise “work-from-anywhere” policies.