Property transfer tax: the same purchase, far dearer in another canton
Transfer tax is set by canton, sometimes by commune, and runs roughly from nothing to a little over three per cent of the price. Working it out at the notary’s office is working it out too late.
Some cantons, Zurich, Zug, Schwyz, Aargau and Glarus among them, levy no transfer tax as such and charge only land-registry and notary fees. Others, such as Neuchâtel, Vaud, Geneva, Fribourg and Bern, levy a tax of roughly one to three and a half per cent of the price. Who bears it is a matter for negotiation and is set in the deed; splitting it in half is common, and in several cantons the buyer customarily pays.
The costs that land on top of the price
- Transfer tax, where the canton levies one
- The notary’s fees for the public deed
- Land-registry fees for the transfer of ownership
- Fees to create or amend the mortgage certificate
- Any real-estate capital-gains tax, which falls on the seller rather than you
Budget two to five per cent of the price for the purchase costs as a whole, depending on the canton, and cover them from your own funds. The bank will not lend against them.
These articles set out Swiss law in general terms and are not a substitute for legal advice on an individual case. Cantonal rules differ. In a dispute, contact the rent conciliation authority or a lawyer.