CERN issues two types of document to enable members of the personnel to comply with their obligations under the national tax laws applicable to them (see Article S V 2.02 of the Staff Rules and Regulations) with regard to income tax:
- The internal tax annual certificate shows, for the previous year, the taxable amount of financial and family benefits paid by the Organization, as well as the amount of internal tax collected by the Organization for the same period, calculated on the basis of the CERN scale.
As a reminder, pursuant to the Protocol on the privileges and immunities signed by the Member States in 2004, and in accordance with the decision of the CERN Council of 15 September 2005, a system of internal taxation of the financial and family benefits paid by CERN has been in force since 1 January 2005 (for more details, see the document "Status of the Ratification/Accession Process of the Protocol on the privileges and immunities").
This system is intended to simplify the tax situation of members of the personnel in the Member States, particularly in France and Switzerland.
- The individual annual statement shows, for the previous year, the amount received by the member of the personnel under the cost-of-living allowance (COLA) processed by CERN on behalf of a third party.
1. How to obtain the internal tax annual certificate or the individual annual statement
1.1 Members of the CERN personnel
Each year, in February/March, members of the personnel receive an email containing a link to either the internal tax annual certificate or the individual annual statement, depending on their situation the previous year. The document is edited in PDF format and is available in both French and English. It is stored in MyFiles (under "Financial and social benefits").
In the event of difficulties accessing the certificate or statement (e.g. technical problem or an invalid or forgotten password), members of the personnel are invited to complete this form via the Service Portal.
1.2 Members of the personnel whose contract of employment or association with CERN is ending or has ended
1.2.1 Before leaving CERN: create a "guest account"
Like for active members of the personnel, the internal tax annual certificates and individual statements of former members of the personnel are stored in MyFiles.
As CERN primary and secondary computer accounts are automatically disabled two months after a contract ends, members of the personnel must, before the end of their contract, link their CERN account with a personal account such as Google, Facebook, LinkdedIn, etc. This will allow them to access MyFiles after leaving CERN. The different steps in this process are explained in detail in Knowledge Base Article KB0008305 - "How to link personal accounts to your CERN user".
If the members of the personnel do not have a Google, Facebook, etc., account or do not wish to link it to their CERN account, they must create a "guest account" by following the steps outlined in Knowledge Base Article KB0007539 - "Logging into CERN Single Sign-On with a Guest (or Lightweight) account" and then link it to their CERN account.
This guest account will enable former members of the personnel to access their certificate or individual statement in MyFiles.
Former members of the personnel who need to change their guest account password should follow the procedure set out in Knowledge Base Article KB0007539.
1.2.2 How to access the internal tax annual certificate or the individual annual statement
If former members of the personnel have created a guest account before the end of their contract of employment or association, as per the procedure described in paragraph 1.2.1 above, they will receive a message at that address informing them that the certificate or statement is available (around February/March).
In the event of difficulties accessing the certificate or statement (e.g. technical problems or an invalid or forgotten password), former members of the personnel are invited to consult the Knowledge Base Article KB0000141.
If they have not created a guest account, they will no longer be able to access the certificate or statement.
Former members of the personnel who have not created a guest account and would still like to receive their certificate may, exceptionally, submit a request using this form, which is available on the Service Portal. They will need to provide a scanned copy of their identity card or passport.
2. Special case
Certain current of former members of the personnel may, depending on their contractual situation, receive two documents - an internal tax annual certificate and an individual annual statement - if they changed status during the year in question. For example, this could be the case of an associated member of the personnel who receives a cost-of-living allowance (COLA) from January to June and then becomes an employed member of the personnel (staff or graduate) in July. For the period from January to June, they will receive an individual annual statement, for the period from July to December, they will receive an internal tax annual certificate. See question 1.9 of the FAQ by the Service des impôts des particuliers (SIP, private citizens’ tax office).
| No revision | Modifications | Approuved |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Use of Service Portal forms to report problems and to request taxation certificates | 21.05.2014 |
| 2 | In case of difficulty in obtaining the annual certificate, link to the form available on the Service Portal to explain the problem. | 04.02.2015 |
| 3 | A new approach to the annual internal tax certificates will be introduced as of 2020 for MPAs. | 05.03.2019 |
| 4 | Change in the conditions of declaration. | 02.12.2019 |
| 5 | Following exchanges with host state authorities and audit recommendations, the definition of financial benefits shall be limited, for associated members of personnel, to subsistence allowances paid on a statutory or contractual basis.. | 05.03.2020 |
| 6 | Update following re-issuing internal tax certificates to MPA that received financial certificate in February 2020. | 29.04.2020 |
| 7 | Revision following the implementation of the individual annual statement. | 15.02.2021 |
| 8 | The former member of the personnel can send a request for an internal tax annual certificate / individual annual statement via the service portal. A scanned copy of an identity document will be requested. | 12.03.2021 |
| 9 | Clarification of the management of requests sent to the Service Desk in the event of an access problem. | 11.05.2021 |
| 10 | Modification of the procedure following the replacement of the lightweight account by the guest account. | 17.03.2025 |
| 11 | Procedure revised by the HR Internal Tax Service. | 09.04.2025 |