Property transfer tax Basel-Landschaft: rate, split and exemptions
The property transfer tax is the second tax that comes up when selling a house in the Baselbiet – alongside the property gains tax. It is easier to calculate, but often forgotten when buyer and seller estimate the net proceeds. And it has a feature few people know about: anyone who lives or will live in the house is, in many cases, exempt.
In brief
- Rate in the canton of Basel-Landschaft: 2.5 % of the purchase price
- Owed half each: buyer 1.25 %, seller 1.25 %
- Owner-occupied home: buyer exempt; seller exempt if they buy another home within 2 years
- No tax on inheritance, gifts, transfers between spouses and between parents and children
- Transfer tax paid later counts as investment cost for the property gains tax
What is the property transfer tax?
The property transfer tax is a cantonal levy on the change of ownership of a property. It is not charged on the gain but on the price: every time a property in the canton of Basel-Landschaft changes hands – through purchase, exchange or takeover of a majority in a real estate company – it becomes due. It is collected together with the entry in the land register; the notary’s office usually settles it directly.
Rate: 2.5 percent of the purchase price
In the canton of Basel-Landschaft the property transfer tax is 2.5 % of the purchase price. The purchase price includes everything the buyer provides – mortgages taken over, inventory sold with the contract or ancillary services. If no price is agreed or it is clearly below market value, the tax administration uses the official assessed value.
- Sale price CHF 800,000 → transfer tax total CHF 20,000
- Sale price CHF 1,200,000 → transfer tax total CHF 30,000
- Notary and land register fees are charged separately on top
Who pays: buyer and seller, half each
Unlike many other cantons, Basel-Landschaft splits the tax by law: 1.25 % each for the seller and the buyer. A different split can be agreed in the purchase contract – but both parties remain liable towards the canton. In practice: as seller you deduct 1.25 % of the price from your proceeds, as buyer you add 1.25 % to your purchase costs.
Exemption for owner-occupied homes
This is the point that saves the most money in the Baselbiet – and is most often overlooked:
- Buyer: anyone who buys a flat or house in order to live in it themselves is exempt from their share (1.25 %). The exemption must be applied for at purchase; if you do not move in later, the tax is charged retroactively.
- Seller: anyone who sells their owner-occupied home and invests the proceeds within two years in a new home that is again owner-occupied (replacement purchase) is also exempt from their share.
- The exemption does not apply to investment properties, building land, holiday homes and commercial properties.
When a family sells a single-family house to another family that moves in, the transfer tax can therefore disappear completely on both sides. Important: the application goes through the notary’s office – we prepare it with you.
Further exceptions: inheritance, gifts, family
- Inheritance and division of the estate: no transfer tax
- Gifts and advance inheritance: no transfer tax (gift tax is assessed separately)
- Transfers between spouses and between parents and children: exempt – for instance when the parents’ house is sold to a child
- Confederation, canton and municipalities as contracting party: exempt
- Restructurings of companies and replacement purchases of business premises: exempt
Worked example
Transfer tax total 2.5 % = CHF 22,500, of which seller CHF 11,250 and buyer CHF 11,250.
Case A – investment property: The flat was rented out and the buyer continues to rent it out. Both shares are due: CHF 22,500.
Case B – own home: The seller lived in the flat herself and buys a house in Sissach within two years; the buyer moves in himself. Both shares fall away: CHF 0.
Case C – mixed: Seller as in case B, the buyer rents the flat out. Seller exempt, buyer pays CHF 11,250.
The share paid by the seller later counts as investment cost for the property gains tax – as does the transfer tax they once paid on their own purchase.
How to proceed
- Before selling, check whether your share falls away: owner-occupied and replacement purchase planned within two years?
- Point the buyer to the exemption – an argument that supports the purchase price
- Set the split in the purchase contract; the standard in the Baselbiet is half each
- Keep the receipts: the transfer tax paid later reduces your property gains tax
- Roman Frey, our real estate fiduciary, checks the exemption and prepares the tax returns on a time basis, with a quote in advance
Questions on this topic.
How high is the property transfer tax in the canton of Basel-Landschaft?
2.5 % of the purchase price, owed half each by buyer and seller.
Do I have to pay the transfer tax as seller?
In principle 1.25 %. You are exempt if you lived in the property yourself and buy another owner-occupied home within two years.
Does the exemption also apply to a rented-out flat?
No. The exemption applies only to owner-occupied homes – not to investment properties, building land or holiday homes.
What is the difference from the property gains tax?
The transfer tax is levied on the purchase price and borne by both parties. The property gains tax affects only the seller and is calculated on the gain.
- Both taxes are settled by the notary’s office or the cantonal tax administration
- The transfer tax paid is deductible for the property gains tax
What about Basel-Stadt?
Basel-Stadt calculates differently: 3 % of the purchase price, usually borne by the buyer, with its own exceptions. Anyone selling or buying across the cantonal border should know both systems – we work it out for you.
Clarify taxes before selling?
We work through the transfer tax and the property gains tax with you – before you sign.
Let’s talk about your property.
Call or write to us – reply within 24 hours.
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