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What most people overlook: on top of the 15 per cent in the law, the municipality charges the same again.
| Rule | In Graubünden | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Exemption limit (Freigrenze) | Gains under CHF 4,600 a year are tax-free; from 4,600, the whole gain counts | Art. 52(3) StG |
| Scale (Tarif) | 5 % on the first CHF 9,919, then 1 percentage point more for each further band of CHF 9,919; from CHF 208,299, 15 % on the whole gain | Art. 52(1) StG |
| Municipal tax (Gemeindesteuer) | The same as the cantonal tax, so double in total; no tax multiplier (Steuerfuss), the factor municipalities otherwise use to set their tax | Art. 6(1) GKStG |
| Short ownership | Plus 2 % for each month short of 24 full months; under one full month, plus 48 % | Art. 53(2) StG |
| Long ownership | Minus 1.5 % per full year beyond 10 years, at most minus 51 % from 44 years | Art. 53(1) StG |
| Property transfer tax (Handänderungssteuer) | Tax on the change of ownership: a municipal matter, at most 2 %, paid by the buyer | Arts. 2, 10 and 12 GKStG |
Formula · Arts. 52 and 53 Graubünden Tax Act
How is property gains tax calculated in Graubünden?
In Graubünden, the cantonal tax is 5 to 15 per cent of the gain. The municipality charges the same, with no multiplier. The gain is the sale price minus acquisition costs (Anlagekosten): what the house cost you. The rate climbs like a staircase: 5 per cent on the first CHF 9,919, 6 per cent on the next, and so on.
From CHF 208,299, 15 per cent applies to the whole gain. Then the holding period (Besitzdauer) counts: how long you have owned it.
After over ten full years, the tax falls by 1.5 per cent per further full year, up to 51 per cent. Under two years, each missing full month adds 2 per cent; under one month, 48 per cent. Basis: Arts. 52–53 StG, Art. 6 GKStG.
What this means for you: without surcharge or reduction, you pay up to 30 per cent of the gain. Where the house stands in the canton makes no difference. Other cantons differ: property gains tax in other cantons.
The formula is in the law. What remains open is the figure everything rests on: what your house would fetch today. The valuation provides it in writing, with a net calculation: what you keep after tax, mortgage and selling costs. You know this before you sign anything.
Deductions · Inflation and selling costs
Which deductions lower property gains tax in Graubünden?
In Graubünden, the purchase price, documented value-adding investments and buying and selling costs lower your taxable gain. Value-adding means the work raised the value, such as an extension. The usual estate agent's commission counts, to the extent tax practice recognises it. End a fixed-rate mortgage just before the sale, and the bank's charge counts if no new loan follows.
If you bought before 2006, a supplement for inflation raises your purchase costs, incidentals included. It is 21 per cent for a 1990 purchase, 39 per cent for 1982 and 111 per cent for 1970. Investments get it by the year they were made (Art. 50 Tax Act; 2026 guidance notes, Wegleitung).
What this means for you: find the old purchase contract and builders' invoices before clearing out sends the folder to recycling. Removals, clearance and flat amounts without receipts do not count. In the example below, the supplement saves CHF 11,529. Our calculator applies it to the purchase price only, so pre-2006 investments make its result slightly too high.
Worked example
Example: a house bought in 1990, sold in 2026.
Purchase price CHF 300,000, sale price CHF 900,000, 36 full years of ownership. This is how the tax builds up step by step, under the 2026 scale.
- Purchase price plus 21 % for inflation (bought 1990)
- CHF 363,000
- Gain: 900,000 minus 363,000
- CHF 537,000
- Cantonal tax without reduction: 15 % on the whole gain (from CHF 208,299)
- CHF 80,550
- Reduction: 26 years beyond the first ten, 1.5 % each
- minus 39 per cent
- Cantonal tax
- CHF 49,135.50
- Municipal tax, the same amount
- CHF 49,135.50
- Property gains tax, canton and municipality
- CHF 98,271
Refund · New home
Do I get the tax back in Graubünden if I buy a new home?
Yes, in Graubünden you get the tax back if you buy a new home within 2 years. Condition: you lived in the house you sold and move into a new one in Switzerland. You pay first, then apply. This is called a replacement purchase (Ersatzbeschaffung).
The period starts with the sale or the new purchase, whichever comes first, and can be extended up to 3 years. You get back the tax on whatever the new home costs above what the old one cost you. It is only deferred: when you later sell the new home, that gain is taxed (Art. 46(3) Tax Act).
Example: CHF 200,000 gain after exactly ten years, acquisition costs 400,000, new home 500,000. CHF 100,000 stays taxed: CHF 19,089.20 instead of 58,340. CHF 39,250.80 comes back for canton and municipality.
Excluded are an inherited house you never lived in and second or holiday homes (2026 guidance notes). The calculator shows the effect under «Yes, replacement purchase».
To be honest
Graubünden property gains tax: when does waiting pay off, and when hardly at all?
If you have owned the house for more than ten years, each further full year brings 1.5 per cent less tax. On a CHF 200,000 gain that is CHF 875.10: CHF 58,340 after exactly ten years, CHF 57,464.90 after eleven. From 44 years, the tax falls no further.
Short ownership is different: under two years, waiting almost always pays as far as tax goes. A CHF 150,000 gain costs CHF 53,567.71 in tax after a few days of ownership, and CHF 36,194.40 after exactly two years. Here, each full month of waiting saves around CHF 724. Between two and ten years, waiting makes no difference to the tax.
Once a year of waiting brings only a few hundred francs, tax is no longer the deciding factor. Other questions matter then: when does your mortgage expire, where do you want to live, and what would your children like? A valuation's honest answer can also be «keep it». Take your time to check whether selling, waiting or keeping suits you.
Graubünden property gains tax: what do owners ask most often?
What percentage of property gains tax do you pay in Graubünden?
In Graubünden you pay up to 30 per cent of the gain, without a surcharge or reduction for the holding period. At most 15 per cent goes to the canton, the same again to the municipality. Gains from CHF 208,299 reach the full rate; the rate table above shows the bands.
On a CHF 100,000 gain, the rate is around 9.5 per cent for the canton and the same for the municipality. That makes CHF 19,089.20 in all. This assumes two to ten years of ownership, with no surcharge or reduction (Art. 52 Tax Act).
Is there a tax-free allowance for property gains tax in Graubünden?
No, there is an exemption limit (Freigrenze) of CHF 4,600, not an allowance (Freibetrag). Gains under CHF 4,600 a year remain tax-free; all gains of the year are added together. From exactly CHF 4,600, the whole gain is taxed, not just the part above. That makes CHF 460 for canton and municipality together (Art. 52(3) Tax Act; practice directive 052-01, a published interpretation rule of the Tax Administration).
What applies in Graubünden if I inherited the house?
In Graubünden your parents' years count too: inheritance and gifts do not interrupt the holding period. If your parents bought the house 36 full years ago, the tax on the sale falls by 39 per cent. This is set out in Art. 53(3) of the Tax Act and in practice directive 053-01. Read what applies when you sell an inherited house.
Who levies property gains tax in Graubünden: the canton or the municipality?
In Graubünden, both canton and municipality levy property gains tax, and in the same amount. Both taxes are assessed, that is, set, by the Cantonal Tax Administration (Art. 6 GKStG). According to the 2026 guidance notes, you return the form you are sent, the property gains tax return, within 90 days.
If you sell several properties in the same year, the canton sets its rate by the gain across the whole canton. The municipality counts only the gains within that municipality.
How accurate is the calculator for Graubünden?
It uses the 2026 scale and is as precise as the canton's online calculator. You choose the holding period in full years, and under two years in full months. The result is a reference value, not a tax ruling.
There are three limits. The holding-period slider goes up to 40 years. If you have owned the house longer, you receive up to 51 per cent reduction, and the calculator shows the tax slightly too high. It calculates investments without the inflation supplement, which can also show the tax too high.
It derives the purchase year for this supplement from the full years. Example: bought in October, sold in March. It then takes a year too late, and the tax comes out slightly too high.
One special case: if you sell exactly one day before the anniversary of your purchase, the canton's online calculator sometimes already counts one more full year. For you, that would mean at most 1.5 per cent less tax. How the Tax Administration counts this day has not yet been settled.
Does the Graubünden calculator 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.
Sources
- Tax legislation 2025 with indexed amounts, Graubünden Cantonal Tax Administration (Arts. 50–53 StG), in German · as of 1 January 2025, amounts unchanged for 2026; retrieved 9 October 2026
- Municipal and Church Tax Act (Gesetz über die Gemeinde- und Kirchensteuern, GKStG), BR 720.200, in German · retrieved 9 October 2026
- Guidance notes on property gains tax 2026 (Wegleitung zur Grundstückgewinnsteuer), Graubünden Cantonal Tax Administration, in German · 2026, retrieved 9 October 2026
- Practice directive (Praxisfestlegung) 052-01: tax rate and aggregate gains, in German · retrieved 9 October 2026
- Practice directive (Praxisfestlegung) 053-01: holding period, in German · as of 1 May 2026
- Practice directive (Praxisfestlegung) 044-01-a-01: replacement purchase of owner-occupied property, in German · retrieved 9 October 2026
- Practice directive (Praxisfestlegung) 049-01-c-01: estate agents' commissions, in German · as of 1 February 2024; retrieved 9 October 2026
- Practice directive (Praxisfestlegung) 049-01-c-02: incidental costs of sale and acquisition, including the early repayment charge (Vorfälligkeitsentschädigung), in German · as of 1 February 2024; retrieved 9 October 2026
- Online property gains tax calculator of the Canton of Graubünden, in German · 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
