Property gains tax calculator, canton of Schwyz

Table: tax by gain

Property gains tax under the basic scale, that is after four full years of ownership without surcharge or reduction, rounded to the franc. In brackets the share of the gain: because the scale is banded, it approaches 30% as the gain rises.

Worked example with a gain of CHF 300’000

After the deduction of CHF 2’000, CHF 298’000 remains. The first CHF 40’000 result in CHF 7’710 (8% of 3’000, 12% of 5’000, 16% of 7’000, 20% of 10’000 and 25% of 15’000 francs), the remaining CHF 258’000 at 30% in CHF 77’400. Together CHF 85’110; the calculator above uses the same figures.

The scale under § 120 of the Tax Act

These rates apply to the property gain made in the calendar year, reduced by CHF 2’000 (§ 120 para. 1).

The tax calculated this way rises or falls with the creditable holding period (§ 120 paras. 2 and 3). Between the steps in the table the reduction rises by 3 percentage points per full year.

What you can deduct

The property gain is the amount by which the sale price exceeds the investment costs, that is purchase price and expenses (§ 113 para. 1). Expenses incurred within the relevant holding period count (§ 116 para. 1):

• expenditure that increased the value, such as construction, conversions and land improvements (lit. a)
• own work, insofar as it was taxed as income (lit. b)
• landowner contributions to roads, sewers and similar works (lit. c)
• costs and charges of buying and selling, including customary commissions to third parties (lit. d)
• planning gain levies paid under the Planning and Building Act (lit. g)

Anything already deducted for tax, that is value-preserving maintenance, does not count (§ 116 para. 2). Insurance benefits and public subsidies are deducted from the investment costs (para. 3).

Inheritance, gift and replacement home

Inheritance, division of an estate, legacies, advances on inheritance and gifts do not trigger the tax; it is deferred (§ 107 lit. a). When you sell later, the last transfer without deferral counts for the gain, usually the purchase by your parents (§ 113 para. 2), and for the holding period too (§ 121 para. 3). In the calculator you therefore enter their purchase price and purchase date.

If you sell the home you have used permanently and exclusively yourself and invest the proceeds within a reasonable period in a replacement home in Switzerland used in the same way, you can request a deferral. The period is generally four years before or after the sale; holiday and second homes do not qualify (§ 109).

Security and deadlines

The cantonal tax administration calculates the expected tax. It must be deposited or secured by an irrevocable bank guarantee at the latest on the sale (§ 197 para. 1). You file the tax return within 30 days of the sale; the deadline can be extended (§ 161 para. 1). The tax is assessed by the cantonal tax administration (§ 124). The canton of Schwyz has no property transfer tax.

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 compile the documents, deed of sale, construction accounts, contractor and agent invoices, so that every deductible item is recognised. This calculator is not tax advice; the assessment by the cantonal tax administration is decisive.