Border OSS in Ticino: salary and requirements

Context

TL;DR

• Agreement signed on 23 December 2020
• Effective January 1, 2024
• New frontier workers: deductible of €10,000
• Old frontier workers: exemption of €7,500 until 2033

Key facts

January 1, 2024 is the date that orders the framework for the social and healthcare worker who works in Ticino as a cross-border worker. The New Cross-border Workers Agreement, signed on 23 December 2020, came into force on that date and was ratified in Italy with Law 83 of 13 June 2023. For those looking to read the salary beyond the gross value, the starting point is the combination of G permit, withholding tax and Swiss contributions.

The professional perimeter

The professional profile and the cross-border profile remain two distinct levels. The editorial outline identifies the possible recognition of the qualification among the requirements, but does not associate an institution, a procedure, a deadline or a figure with this item. The material used here therefore focuses the analysis on tax and contribution treatment; it does not add a salary range or title recognition process.

The G permit belongs to the framework of cross-border work, while the recognition of the qualification is mentioned together with the requirements. This distinction avoids confusing the authorization linked to cross-border work with professional qualification. The territorial reference remains the Canton of Ticino and the employment relationship between Switzerland and Italy, without introducing names of companies, cities or individual cases.

Tax does not coincide with title

If you are looking for the new 2026 tax agreement, the correct effective date is January 1, 2024, not 2026. The historical reference for double taxation is the Italy-Switzerland Convention signed on March 9, 1976. For the cross-border worker's income from work, the withholding takes place only in Switzerland; Italy avoids double taxation with the tax credit in the EC framework of 730. The same income should therefore not be presented as taxed in both countries.

Furthermore, Switzerland is not an EU/EEA member. The question on the real salary must therefore be read through the contribution items and the documented tax thresholds, without transforming the G permit or professional title into an unreported salary figure.

Operational details

Deductibles and tax comparison

The most concrete comparison for a cross-border commuter concerns the tax category in which he falls. The verified facts distinguish those who were already cross-border workers before 17 July 2023 from those who are among the new cross-border workers. The difference concerns the threshold indicated by the regime and must be read together with the period of application.

Two categories, two thresholds

For old cross-border workers, the condition referred to is to already be such before 17 July 2023. This category is associated with an exemption of €7,500 in the transitional regime covering the period 2024–2033. For new cross-border commuters, however, the figure indicated is a deductible of €10,000. The table keeps the two items separate because the source assigns them to different categories; they are not presented as cumulative amounts.

This comparison is useful for the work of a social health worker in Ticino because it links the tax calendar to the condition of cross-border worker, but does not replace the pay slip data. The thresholds describe treatment under the tax framework and do not constitute a salary range for OSS. The issue of refunds also remains distinct: the table concerns exemption and deductible, not a salary item.

Tax at source and IRPEF

The withholding tax on the cross-border worker's income is indicated only in Switzerland. On the Italian side, double taxation is avoided through the tax credit in the EC framework of 730. This is the point not to be confused with the Italian IRPEF rates, which belong to the Italian system and are indicated for different periods.

From 2026, the source reports 23% up to €28,000, 33% between €28,001 and €50,000 and 43% above €50,000, based on Law 199/2025, art. 1 c. 3. For 2024–2025 income, the rates shown are 23%, 35% and 43%. The comparison between these periods does not change the rule according to which, for cross-border workers, the withholding tax on earned income is described as applied only in Switzerland. Instead, it serves to separate the Italian IRPEF regulation from the Swiss withholding tax.

Key points

Contributions, insurance and calculation limits

The Swiss contribution framework allows you to better define which items affect the economic relationship of a border worker, even when a salary amount is not indicated. Source reports AVS/AI/IPG at 5.3% for employee. For AD/AC it indicates 1.1%, with a cap fixed at CHF 148'200. LAINF is indicated in the 0.7–1.5% range, while LPP varies from 7% to 18% by age group, from the 25th year.

Swiss percentages

These values have different functions and should not be transformed into a single withdrawal. AVS/AI/IPG, AD/AC, LAINF and LPP are contributory or insurance items referred to in the Swiss framework; the available data allows to report percentages, limit and age group, but not to calculate a monthly net for an OSS without a salary base indicated. Caution is necessary especially when comparing the salary in Ticino with the Italian one: a numerical comparison requires homogeneous values, while here rules and rates are documented above all.

LAMal and rate administration

LAMal means health insurance, not a "health tax". Border workers with a G permit have the right of option. For adults, the deductibles indicated range from CHF 300 to CHF 2,500. The framework does not report monthly premiums and does not link a deductible to a specific salary as a social health worker.

Tax rates, including source tax and federal or cantonal rates, are set by federal and cantonal laws. At the federal level they are administered by AFC/ESTV and, for the cantonal part, by the cantonal tax administrations. They should not be attributed to UFAS, which concerns the AVS/AI social security, nor to BFS, which collects statistical data and does not set rates.

The result is a practical but limited framework: qualification requirements and recognition remain professional profiles, while G, tax at source, AVS, LPP and LAMal describe the cross-border side of the job. To link these rules to the payroll entries you can use the tax calculator