Cross-border workers in Switzerland: how do you complete your tax return in France?

• Important notice: the information contained in this article is provided for information purposes only. b-sharpe is an online currency exchange service, and our teams are unable to assist you with completing your tax return. We recommend that you contact a tax advisor for this purpose. Thank you for your understanding.

Update to the 2020 tax return for 2019 income.

For French residents, the tax return period for the previous year is already upon us. Residents in Switzerland with income from French sources, and French residents working in Switzerland who have their main residence in France, will also need to file their tax returns. If you’re wondering how to complete your tax return in France, this article is for you. Check out our practical guide to help employees working in Switzerland (in the cantons of Geneva, Vaud, Valais, Basel, Zurich, etc.) file their tax returns in France.

In which country or countries do you have to pay tax when working in Switzerland?

Firstly, there is a tax treaty between Switzerland and France that governs how cross-border workers are taxed in each country, with a number of specific rules designed to prevent double taxation.

Put simply, it is not possible to be taxed in both Switzerland and France on the same income. However, tax rules and principles vary depending on the canton in which you work.

Location	Place of tax payment	Comments
Case 1: Someone who works in the canton of Geneva and commutes home every day	Switzerland	These workers pay their taxes in Switzerland and are subject to Swiss withholding tax (the tax is deducted directly from their monthly salary by the Geneva-based company and paid by the company to the cantonal tax authorities).
Case 2: A person working in the cantons of Vaud, Valais, Jura, Neuchâtel, Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, Bern or Solothurn, and commuting home every day	France	A tax agreement signed between France and these cantons stipulates that people working in Switzerland and living in France are taxed in their country of residence, namely France.
Case 3: People working in other cantons (Zurich, St. Gallen, Aargau, etc.) and commuting home every day	Switzerland	–
Case 4: A person working in any canton and returning home once a week	Switzerland	People who live in Switzerland during the week (weekly cross-border commuters) are always subject to withholding tax in Switzerland, regardless of the canton.

Please note, however, that if you have received income from French sources during the year (for example, if you started working during the year, or if one of the spouses works in France), you may be taxed in both countries, but not on the same income.

In practical terms, this means that a taxpayer who works in Switzerland and lives in France can either pay tax solely in Switzerland, solely in France, or in both countries.

In which cases is a certificate of tax residence required?

The tax residence certificate is a document that allows taxpayers in scenario 2 to inform the cantonal tax office that they are paying their taxes in France (and, at the same time, to inform the French tax authorities that they will be receiving income from a Swiss employer). This 2041-AS certificate can be downloaded from the French tax authority’s website and must be submitted to your employer.

What are the deadlines for filing your tax return?

The deadlines for filing your 2020 tax return for 2019 income depend on the county in which you live and are summarised in the table below:

Departments	Deadline for submitting the declaration
from 1 to 19	4 June 2020 at midnight
aged 20 to 54	8 June 2020 at midnight
from 55 to 976	11 June 2020 at midnight
Non-French residents	4 June 2020 at midnight

Further information is available on the official tax website.

What documents do you need to prepare to complete your tax return correctly?

The main documents you will need to gather for your tax return are as follows:

• An IBAN (bank account details) if this is your first time logging in
• The withholding tax certificate issued by your employer in Switzerland
• Proof of payment of health insurance premiums (issued by the Swiss health insurance fund for the LAMal or by the CNTFS for the CMU)
• Swiss bank account statements (the document must show the interest received)
• Bank statements for accounts held abroad (in any country) for the purpose of declaring the account numbers on Form 3916 (“Declaration of an account held outside France”)
• The payslip provided by your employer
• Any document supporting a tax reduction, such as the annual tax certificate for home tuition detailing the amounts paid during 2018.

For taxpayers with rental income and who may be using tax-saving schemes (such as the Pinel or Duflot schemes):

• An extract from the amortisation schedule for outstanding loans relating to the property in question
• The service charge statement, usually sent by the property management company

To save time, we recommend that you gather these documents before you start completing your tax return.

The b-sharpe guide to completing your tax return in France

• Where should you file your tax return?
• What tax forms do you need to complete for your tax return?
• How to calculate your Swiss-sourced income for inclusion in your tax return
• Which tax form should I use to declare my Swiss income?
• What EUR/CHF exchange rate should I use in my tax return?
• Which accounts need to be reported?

Where should you file your tax return?

Tax returns must be filed online via the French tax authority’s website. Since 2019, online filing has been mandatory for anyone with internet access at their main residence.

Which tax forms do I need to complete?

The tax return in France is structured as follows:

• Form 2042, which is the standard tax return form, and which sets out all the income of the tax household, regardless of the source.
• a set of annexes, each dedicated to specific types of income (such as rental income), which, once completed by the taxpayer, are automatically included (in principle) in the 2042 tax return.

Once you have logged in to the tax office website and entered “basic” information such as your address and personal details, the service allows you to select the sections you wish to display. Each annex corresponds to a specific type of tax return, and this choice is suggested to you based on the type of income you have. Depending on your selections, the annexes will appear in your account.

By clicking on the “Supplementary declarations” button, you will see a list of supplementary declarations; you will need to tick the relevant boxes to display them.

In the example given below,

• Selecting the “2019 Property Income Declaration” box (red arrow) will bring up Form 2044, which will allow you to declare any rental income
• The box marked “Declaration of 2019 income received abroad by a taxpayer resident in France” (blue arrow) will bring up Appendix 2047, which allows you to declare Swiss income, as well as the guide to calculating Swiss salary
• Ticking the box marked “Declaration by a resident of an account held outside France” (green arrow) will bring up Appendix 3916, which allows you to enter details of your various foreign accounts.

For a “standard” tax return filed by a taxpayer working in Switzerland, the mandatory annexes are Annexes 2047 and 3916. The others depend on your personal circumstances.

How to calculate your Swiss-sourced income to include in your tax return

The income to be included in the 2020 tax return is that earned in 2019, whether it was earned in Switzerland, France or elsewhere.

Specifically with regard to Swiss income, the following must be included in such income:

• the salary you earn from your employment in Switzerland
• variable pay and any bonuses
• non-wage benefits such as the partial or full payment of health insurance, the private portion of a company car…

Taxable income is the sum of the net amounts received by the employee. This information is set out in the salary statement that your employer should have given you at the start of the year, which is a document summarising all this information.

Unlike employees in France, for whom the French tax authorities pre-fill a tax return that simply needs to be checked and signed off, people working in Switzerland and living in France will have to calculate their own Swiss income to be declared, based on the information provided by their employer.

In this regard, the salary certificate issued by your employer is a key document without which you will not be able to complete your tax return. If your employer(s) have not provided it to you at the start of the year, please ask for it.

Which tax form should I use to declare my Swiss income?

As your income is sourced in Switzerland, the French tax authorities need to carry out some preliminary calculations before including it in your French tax return. To do this, you will need to complete Form 2047, using your Swiss salary certificate as a reference.

#1: State that your income is of Swiss origin

When you log in to the website of the Directorate-General for Taxation, in supplementary form no. 2047, please ensure you tick both boxes as shown in the screenshot below: this will allow you to access the tax return screens specific to people living in France and working in Switzerland.

#2: Calculate your net taxable salary in Switzerland

The next screen will be the guide to calculating your net taxable Swiss salary, which will allow you to “convert” your income in Swiss francs into euros and enter it on your tax return.

To do this, select the member(s) of the tax household working in Switzerland, as well as the number of cantons in which you worked during the year. For example, if a temporary worker living in France has, during the year, worked in the canton of Geneva, the canton of Vaud and the canton of Neuchâtel for three different employers, they must select “3” in the “Number of cantons” box. However, if you have worked for several employers in the same canton, you will need to add up the amounts yourself using the various pay slips you have been given.

#3: Declare your income for each district

On the next page, it is important to select the correct canton of employment and employer (if you have had more than one, please list them in the text box provided). Please also state the number of months for which you received a salary, and enter the information from your Swiss salary certificate(s) in the relevant boxes.

#4: Fill in the boxes using your payslip

The next step is simple: you just need to match the figures on your payslip with those shown in supplementary declaration no. 2047 and fill in the relevant boxes. We have provided an example below; please complete the rest based on your income.

Please note that you will also need your proof of payment for your health insurance premiums (CMU for cross-border workers – CNTFS or LAMal) to complete this form, as shown in the screenshot below. Don’t forget this, as these amounts paid are deducted from your income; it would be a shame not to benefit from this.

As shown in the screenshot below, KVG contributions and CNTFS/URSSAF (CMU) contributions must not be entered in the same field.

#5: Calculating carry-overs

Once you have entered the details from your salary certificate (or certificates, if you have more than one) for each canton, the tax office will carry out what is known as a carry-over: the amount it calculates based on the information you have provided will then be carried over to your other forms, in specific boxes, depending on the circumstances.

It is therefore important to clearly inform the tax authorities of your specific circumstances, as the deferrals may vary from one situation to another (for example, the deferrals for French residents working in the cantons of Vaud, Valais, Jura, Neuchâtel, Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, Bern and Solothurn will have different carry-forwards to those working in the canton of Geneva).

Once the box has been ticked, the next screen shows you the amount in euros that the French tax authorities have withheld for your tax return. This amount is then normally carried forward to your Annex 2047.

Please note: the service clearly states that the carry-over will be made. However, there are occasions when this is not the case, or when it is not done correctly. We therefore advise you to check carefully that the carry-overs have been entered in the correct boxes.

What EUR/CHF exchange rate should I use for my tax return?

The EUR/CHF exchange rate to be used for your 2020 tax return is 1 CHF = 0.90 EUR. This is provided here for information or verification purposes only, as it is automatically calculated by the tax office’s online service in any case.

Which bank accounts do you need to declare?

French tax law requires taxpayers to declare any foreign bank accounts they hold. Accounts must be declared if there has been at least one debit or credit transaction during the tax year. This declaration is made on Form 3916. It simply involves providing the account numbers and the names of the banks.

For those who have already filed several tax returns, the system allows you to automatically carry forward the information entered the previous year using a carry-forward feature (see screenshot below).

If you’re not sure exactly which account to declare, we invite you to read this post, which deals specifically with the topic of declaring foreign bank accounts.

Conclusion

We hope this guide has helped you with your tax return. If so, please do share this article with your friends, and remember to check out b-sharpe, Switzerland’s leading online currency exchange service offering preferential rates for your currency transactions: registration is free!

Important: this article should under no circumstances be regarded as tax advice.

Credit: all screenshots are taken from the impots.gouv.fr website.