Taxes

Real estate ownership has tax consequences. The following taxes need to be considered for personal assets:

Buying	During ownership	On selling

Conveyancing tax Depending on the canton to be borne by the seller or buyer, or divided equally between them up to approx. 3% of the selling price in some cases, none (canton of Zurich)	Income tax Rental income received is subject to tax. For owner-occupied housing, a rental amount (imputed) is added to taxable income, and mortgage interest can be deducted (limited to gross investment income plus CHF 50,000).	Property gains tax Per canton/local authority. Short ownership is taxed at a considerably higher rate, long ownership gets preferential treatment (in the canton of Zurich, for example, there is a 50% tax increase for ownership under one year).
Land registry and notary fees Differs depending on the canton, up to approx. 1%, mostly on market value.	Indirect amortization The amount paid into a pillar 3a account can be deducted from taxable income and subsequently used to amortize the mortgage. Withdrawals from pillar 3a receive preferential tax treatment.	Conveyancing tax Depends on the canton to be borne by the seller or buyer, or divided equally between them up to approx. 3% of the selling price in some cases, none (canton of Zurich)
	Renovations/maintenance Expenditure which preserves (but does not increase) value can be deducted from taxable income. This can be done either as a lump-sum allowance or as per the actual expenditure.	Land registry and notary fees Differs depending on the canton, up to approx. 1%, mostly on market value.