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What most people overlook: without the inflation adjustment, the tax in this example would be CHF 7,500 higher.
| Rule | In Basel-Landschaft | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Tax rate | 3 % to 25 %, one rate for the whole gain; 12 % at CHF 30,000, 20 % at CHF 70,000 | § 80(1) StG |
| Top rate | 25 % on the whole gain, from CHF 120,000 | § 80(1)–(2) StG |
| Inflation | Purchase price times a conversion factor (official inflation factor), e.g. 1.03 for a purchase in 2010; inflation counts by half | § 21 StG, § 3 Decree |
| Short ownership | Surcharge of 1 2/3 % for each month short of 5 years, at most 100 % | § 80(3) StG |
| Ownership over 20 years | Market value 20 years ago (Verkehrswert vor 20 Jahren), if higher; owner-occupied, a deduction of up to CHF 50,000 | §§ 77 and 78bis StG |
| Property transfer tax (Handänderungssteuer) | 1.25 % each for seller and buyer, exemptions possible | §§ 82 and 84 StG |
Formula · § 80 Basel-Landschaft Tax Act
How is property gains tax calculated in Basel-Landschaft?
In Basel-Landschaft, one rate of 3 to 25 per cent applies to the whole gain. The gain is your sale price minus what the house cost you in total (Anlagekosten). On CHF 100 the rate is just over 3 per cent; on CHF 120,000, 25. In between, it rises a little with every full CHF 100.
A CHF 30,000 gain is taxed at 12 per cent, CHF 70,000 at 20. From CHF 120,000, 25 per cent applies to the whole gain, in every municipality. Sell within five years, and the tax rises by 1 2/3 per cent per missing month. After three years, that is 40 per cent more (§ 80 Tax Act).
What this means for you: above CHF 120,000, a quarter of the gain goes in tax. The gain after inflation counts. Ownership counts in days, from your entry in the land register (Grundbuch) to the buyers'. Other cantons differ: calculate property gains tax in other cantons.
The formula is in the law, and the factors are in the canton's table. What remains open is the figure everything rests on: what your house will fetch today. The valuation gives it in writing, with a net calculation: what you keep after tax, mortgage and selling costs. You know it before you sign anything.
Inflation · § 21 Basel-Landschaft Tax Act
How does inflation lower property gains tax in Basel-Landschaft?
In Basel-Landschaft, a conversion factor (Umrechnungsziffer) multiplies your old purchase price, such as 1.03 for a 2010 purchase. This offsets half the inflation since you bought, so your gain shrinks. For 2026 sales, factors range from 1.00 (purchases from 2024) to 1.59 (1975).
Investments are raised too, each with the factor for its invoice year; selling costs get no factor. Bought over 20 years ago? Then the market value 20 years ago counts, if higher. The tax administration sets this value. For 2026 sales it is multiplied by 1.05 (§§ 21 and 77 Tax Act).
What this means for you: on a 2010 purchase for CHF 1 million sold for CHF 1.5 million, the factor saves CHF 7,500. A gain within the factor's offset stays tax-free. Buy in 2015 for CHF 1 million, sell in 2026 for CHF 1.03 million, and you pay nothing. Its factor of 1.04 lifts the price to CHF 1.04 million.
Worked example
Example: a house owned since 1993, sold in 2026 for CHF 1.4 million.
A married couple have lived in their house since 1993, which they bought for CHF 500,000. Suppose the tax administration sets the market value 20 years ago at CHF 800,000. This is how the tax builds up step by step.
- Sale price
- CHF 1,400,000
- Market value 20 years ago, 800,000 times factor 1.05 (higher than the purchase price)
- minus CHF 840,000
- Selling costs, without a factor
- minus CHF 35,000
- Home-owner deduction: 13 years lived in after the 20th year of ownership, at most 50,000
- minus CHF 50,000
- Taxable gain, rate 25 per cent
- CHF 475,000
- Property gains tax
- CHF 118,750
Deductions · §§ 78 and 78bis Tax Act
Which costs lower property gains tax in Basel-Landschaft?
In Basel-Landschaft, buying and selling costs, documented value-adding investments and a home-owner deduction of up to CHF 50,000 lower the tax. Value-adding work, like an extension, makes the house worth more. What you deducted from income tax does not count twice. Buying costs include notary, land register and the old transfer tax.
Where the market value 20 years ago applies, only investments since then count. That value already contains the original buying costs. After more than 20 years of ownership, you receive the home-owner deduction. It is CHF 5,000 per year you lived there after year 20 of ownership. The maximum is CHF 50,000 (§§ 78 and 78bis Tax Act).
What this means for you: at 25 per cent, the full deduction saves CHF 12,500. Our calculator enters investments cautiously, without a factor; with one, the tax falls slightly. Find your purchase contract and tradesmen's invoices before the move. The written valuation of your house uses them in its net calculation.
Deferral · § 73 Basel-Landschaft Tax Act
When is property gains tax deferred in Basel-Landschaft?
In Basel-Landschaft, tax is deferred if you sell your own home and buy another within 2 years. This is a replacement purchase (Ersatzbeschaffung). It must be in Switzerland, as your permanent home. Buying up to two years earlier counts too, as does land you plan to build on (form 301 PV).
If the new home costs at least your proceeds, all is deferred; otherwise only part. If it costs no more than your old price plus investments, buying and selling costs, nothing is deferred. Official example: bought for CHF 500,000, sold for CHF 750,000, new home CHF 600,000. CHF 150,000 stays taxable (Merkblatt Ersatzbeschaffung).
What this means for you: moving to a cheaper flat leaves some or all of the gain taxable. Deferred is not waived: the next sale picks it up. Inflation's effect on a partial deferral is open; the calculator shows a range. If all proceeds go into the new home, your seller's transfer tax falls away (§ 82 Tax Act).
To be honest
When is waiting worth it in Basel-Landschaft – and when not?
After five years of ownership, waiting does little for the tax. The factors barely change; from 2025 to 2026, only two moved. After the 20th year of ownership, each year you live there lowers the tax by at most CHF 1,250. Then your mortgage, your next home and your plans decide. Take your time to check whether selling, waiting or keeping suits you.
Short ownership is different: under five years, waiting almost always pays off on the tax. A CHF 91,000 gain costs CHF 28,155 after 36 months, and CHF 20,111 from 60 months. Each month earlier costs around CHF 335 more here. How the tax administration counts in borderline cases is not entirely settled: a difference of one month is possible.
Basel-Landschaft property gains tax: what do owners ask most often?
How accurate is the calculator for Basel-Landschaft?
Very accurate if your figures are right, but a reference value, not a tax ruling. It uses the formula in the law and the 2026 factors, and rounds down like the tax assessment (Veranlagung), the tax decision. Because you enter the holding period in whole years, for a purchase late in the year it sometimes takes the factor of the year before or after.
Example: bought in December 2014 for CHF 1 million, sold in 2026 for CHF 1.5 million, no costs. With 11 years entered, the calculator shows CHF 115,000 instead of CHF 117,500. Under five years, the month count can also differ by one month.
For ownership over 20 years, the official market value is usually missing. Without it, the calculator shows the highest possible tax, an upper limit and not your tax: in the example above, CHF 197,500 instead of CHF 118,750. Your actual tax is therefore the same or lower.
For a replacement purchase it shows a range, and it does not add up several sales in the same year. What counts is the assessment by the cantonal tax administration.
Is there a tax-free allowance for property gains tax in Basel-Landschaft?
No. There is neither a tax-free allowance nor an exemption limit; the very first franc of gain is taxable. On a CHF 100 gain the rate is 3.03 per cent, the tax CHF 3 (§ 80 Tax Act). What stays tax-free is what the conversion factor offsets as inflation and, after more than 20 years in a home you live in, the home-owner deduction of up to CHF 50,000.
Does property gains tax in Basel-Landschaft depend on the municipality?
No. The rates are set in the cantonal Tax Act and are the same in every municipality; there is no municipal tax multiplier, a factor set by each municipality. The cantonal tax administration sets and collects the tax (§ 120 Tax Act).
Who pays property transfer tax in Basel-Landschaft?
Both sides pay this levy on a change of ownership: seller and buyer 1.25 per cent of the purchase price each, 2.5 per cent in total (§ 84 Tax Act). On CHF 1.4 million, that is CHF 17,500 each. The buyer is exempt if they live in the house permanently themselves. The seller is exempt if they put all the proceeds into a new home they live in themselves (§ 82 Tax Act).
After an inheritance in Basel-Landschaft, do my parents' years count for the home-owner deduction?
No. For the deduction of up to CHF 50,000, only years in which you yourself were the owner and lived in the house count. Years in your parents' house before you owned it do not count; apart from your own, only your spouse's years as owner are included (§ 78bis Tax Act; Steuerbuch 78 No. 2). Read what applies when selling an inherited house.
Does the calculator for Basel-Landschaft store my entries?
No. The calculator works in your browser, and your figures are not sent to us. Nobody will call you because of it. So you can also run the figures for your parents, in your own time.
Do I then have to sell with you?
No. The valuation and the first conversation are free and without obligation. That holds even if our recommendation in the end is to keep the house.
Sources
- Basel-Landschaft Tax Act (Steuergesetz, StG, SGS 331), §§ 21, 69–85 and 120, in German · version since 1 January 2023, retrieved 9 October 2026
- Decree on the Tax Act (Dekret zum Steuergesetz, SGS 331.1), §§ 3 and 20, in German · version since 1 April 2011, retrieved 9 October 2026
- Basel-Landschaft Tax Administration: Baselbieter Steuerbuch, volume 3 (property gains and property transfer tax), chapters 73 No. 1, 77 No. 1 and 78 No. 2 (PDF, in German) · chapters up to 3 July 2026, retrieved 9 October 2026
- Basel-Landschaft Tax Administration: 2026 index conversion factors for the acquisition value (Index-Umrechnungsziffern, PDF, in German) · 8 January 2026, retrieved 9 October 2026
- Basel-Landschaft Tax Administration: guidance note on the market value 20 years ago (Merkblatt Verkehrswert vor 20 Jahren, PDF, in German) · January 2026, retrieved 9 October 2026
- Basel-Landschaft Tax Administration: guidance note on replacement purchases of owner-occupied homes (Merkblatt Ersatzbeschaffung, PDF, in German) · 9 March 2015, retrieved 9 October 2026
- Basel-Landschaft Tax Administration: reporting form 301 PV for property gains and property transfer tax, properties held privately (Meldeformular, PDF, in German) · form identifier 301 PV 170427 (as of 27 April 2017), retrieved 9 October 2026
General information without guarantee, not individual advice. The law, the tax assessment and advice from professionals for your situation are what count. Terms of use
