How high is the property gains tax in the canton of Zug?

Who pays the property gains tax in the canton of Zug, and who assesses it?

The property gains tax is owed by the seller; in the canton of Zug it is assessed not by the canton but by the municipality in which the property is located (§ 187 para. 2 and § 192 of the Zug Tax Act, StG ZG).

If several people sell together, for example a married couple in co-ownership or a community of heirs, they owe the tax according to their shares and are jointly and severally liable (§ 192 para. 2). The tax covers gains on land and property held as private assets: properties, apartments in condominium ownership, co-ownership shares and building rights (§ 188 and § 189). The competent authority is the property gains tax office of your municipality (Grundstückgewinnsteueramt); in the city of Zug it is the property gains tax division of the Finance Department (Abteilung Grundstückgewinnsteuern, Finanzdepartement). Because each municipality assesses the tax itself, practice can differ in detail; the wording of the law is the same everywhere.

How is the taxable gain calculated?

The taxable gain is the sale proceeds less the investment costs, that is the purchase price plus deductible expenses (§ 193 para. 1).

Decisive for the gain and the holding period is the last taxable transfer of ownership without a tax deferral (§ 193 para. 2). If plots or shares acquired at different times are sold together, the gain is determined separately for each plot (§ 197).

Which costs are deductible, and which are not?

Deductible is whatever has permanently increased the value of the property, together with the costs of purchase and sale, expressly including the estate agent’s commission (§ 196 para. 1).

• Buildings, conversions, site development and other permanently value-adding improvements, as far as paid to third parties (let. a)
• Planning costs such as building applications and preliminary projects (let. b), easements (let. c), mortgage certificates and the official valuation (let. d)
• Landowner contributions for utility lines, sewerage and perimeter charges (let. e)
• Documented estate agents’ commissions for purchase and sale, in the statute’s own wording Mäklerprovisionen, as well as advertising and brochure costs (let. f; the original wording is quoted in the German version of this guide)
• Transfer charges (let. g) and contract costs, for instance for the purchase contract or the condominium regulations (let. h)
• The added-value levy under the Planning and Building Act, for example after rezoning (let. l, since the version of 1 January 2026)

Added to this is the bank’s early repayment penalty if a fixed-rate mortgage is terminated early because of the sale: the canton of Zug’s guidance notes to the 2025 tax return expressly refer it to the property gains tax, and the municipality of Menzingen lists it in its supplement as deductible investment costs, excluding bank charges. The city of Zug does not mention the point in its explanatory notes; ask the property gains tax office before the sale.

Not deductible are your own labour that was not taxed as income and everything that is deductible for income tax, in particular interest on building loans (§ 196 para. 2), as well as, according to the municipalities’ explanatory notes to the tax return, value-preserving maintenance such as facade renovation, painting work or roof repairs. Only expenses within the relevant holding period count (§ 196 para. 4).

The municipalities require evidence: the purchase contract, the building account, tradesmen’s and estate agents’ invoices; without a receipt there is no deduction. According to their explanatory notes to the tax return, the city of Zug and the municipalities of Risch, Steinhausen and Menzingen allow estate agents’ commissions only up to 3% plus VAT; for the other municipalities in Zug, an enquiry at the property gains tax office before the sale clarifies whether the same cap applies. What remains after tax and costs is shown in seconds by the property gains tax calculator for the canton of Zug.

How high is the tax rate in the canton of Zug?

The tax rate equals the return converted to one year: the gain times 100, divided by the investment costs, divided by the holding period, at least 10% and at most 60% (§ 199).

So it is not the size of the gain that determines the rate, but its relation to the investment costs and the holding period. Up to five years the period is counted in months, beyond that in years; months and years begun count in full (§ 199 para. 2).

The maximum rate applies only if the annual return reaches it, that is with high gains over a short time. Arithmetically, § 199 para. 3 let. b gives this scale: up to 11 years 60%, 12 years 57.5%, 15 years 50%, 20 years 37.5%, from 25 years 25%; only in this way does the calculation 60 minus 14 times 2.5 come out at 25. Work through your own case with the property gains tax calculator.

Note for owners in the canton of Lucerne: if your property is in the canton of Lucerne, a different system applies. There the gain is taxed according to the income tax tariff and multiplied by 4.2 units, with a surcharge for less than six years of ownership and a reduction of up to 25% for more than eight years. Use the property gains tax calculator for the canton of Lucerne.

Worked example: what does a gain of CHF 300,000 cost?

An example with round figures, not a real transaction: anyone who bought a property for CHF 1,000,000 and sold it after 15 years for CHF 1,500,000 pays, with investment costs of CHF 1,200,000, the minimum rate of 10% on a gain of CHF 300,000, that is CHF 30,000.

Without the documented selling costs of CHF 50,000 the tax would be CHF 35,000: at the minimum rate, every documented franc saves 10 centimes of tax. How much the holding period weighs is shown by the same gain of CHF 300,000, simplified without further investment costs (purchase CHF 1,000,000, sale CHF 1,300,000, total return 30%):

When is the tax deferred?

The tax is deferred on inheritance, advancement of inheritance and gift, on transfers between spouses under matrimonial property or divorce law with the consent of both, on land consolidation and on the replacement purchase of owner-occupied residential property (§ 190 and § 191).

Deferral does not mean remission: at the next taxable sale, the purchase price and holding period of the last transfer that triggered the tax are used for the calculation (§ 193 para. 2 and § 195 para. 3). For heirs this is often an advantage, because the parents’ long holding period counts. More on this in the guide How does a community of heirs sell a house in the canton of Zug?

The replacement purchase requires that you have lived in the property permanently and exclusively yourself and that you invest the proceeds, as a rule within two years before or after the transfer, in a replacement property in Switzerland used in the same way (§ 191 para. 1 let. b). The part of the gain not reinvested is taxed at the rate for the total gain (§ 191 para. 2).

Which deadlines apply, and why is there a deposit at notarisation?

The tax return must be filed within 60 days of the transfer of ownership being registered with the land registry; the tax falls due with the provisional invoice and must be paid within 30 days (§ 200 and § 201).

The reason for the deposit: the buyer is jointly and severally liable for the property gains tax (§ 202 para. 1). That is why, at notarisation, a part of the purchase price equal to the presumed tax is deposited and settled after the assessment; the provisional invoice is usually paid from this deposit, and the difference between the provisional and the final amount bears interest in both directions from the 31st day after the provisional invoice, so any excess deposited comes back with interest (§ 201 para. 2 and 3). Whoever quantifies the tax beforehand sets the deposit realistically and knows the net sum.

The canton of Zug has no transfer tax; it charges only a land registry fee based on time spent: an hourly rate of CHF 180, charged per quarter hour begun. For transfers of ownership this fee is weighted by a factor of 4 until it reaches CHF 6,000; the time spent beyond that counts without the factor (§ 13 and § 14 para. 1 let. a and para. 3 of the Land Registry Fee Tariff Act, BGS 215.35). The other ancillary costs are shown in the guide What does it cost to sell a house in the canton of Zug?

What this means for your sale

In our mandates we calculate the presumed property gains tax before the property is advertised. The basis is the valuation with the IAZI/CIFI models that Swiss banks use: it shows the realistic market value and thus the expected gain; the holding period and the investment costs give the rate. So you know early which amount will be deposited and what remains net.

At the same time we prepare the file for the property gains tax office: purchase contract, building accounts, tradesmen’s invoices, receipts for advertisements and contract costs. The marketing (professional photography, drone footage, 360° tour (in German), sales brochure) leads to the price that determines the gain; our support up to notarisation ensures that the deposit and the deadlines are properly settled in the purchase contract.

Are you planning a sale in the canton of Zug? Start with a valuation of your property, read how we go about selling property in the canton of Zug, or get in touch with us. This guide does not replace tax or legal advice. The assessment by your municipality is decisive.

Sources

This guide does not replace tax or legal advice. The assessment of your municipality is decisive.