The transfer tax is a cantonal tax on the purchase of a property, calculated on the purchase price. Rates range from 0% to 3.3%. Eight cantons – Zurich, Zug, Schwyz, Uri, Glarus, Schaffhausen, Aargau and Ticino – levy no transfer tax, only a land register fee. The most expensive are Vaud and Neuchatel at up to 3.3%, followed by Basel-Stadt and Geneva at 3% each. On a purchase price of CHF 1 million, buyers pay between CHF 0 and around CHF 33,000 depending on the canton.
Eight of the 26 cantons forgo the transfer tax: Zurich (abolished in 2005), Zug, Schwyz, Uri, Glarus, Schaffhausen, Aargau and Ticino. In these cantons, only the land register and notary fees apply when ownership changes hands, amounting to a few thousand francs depending on the canton. Schwyz is the only canton that levies practically neither a tax nor any significant transfer fee. For buyers in these cantons, the transfer tax is therefore not a cost item.
The highest rates are in French-speaking Switzerland and in Basel-Stadt. The most expensive are Vaud (2.2% cantonal plus a municipal surcharge, together up to 3.3%) and Neuchatel, with a standard rate of 3.3%. Basel-Stadt and Geneva each levy 3%. On a purchase price of CHF 1 million, a rate of 3.3% means a transfer tax of CHF 33,000 – considerably more than the notary and land register costs combined.
In the mid-range are cantons with rates between 1.0% and 2.5%. Bern levies 1.8%, with the first CHF 800,000 exempt for permanently owner-occupied residential property (at least 2 of 3 years). Lucerne charges 1.5%, Obwalden 1.5%, Nidwalden 1.0%. Solothurn levies a standard rate of 2.2% (reduced to 1.1% for transfers to spouses or descendants), but exempts owner-occupied residential property from the tax. Basel-Landschaft (2.5%) and the two Appenzell cantons also levy a transfer tax – contrary to what is often assumed, they are not among the tax-free cantons.
In many cantons, buyer and seller usually split the transfer tax in half – however, this split is contractual and not required by law in every canton. In cantons such as Lucerne, Solothurn or Nidwalden, the buyer is the legal debtor of the tax by law. In practice, the buyer often takes on the full tax to make their offer more attractive.
Both taxes arise from a property transaction, but they affect different parties. The transfer tax falls on the buyer (or is split) and is calculated on the entire purchase price. The capital gains tax, by contrast, hits the seller and taxes only the gain – that is, the sale price minus the purchase price and value-enhancing investments. A tax-free canton such as Zurich levies no transfer tax, but it does levy a sometimes high capital gains tax.
Count the transfer tax among the ancillary purchase costs that you must cover in addition to your equity – it does not count toward the 20% minimum equity and cannot be financed through the mortgage. As a rule of thumb, budget 2–5% of the purchase price for all ancillary costs (transfer tax, notary, land register). When buying in Vaud for CHF 1 million, buyers should set aside up to CHF 33,000 for the transfer tax alone, whereas in Zurich only the land register fee of a few thousand francs applies.