What are the purchase costs when buying a property in Switzerland?

All the purchase costs are payable by the purchaser. The vendor does not pay. When you come to sell your property you do not pay notary fees.

Switzerland is one of the cheapest countries in Europe to buy or sell a property. The total purchase fees (which include the notary’s fee, land registry fees and taxes) are between 2.5% and 5% of the purchase price and vary from Canton to Canton. Notaries fees and buyer's taxes are set by the local authorities in Switzerland and will be determined on a charging scale depending on factors such as mortgage, purchase price. Approximate total costs are below:

Canton Bern (Lauterbrunnen, Wengen and Grindelwald)

• Total purchase costs are 3% of the purchase price.

Canton Graubünden

• Total purchase costs are 2.5% of the purchase price.

Canton Uri (Andermatt)

• Total purchase costs for newbuild purchases in Andermatt are 0.4% of purchase price. This is split between buyer & vendor.

Canton Valais (Saas Fee, Verbier etc.)

• Total purchase costs usually range from 2.5% to 3.8% of the purchase price

Canton Vaud (Gstaad and Villars)

• Total purchase costs are 5% of the purchase price

Mortgage registration

This is charged on a sliding scale which varies in different cantons. In Canton Valais it is usually a sliding scale starting at 1% until 200k CHF, 0.8% until 500k and approximately 0.7% over 1m CHF. In Canton Vaud it is calculated on a sliding scale starting at 0.6% of the amount borrowed but decreasing to 0.44%. When buying a resale property you may take over the existing mortgage deed and avoid the charge for registration. You could borrow from the same bank as the vendor or they could pay the loan off and you can use the mortgage deed to borrow from another bank.

Canton Bern (Lauterbrunnen, Wengen and Grindelwald)

• Total purchase costs are 3% of the purchase price.

Canton Graubünden

• Total purchase costs are 2.5% of the purchase price.

Canton Valais (Saas Fee, Verbier etc.)

• Total purchase costs usually range from 2.5% to 3.8% of the purchase price

Canton Vaud (Gstaad and Villars)

• Total purchase costs are 5% of the purchase price

Notaries fees and buyer's taxes are set by the local authorities in Switzerland and will be determined on a charging scale depending on factors such as mortgage, purchase price.


Information correct as of 1st January 2024. This may change as rules and regulations change often, so please contact us directly if you have any specific enquiries.