In Ruling No. 126/2026, the Italian Revenue Agency provided an important clarification regarding the application of the Agreement between Italy and Switzerland on the taxation of frontier workers. In particular, it confirmed that the fact that an employer’s registered office is located outside the Italian frontier area does not, in itself, prevent the application of the Agreement, provided that the employer is tax resident in Italy and all the other applicable requirements are met.
The clarification arose from the case of an employee who was tax resident in a municipality in the Canton of Ticino located within 20 kilometres of the Italian border. The employee worked as a pharmaceutical sales representative for an Italian company whose registered office was located in the Veneto region. She carried out all her employment activities in Lombardy and, in principle, returned daily to her residence in Switzerland.
According to the Italian Revenue Agency, the bilateral Agreement requires the employee to reside in the frontier area of one Contracting State, to perform employment activities in the frontier area of the other State for an employer that is tax resident in that other State, and, in principle, to return daily to their place of residence. However, the Agreement does not require the employer’s registered office to be located within the frontier area.
Accordingly, the fact that a company’s registered office is situated in an Italian region other than Lombardy, Piedmont, Valle d’Aosta or the Autonomous Province of Bolzano does not exclude the application of the Agreement, provided that the employment activities are actually carried out within the Italian frontier area and all the other relevant conditions are satisfied.
The Revenue Agency’s ruling provides greater legal certainty for both employers and frontier workers. Nevertheless, the specific circumstances of each employment relationship should continue to be carefully assessed, particularly with regard to the tax residence of the employee and the employer, the place where the employment activities are effectively carried out, and compliance with the other requirements laid down in the Agreement.
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