Property transfer tax Switzerland, costs for buyers
Two costs, not one. The cantonal transfer tax and the notary fee, with rates for ten cantons, the main residence reliefs and a worked CHF 800,000 calculation.
By the Envergure editorial team
Property transfer tax Switzerland runs from 1% to 3.3% of the price, set canton by canton, and the notary fee for the deed comes on top. Excluding financing, budget 2% to 5% of the price. Four of the ten cantons here cut the tax when you live in the home, Geneva, Bern, Solothurn and Basel-Landschaft.
Property transfer tax Switzerland, the two costs a buyer pays
The first cost is the transfer tax, a tax the canton, and sometimes the commune, charges on the change of owner. It is a percentage of the price. The second is the notary fee, the official tariff the notary charges for drawing up the deed of sale and certifying it.
The two costs go to different places. The transfer tax goes to the cantonal and communal tax office. The fee goes to the notary. You pay both on top of the price, and on top of the own funds your bank requires.
One rule holds across Switzerland. A sale of real estate, like a promise of sale, is valid only as a public deed, meaning it is signed before a notary who checks its content and records it. The transfer tax sits in cantonal law instead. Each canton sets its own rate, its own exemptions and its own way of calculating the base.
How much is property transfer tax in Switzerland, canton by canton
The table gives the transfer tax canton by canton, who owes it where the law says so, and what reduces it. The communal share, where it exists, is added to the cantonal rate and changes from one commune to the next.
| Canton | Transfer tax | Who pays, main relief |
|---|---|---|
| GE Geneva | 3% | Casatax cuts CHF 15,000 off the tax up to CHF 1 million, for a main residence |
| VD Vaud | 2.2%, up to 3.3% with the commune | Owed by the buyer unless agreed otherwise, both parties stay jointly liable |
| FR Fribourg | 1.5%, up to 3% with the commune | No main residence relief in force, a draft bill exists |
| VS Valais | 1% to 1.5%, plus up to 50% with the commune | Exempt between spouses, between registered partners and in direct line, and below CHF 1,000 |
| NE Neuchâtel | 3.3% | Owed by the buyer unless agreed otherwise, exempt in direct line and on inheritance |
| JU Jura | 2.5%, then 3.2% above CHF 1 million | 1.5% to a descendant or an ascendant, minimum CHF 30 |
| BE Bern | 1.8% | First CHF 800,000 exempt if you live in the home for two years |
| LU Lucerne | 1.5% | Charged on the cadastral value when the price cannot be determined |
| SO Solothurn | 2.2% | 1.1% within the family, full relief possible if you occupy the home yourself |
| BL Basel-Landschaft | 2.5% in total, 1.25% for you | Your half falls away if you occupy the home permanently |
Rates and rules in force on 10 November 2026, read in the cantonal texts. In Jura, the rates come from the amendment adopted in first reading on 21 December 2023. Sources, Geneva registration duties act, canton of Vaud, Fribourg transfer duties act, Savièse municipal report on the Valais communal surcharge, Neuchâtel transfer duties act, Jura official gazette of 21 December 2023, Bern transfer tax act, Lucerne transfer tax act, Solothurn tax office practice, Basel-Landschaft tax manual.
Two cantons are working on changes that are not law yet. A motion filed in the Vaud parliament would push the cantonal rate from 2.2% to 2.5% for five years, on deals above CHF 1 million; it has not been adopted. In Fribourg, a draft revision of the act would exempt a slice of CHF 500,000 on a first main residence up to CHF 1 million, and CHF 250,000 between CHF 1,000,001 and CHF 1,500,000. Until they pass, neither changes what you pay.
Property transfer tax calculation, a CHF 800,000 example
Working out the transfer tax is one multiplication. Take the price written in the deed, apply your cantonal rate, add the communal share, then subtract the relief you qualify for.
Example, a CHF 800,000 flat bought in Geneva to live in
- Price written in the deed
- CHF 800,000
- Transfer tax, 3% of the price
- CHF 24,000
- Casatax reduction to deduct
- CHF 15,000
- Transfer tax to pay
- CHF 9,000
Assumptions, a main residence under the CHF 1 million ceiling, so Casatax applies. The net tax works out at 1.125% of the price instead of 3%. The notary fee comes on top, under the Geneva scale that starts at 7 per thousand on the first CHF 200,000 and falls bracket by bracket, with a CHF 200 minimum.
The same CHF 800,000 purchase costs very different amounts elsewhere. In Neuchâtel, 3.3% comes to CHF 26,400. In Jura, 2.5% comes to CHF 20,000, because the price stays under the million threshold. In Lucerne, 1.5% comes to CHF 12,000. In Vaud, 2.2% comes to CHF 17,600, plus up to CHF 8,800 of communal share. In Bern the tax falls to zero if you live in the home, since CHF 800,000 fits entirely inside the exempt slice. In Basel-Landschaft your half of CHF 10,000 also falls away if you occupy the home yourself. Before you sign, have the property valued to check that the price, and so the tax, makes sense.
Main residence, the cantons that cut the tax
In Geneva, the Casatax mechanism takes CHF 15,000 off the transfer tax on a main residence up to CHF 1 million, and halves the duties on mortgage deeds within the same limit. The amount is indexed every year to the Geneva construction price index.
In Bern, you ask at the moment of entry in the land register for a deferral on the first CHF 800,000 of the price. The deferral turns into a definitive exemption if the home stays your main residence for two years without a break.
In Solothurn, the tax can disappear entirely when you occupy the home permanently and exclusively yourself. Around 2,000 relief applications are filed each year, and close to 90% are granted. In Basel-Landschaft, the half that falls on you is exempt in the same situation.
The other reliefs target the family rather than occupation. Valais and Neuchâtel exempt transfers between spouses, between registered partners and in direct line. Jura charges 1.5% to a descendant or an ascendant. Solothurn halves its rate to 1.1% when the buyer is the seller’s spouse, registered partner or descendant.
The steps, from offer to land register entry
- Apply the cantonal rate Multiply the price in the deed by your cantonal rate. In Valais and in Jura the rate rises by slice, so the calculation runs slice by slice.
- Add the communal share Vaud, Fribourg and Valais let the commune charge a surcharge. Ask for the communal rules before you budget, they add up to 1.1 points in Vaud and up to 1.5 points in Fribourg.
- Ask the notary for the fee The tariff is official and degressive, it is not negotiable. Have it worked out on your price before you sign, not after.
- File the relief application at the right time In Bern, the application goes in at the moment of entry in the land register. In Geneva, the proof of main residence follows within two years. In Solothurn and Basel-Landschaft, the relief is claimed for a home you occupy yourself.
- Hold the occupation period Three years in Geneva, two years in Bern. Leaving early makes the unlevied balance payable at once.
The paperwork is short, and none of it is optional.
- The draft deed of sale, which has to be executed as a public deed
- The communal rules on the transfer tax surcharge, in Vaud, Fribourg and Valais
- The relief or exemption application, in Geneva, Bern, Solothurn and Basel-Landschaft
- Proof that the home becomes your main residence, within two years in Geneva
- Proof of the family link with the seller, for the reduced rate in Jura and Solothurn
What the purchase costs do not cover
Financing is a separate budget. Interest, arrangement charges and mortgage deeds are not the transfer tax. In Geneva, Casatax does halve the duties on mortgage deeds, within the same CHF 1 million limit.
The official benchmark for the cost of credit is the Swiss mortgage reference rate, which the Federal Housing Office publishes every quarter, on the first working day of March, June, September and December. It has stood at 1.25% since 2 September 2025.
After the purchase, the annual taxes take over, and they are charged on the taxable value of the property, not on the price you paid. The seller’s costs follow another logic again, set out in our guide to the costs of selling.
Frequently asked questions
How much is property transfer tax in Switzerland?
Between 1% and 3.3% of the price, depending on the canton, and the communal share can push the total higher in Vaud, Fribourg and Valais. Neuchâtel charges the highest flat rate of the ten cantons here at 3.3%, Lucerne and Fribourg the lowest cantonal rate at 1.5%. Valais starts at 1% on a CHF 500,000 sale.
How do you calculate property transfer tax in Switzerland?
Multiply the sale price by your cantonal rate, add the communal share where there is one, then subtract the main residence relief you qualify for. On a CHF 800,000 purchase in Geneva as a main residence, the tax drops from CHF 24,000 to CHF 9,000 thanks to Casatax, which is 1.125% of the price.
What are notary fees in Switzerland?
They are an official tariff for drawing up the deed, set canton by canton, and they are degressive, so the rate falls as the price rises. In Geneva the scale starts at 7 per thousand on the first CHF 200,000, then steps down bracket by bracket, twelve in all, up to deals above CHF 20 million, with a CHF 200 minimum.
Do foreigners pay higher notary fees in Switzerland?
No. The ten cantonal texts cited here set the rate on the price and on whether you will live in the home, not on your nationality. Whether a buyer living abroad may acquire at all is a separate question, covered in our guide on buying property as a foreigner.
Which canton has the lowest property transfer tax?
Of the ten cantons here, Valais charges the least on a smaller sale, 1% on CHF 500,000, while Fribourg and Lucerne sit at 1.5%. The cheapest outcome, though, comes from relief rather than rate. In Bern, Solothurn and Basel-Landschaft a buyer who lives in the home can pay nothing at all.
Can you buy without paying transfer tax in Switzerland?
Yes, in some cantons and in defined cases. Bern exempts the first CHF 800,000 if the home stays your main residence for two years. Solothurn and Basel-Landschaft can drop the buyer share to zero for a home you occupy yourself. The notary fee stays due in every case.
How much is the transfer tax in Geneva and in Vaud?
Geneva charges 3% of the price to the buyer, less CHF 15,000 under Casatax for a main residence up to CHF 1 million. Vaud charges a flat 2.2% whatever the value, and the commune can add up to 50 centimes per franc of cantonal tax, which takes the total to 3.3% at most.
What do you still pay after the purchase?
The transfer tax and the notary fee are paid once, at the transfer. Two things carry on after that. You have to hold the occupation period if you obtained a relief, three years in Geneva and two years in Bern. And the annual property taxes start, charged on the taxable value rather than the price.