Border workers in Switzerland automatic data exchange (cross-border guide)

Context

In a nutshell

• The Swiss Federal Council has activated the legal basis for mutual information flow with Italy and France. • The objective is the taxation of income in the State of residence. • The Federal Act on the International Automatic Exchange of Salary Data (LSADS) will come into force on 1 January 2027.

The new automatic exchange of information regime

Switzerland is a country with a long tradition of frontier workers, particularly with Italy and France. For years, Switzerland maintained an information exchange regime with these countries, but until now, the process was based on an explicit request from the authorities of one of the two countries involved.

With the entry into force of the Federal Act on the International Automatic Exchange of Salary Data (LSADS) on 1 January 2027, Switzerland will activate a new automatic information exchange regime with Italy and France. This scheme will be based on the legal basis activated by the Swiss Federal Council and will aim at income taxation in the State of residence.

The new automatic information exchange regime will be implemented through the use of computer and digital communication systems. The Swiss, Italian and French authorities will have access to information relating to the wage data of frontier workers, so that they can carry out taxes in the country of

Operational details

Key facts

• What: Automatic exchange of salary data with Italy. • When: From 1 January 2027. • Where: Switzerland and Italy. • Who: The Swiss Federal Council. • Amount: Not specified.

Context and reasons

The Swiss Federal Council has announced the decision to introduce a system of automatic exchange of pay data with Italy from 1 January 2027. This initiative is aimed at simplifying the management of frontier workers in Switzerland and reducing the bureaucracy associated with contribution payments.

What it means for frontier workers

Border employees, who reside in municipalities such as Bellinzona, Lugano, Mendrisio and Chiasso, will be directly affected by this initiative. In fact, salary data will be exchanged automatically between the Swiss and Italian authorities, avoiding the need to submit documents and requests for payment of contributions manually. This will reduce payment times and simplify the management of contributions.

Concrete examples

Suppose a frontier worker resides in Bellinzona and works at an Italian company based in Como. Currently, the worker is required to submit a contribution payment form to his Italian company, which in turn will send it to the Bellinzona Section of the Contribution. After the introduction of the automatic salary data exchange system, the

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Key points

Border workers in Switzerland automatic data exchange

On 1 January 2024, the legislation introducing automatic data exchange between Switzerland and Italy for frontier workers came into force. This means that the data of frontier workers working in Switzerland and resident in Italy will be automatically exchanged between the two countries.

To learn more, you can consult the live online course of 10 and 16 June 2026 on Foreign Income and monitoring in tax returns. The course is free and is offered by the Tax Commission of the Canton of Ticino in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce and the Cooperation Institute of the Swiss and Italian Regions.

The automatic exchange of data concerns frontier workers who carry out work in Switzerland and are resident in Italy. This means that the data of frontier workers will be automatically exchanged between the two nations, so as to avoid duplication of information and reduce bureaucracy.

Concrete example:

• A frontier worker resident in Bellinzona (CH) carries out work in Lugano (CH) at a local company. The frontier worker has an income of CHF 60,000 per year.
• On 1 January 2024, the data of the frontier worker will be automatically exchanged between Switzerland and Italy.
• The frontier worker will no longer have to file a tax return in Italy, since the

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Source: fiscoetasse.com