Zinssätze die seit 18.12.2024 gelten

The National Council has decided to expand the obligation to pay property transfer tax and to introduce a reclassification surcharge. The new regulations will come into effect as of July 1, 2025.

Property Transfer Tax

A central focus in the area of property transfer tax is the equal treatment of asset deals and share deals in transactions involving partnerships and corporations with domestic real estate in their assets. While in a share deal shares in a company are transferred, in an asset deal individual economic goods, such as real estate, are sold.
Currently, property transfer tax is incurred for partnerships when 95% of the shares are transferred to new partners within 5 years. This regulation has been extended to corporations and the period has been increased from 5 years to 7 years.

Previously, property transfer tax was also incurred in a share deal when at least 95% of the shares in a company owning real estate were consolidated in one hand. In the future, this threshold will be reduced to 75%. Additionally, indirect share acquisitions in companies owning real estate can also trigger property transfer tax. To determine the amount of indirect participation, the percentage shares at each level are multiplied together. If the calculation results in an indirect participation of 75% or more, a taxable event for property transfer tax is triggered. In the future, for the definition of "consolidation in one hand", the corporate group will no longer play a role; rather, it will focus on the acquirer group. Exceptions are provided in this regard for restructuring within a group of companies.

Increase in Tax Rate and Assessment Base

Another point is the increase in the tax rate and assessment base for share transfers and conversions related to real estate companies. Real estate companies are companies whose focus is on the sale, rental, and management of real estate. The property transfer tax for transactions of such companies will be raised from 0.5% of the property value to 3.5% of the fair market value (= market value). For non-real estate companies, the property transfer tax remains unchanged at 0.5% of the property value. Companies owning real estate are also exempt from the increase if all participating shareholders before and after a share transfer/consolidation (or conversion) belong to the privileged group (family association).

Reclassification Surcharge for Property Income Tax (ImmoESt)

In the future, capital gains will be taxed at a higher rate with ImmoESt when properties are sold that have been reclassified from agricultural land to building land, for example. A reclassification surcharge of 30% will be added to the profits from the sale of the reclassified land (but not the buildings). The reclassification surcharge is only to be considered to the extent that the sum of the sale profit and the reclassification surcharge does not exceed the sale proceeds (capping). The new regulation applies to sales after June 30, 2025, provided that the reclassifications occurred after December 31, 2024.