To prepare your tax return, start by identifying what your STFS LAMal health insurance contributions relate to. The treatment depends on the contribution concerned: identify the one you pay and separate it from any supplementary health insurance contributions.
The Swiss LAMal contribution is deductible from the relevant income category, meaning directly from your Swiss-source salary or pension, before that income is converted into euros. The contribution paid to the Service des Travailleurs Frontaliers en Suisse (URSSAF/STFS), on the other hand, is deductible from your overall income and must be entered on line 6DD 'Miscellaneous deductions' of your overall income tax return (form 2042-C). Note that contributions to supplementary health insurance (a mutual insurance plan or other private health insurance) are never deductible, whether paid in France or abroad.
Start by sorting your documents
Gather the certificates and other documents you have for your health insurance contributions. For each document, identify the organisation receiving the payment, the type of cover and the period concerned. Also keep the details of your Swiss-source salary or pension close at hand.
Sorting these documents helps you distinguish the basic health insurance contribution from any supplementary health insurance contributions. To make checking easier, you can file the documents by type of cover, then match each amount to the document describing it. If a description remains ambiguous, ask the organisation concerned to help you identify it.
Before calculating or entering an amount, also check the period shown on the document. If several documents relate to the same contribution, compare them to understand what the amounts relate to. This preparation helps you find your information when completing the return and answer questions about your file.
If you pay a LAMal contribution in Switzerland
For LAMal, start with the Swiss-source salary or pension to which the contribution relates. Identify the amount of the Swiss contribution in your documents, then apply the treatment indicated by the tax authorities to that income before converting it into euros.
The distinction between the relevant income category and overall income is important here: the treatment described for LAMal applies directly to the Swiss-source salary or pension. Keep the information that allows you to find the income and contribution used in your preparation.
In practice, keep the document relating to the contribution together with the one showing the income concerned. Note the information used for your calculation and the period to which it relates. You can then check your preparation before converting the income into euros.
If your documents do not allow you to determine which amount corresponds to the LAMal contribution, ask for clarification before proceeding. Check the nature of the contribution and the Swiss-source income to which the treatment presented by the authorities should be applied.
If you pay a contribution to STFS
For the contribution paid to URSSAF/STFS, identify the corresponding amount in your documents. The place to enter it indicated by the authorities is the “Miscellaneous deductions” line on the supplementary form for the overall income tax return.
Before completing this line, check that you have correctly identified the contribution paid to STFS and set aside supplementary health insurance contributions. Keep your documents separate so you can trace the source of the amount entered.
Then review the information you have: the recipient of the contribution, its nature and the period mentioned in the documents. If a document groups several amounts together, try to identify the one corresponding to the STFS contribution before preparing to enter it.
The line on the return and the income to which the deduction applies are distinct from those indicated for LAMal. Therefore, use the treatment corresponding to the contribution you have identified rather than grouping all your health payments together.
Set aside supplementary health insurance
A mutual insurance plan or other private health insurance must be distinguished from basic health insurance cover. When sorting your documents, separate the documents and amounts relating to this supplementary cover, even if you have filed them with your other health-related supporting documents.
The rule recalled by the authorities applies both to supplementary cover paid for in France and to supplementary cover paid for abroad. This check helps avoid confusing a supplementary insurance contribution with the LAMal or STFS contribution examined for the tax return.
If the documents have similar descriptions, take the time to identify the cover to which each relates. Ask for clarification if in doubt, then keep the supplementary cover documents in a separate part of your file.
Distinguish the tax return from the STFS process
If you have opted for health insurance in France, you must take other steps. Each year, starting in September, the Service des Travailleurs Frontaliers en Suisse (URSSAF/STFS) invites you to declare the income you received during the previous year, in order to update the basis for calculating your health insurance contribution for the coming year. This declaration is made directly through your account on Urssaf.fr.
When organising your documents, distinguish the tax return from the income declaration requested by STFS. Keep the information relating to each process in an identifiable file: their purpose and where the information is entered are distinct.
To prepare for the STFS process, find the invitation and the information relating to the income requested. When preparing your tax return, return to the documents that identify the contribution itself. This filing system helps you find the right document for the process you are undertaking.
Before submitting your return
- Check the nature of each contribution using the documents you have gathered.
- For a LAMal contribution, find the Swiss-source salary or pension concerned and check the treatment before conversion into euros.
- For an STFS contribution, check the amount and its entry on the “Miscellaneous deductions” line of the supplementary form.
- Set aside supplementary health insurance amounts.
- If you have opted for health insurance in France, also remember the income declaration requested by STFS.
These pointers are general information to help you prepare for these processes, not personalised advice. If your documents do not allow you to clearly identify a contribution or its treatment, ask the organisation concerned or the tax authorities for clarification before submitting your return.
