Table: tax rate by holding period
The rate under § 109 para. 1 of the Tax Act applies to the whole taxable gain. The third column shows the tax on a gain of CHF 200’000.
| Holding period | Rate | Tax on CHF 200’000 |
|---|---|---|
| 1st year of ownership | 40% | CHF 80’000 |
| 2nd year | 38% | CHF 76’000 |
| 3rd year | 36% | CHF 72’000 |
| 4th year | 34% | CHF 68’000 |
| 5th year | 32% | CHF 64’000 |
| 6th year | 30% | CHF 60’000 |
| 7th year | 28% | CHF 56’000 |
| 8th year | 26% | CHF 52’000 |
| 9th year | 24% | CHF 48’000 |
| 10th year | 22% | CHF 44’000 |
| 11th year | 20% | CHF 40’000 |
| 12th year | 19% | CHF 38’000 |
| 13th year | 18% | CHF 36’000 |
| 14th year | 17% | CHF 34’000 |
| 15th year | 16% | CHF 32’000 |
| 16th year | 15% | CHF 30’000 |
| 17th year | 14% | CHF 28’000 |
| 18th year | 13% | CHF 26’000 |
| 19th year | 12% | CHF 24’000 |
| 20th year | 11% | CHF 22’000 |
| 21st year | 10% | CHF 20’000 |
| 22nd year | 9% | CHF 18’000 |
| 23rd year | 8% | CHF 16’000 |
| 24th year | 7% | CHF 14’000 |
| 25th year | 6% | CHF 12’000 |
| From 25 completed years | 5% | CHF 10’000 |
«12th year» means after eleven completed years of ownership: a gain of CHF 200’000 then results in 19%, that is CHF 38’000.
Flat-rate investment costs under § 105
If the plot is built on at the time of sale and you have owned it for more than ten completed years, the investment costs are set at a flat rate, as a percentage of the sale price by year of ownership begun (§ 105 para. 1). Higher investment costs are credited if you document them in full (para. 3).
| Year of ownership begun | Flat rate as % of the sale price |
|---|---|
| 11th year of ownership | 80% |
| 12th | 79% |
| 13th | 78% |
| 14th | 77% |
| 15th | 76% |
| 16th | 75% |
| 17th | 74% |
| 18th | 73% |
| 19th | 72% |
| 20th | 71% |
| 21st | 70% |
| 22nd | 69% |
| 23rd | 68% |
| 24th | 67% |
| 25th | 66% |
| From 25 completed years | 65% |
Worked example with the flat rate
A detached house is sold for CHF 1’200’000 after 20 completed years and a few months. Purchase price, costs and investments add up to CHF 600’000. The holding period lies in the 21st year.
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sale price | CHF 1’200’000 |
| Flat rate 70% (21st year of ownership) | CHF 840’000 |
| Documented investment costs | CHF 600’000 |
| Taxable gain with the higher flat rate | CHF 360’000 |
| Rate 10% (21st year of ownership) | CHF 36’000 |
| For comparison without the flat rate (gain CHF 600’000) | CHF 60’000 |
What you can deduct
The property gain is the amount by which the proceeds exceed the investment costs (§ 101). In addition to the purchase price, the notarised price including all further payments (§ 103 para. 1), the following expenses count (§ 104 para. 1):
- costs of planning, construction, conversions and other investments (lit. a)
- landowner contributions to roads, sewers and similar works (lit. b)
- costs linked to buying and selling, such as agent commission, advertising and notarisation (lit. c)
- planning gain levies (lit. d)
Expenses that were or could have been deducted for income or profit tax, that is value-preserving maintenance, and the value of own work not taxed as income cannot be credited (§ 104 para. 2). Insurance benefits and contributions from the federal government, canton and municipalities are added to the gain (para. 3).
Inheritance, gift and replacement home
Inheritance, division of an estate, legacies, advances on inheritance, gifts and mixed gifts defer the tax (§ 97 para. 1 lit. a). The taxpayer can request within one year that the tax be levied nonetheless (para. 2). On a later sale, the purchase price of the last taxable transfer (§ 103 para. 2) and the holding period from that transfer (§ 110 para. 2) count. In the calculator you therefore enter your parents' purchase price and purchase date.
If you sell the home you have used permanently and exclusively yourself and invest the proceeds within two years before or three years after the sale in a replacement home in Switzerland used in the same way, you can request a deferral (§ 98 para. 1). For apartment buildings this applies only pro rata to the part you live in all year (para. 2).
Security and assessment
The canton and the municipality hold a statutory lien for the property gains tax without entry in the land register, set at a flat 3% of the sale price (§ 234a paras. 1 and 3). It may not be claimed if the selling or buying party provides security in another form (para. 4). The tax is assessed by the tax commission of the municipality in which the property is located (§ 164). The canton of Aargau has no property transfer tax; instead the land register charge of 4‰ of the purchase price applies (§ 8 para. 1 Land Register Charges Act).
What this means for your sale
In our mandates we calculate the expected property gains tax before the property is advertised. The basis is the valuation with the IAZI/CIFI models Swiss banks use: it shows the realistic market value and thus the expected gain. At the same time we check whether the flat rate or the documented investment costs are more favourable and compile the documents. This calculator is not tax advice; the assessment by your municipality's tax commission is decisive.
Sources
- Canton of Aargau, Tax Act (StG, SAR 651.100), in force since 1 January 2025, in particular § 2 para. 4, § 97 deferral, § 98 replacement home, §§ 101–105 gain, proceeds and investment costs, § 109 scale, § 110 holding period, § 111 allocation, § 164 assessment, § 234a statutory lien (in German), retrieved 21 October 2026
- Canton of Aargau, Land Register Charges Act (SAR 725.100), § 8 para. 1 (in German), retrieved 21 October 2026
- Swiss Federal Tax Administration, «Geltende Steuern», as of 1 January 2026 (no property transfer tax in Aargau, in German), retrieved 21 October 2026
- Rudat AG: Grundstückgewinnsteuer-Rechner Kanton Aargau (German version of this page), retrieved 21 October 2026