Italy-Switzerland border workers: teleworking up to 25% (cross-border guide)

Context

Key facts

• Law no. 217 of 29 December 2025 was published in the Official Gazette on 19 January 2026.
• The new rule applies to all frontier workers covered by the 2020 Agreement.
• The legislation provides for frontier workers to be able to telework up to 25% of their working hours.

Concrete examples

• A frontier worker from Lugano, who works for an Italian company, can telework up to 4 hours a day, equivalent to about 20% of his working time of 20 hours a week.
• Another frontier worker from Bellinzona, working for a Swiss company, can telework up to 3 hours a day, equivalent to about 15% of his 20-hour work week.

Regulation

Law no. 217 of 29 December 2025 establishes that frontier workers may telework up to 25% of their working hours, provided that they meet the following requirements:

• Have an employment contract that provides for the possibility of teleworking;
• Have adequate equipment for teleworking;
• Have a stable and secure internet connection;
• Comply with the rules on data protection and security of IT systems.

Operational Checklists

To perform teleworking effectively and safely, frontier workers must:

• Check that their employment contract provides for the possibility of teleworking;
• Install and configure

Operational details

The new rule allows frontier workers to carry out up to 25% of their work by teleworking from their home in the State of residence. This means they can work from home for up to 25% of their working time.

The legislation, which entered into force on 1 January 2023, was issued by the Swiss Government in collaboration with the Italian Government, based on the bilateral Agreement between the two countries. According to the press release of the Swiss Government, "this measure aims to improve the quality of life of border workers and promote their integration into Ticino society".

But what exactly does this new rule mean for frontier workers? Here are some concrete examples to clarify this.

Let's imagine that we have a frontier worker who lives in Bellinzona and works in Lugano. Before the new rule, if he worked 8 hours a day, he could not perform any work from home activities, otherwise he would be in violation of the labour law. Now, he can work from home for up to 2 hours a day (25% of 8 hours).

Here is another example: a border worker who lives in Lugano and works in Milan can work from home for 3 hours a day (25% of 12 hours).

The new rule applies to all border workers working in Switzerland and residing in Italy, regardless of their nationality. However, it is important to note that the legislation does not apply to seasonal workers or short-term workers

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Key points

The Ticino Tax Administration has announced a new rule that could radically change the lives of many border workers working between Italy and Switzerland. After months of negotiations with the Italian and Swiss authorities, an agreement has been reached that will allow workers to do up to 25% of their work remotely, without having to pay taxes on income earned in Switzerland.

To benefit from this new rule, frontier workers will have to submit a request to their tax administration by 31 December 2026. The application must be submitted with all the necessary documents, including the tax return, the work certification and a work plan describing how the telework will be organised.

The new rule applies to all border workers who work in Italy and are resident in Switzerland, but only if they have an annual income of less than CHF 150,000. In addition, the rule does not apply to frontier workers who work for companies that are based in Switzerland or who are equity holders of companies based in Switzerland.

Here are some concrete examples of how the new rule might work:

• A frontier worker who works as an engineer in Italy and resides in Lugano could do up to 25% of his work remotely, without having to pay taxes on income earned in Switzerland. In this case, you could earn up to 45,000 Swiss francs per year without having to pay taxes.
• Other

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Source: missionline.it