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What most people overlook: selling one day before the anniversary of your land register entry costs a whole reduction step. Between year 6 and year 23, that is 4 per cent of the tax.
| Rule | In Thurgau | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Tax | 40 % of the gain, from the first franc, the same everywhere | § 135 StG |
| Church tax and municipality | nothing extra; their share is included in the 40 % | § 203(2) StG |
| Short ownership | plus 1 % for each month short of 3 years, at most 36 % | § 136(1) StG |
| Long ownership | minus 4 % from 6 years, plus 4 % for each further year | § 136(2) StG |
| Maximum reduction | 72 % from 23 years: the tax is 11.2 % of the gain | § 136(2) StG |
| Property transfer tax (Handänderungssteuer) | tax on the change of ownership: 1 %, paid by the buyer | §§ 137–141 StG |
Formula · § 135 Thurgau Tax Act
How is property gains tax calculated in Thurgau?
In Thurgau, property gains tax is 40 per cent of the gain. Gain means sale price minus acquisition costs (Anlagekosten): what the house cost you. There is no tax multiplier (Steuerfuss), a rate set by your municipality, unlike in some other cantons. A CHF 200,000 gain costs CHF 80,000 everywhere (§ 135 Tax Act1).
Then the holding period (Besitzdauer) counts, from the purchase's land register entry. Under three years, each missing month adds 1 per cent. From the 6th anniversary the tax falls 4 per cent, then 4 more each year. After 23 years the reduction peaks at 72 per cent: CHF 80,000 becomes CHF 22,400 (§ 1361).
What this means for you: the date sets the rate, not the gain's size. Whether CHF 50,000 or 500,000, it is 40 per cent before the holding period counts. For your parents, their land register entry counts, shown on the extract (Grundbuchauszug). In the calculator, enter full years; under three years, full months too.
Your land register extract shows how many years count. One figure is still open, and everything depends on it: your sale price. The valuation gives it as a range, justified in writing, and works it through to the amount you keep.
Acquisition costs · § 133 Thurgau Tax Act
Which deductions lower property gains tax in Thurgau?
In Thurgau, each documented franc for buying, selling or value-adding investments saves 40 centimes of tax after 3 to under 6 years. The longer you own, the less a receipt saves: 24 centimes after 15 years, just over 11 from 23 years. Value-adding work, say an extension, makes the house worth more. Selling costs include advertising and the usual agent's commission, if tax practice recognises it3.
The early repayment charge (Vorfälligkeitsentschädigung) counts too. It is the bank's fee when the sale ends your fixed-rate mortgage early. The tax practice (Steuerpraxis), the Tax Administration's rulebook, says so5. CHF 20,000 of it cuts the tax by CHF 4,800 after 15 years.
After more than 20 years, you may use the tax value (Steuerwert) from 20 years ago, the official valuation, plus later investments (§ 133(5)1). The calculator offers this from 21 full years and picks the cheaper. Gather the purchase contract, invoices and old tax papers before moving. The valuation's net calculation uses your receipts.
Worked example
Example: a detached house after 10 years, checked on the official calculator.
A house is sold after 10 full years. We ran the case on the Thurgau Tax Administration's tax calculator. Our calculator arrives at the same amount.
- Sale price
- CHF 1,100,000
- Acquisition costs: purchase price including buying costs
- CHF 800,000
- Value-adding investments, such as an extension
- CHF 50,000
- Property gain: 1,100,000 − 800,000 − 50,000
- CHF 250,000
- 40 % of the gain (§ 135)
- CHF 100,000
- Reduction after 10 full years: 4 % per year from year 6, so 5 × 4 % = 20 % (§ 136)
- minus CHF 20,000
- Property gains tax
- CHF 80,000
Deferral · § 129 Thurgau Tax Act
When does a replacement purchase defer property gains tax in Thurgau?
In Thurgau, the tax is deferred fully or partly if you buy a new home to live in, usually within 2 years. This is a replacement purchase (Ersatzbeschaffung), possible before or after the sale. You must live in both homes permanently and exclusively. Holiday or rental property does not count (§ 129 Tax Act1; tax practice StP 129 No. 44).
Only what the new home costs above your acquisition costs is deferred. Adapted from a Tax Administration example: acquisition costs CHF 800,000, new home 1,000,000. CHF 200,000 of gain is deferred, the rest taxed at once. Move into a smaller flat for CHF 700,000, and nothing is deferred.
What this means for you: deferred is not waived. Sell the new home later, and the deferred gain counts too (§ 133(4)). With the new home's price, the calculator shows what is deferred and what you pay now. Property transfer tax on the new home is waived up to the proceeds reinvested.
To be honest
When does waiting pay off in Thurgau, and when not any more?
In Thurgau, waiting pays in the first three years and just before an anniversary between years 6 and 23. A CHF 100,000 gain costs CHF 40,400 after 35 full months, CHF 40,000 from 36. After that, nothing changes until the 6th anniversary. One day before it there is still no reduction; on the anniversary the tax falls to CHF 38,400.
If you read «more than five years» somewhere: six full years count, as the law says. Month ends are tricky: if you bought on 31 March, the official calculator gives you no full month by 30 April. Whether the Tax Administration agrees is open; at most a 1 per cent surcharge is at stake. In hardship cases it can cut the surcharge by up to half; the calculator shows it in full.
After 23 years the reduction is used up; waiting changes nothing. Then your mortgage, next home and plans matter. Take time to check whether selling, waiting or keeping suits you. A valuation may honestly say «keep it».
Thurgau property gains tax: what do owners ask most often?
Is there a tax-free allowance for property gains tax in Thurgau?
No. Thurgau has neither an allowance (Freibetrag) nor an exemption limit (Freigrenze), that is, no amount up to which a gain stays tax-free. Every franc of gain is taxable (§ 135 Tax Act). So even small gains cost tax: a CHF 500 gain after 10 years means CHF 160. Without a gain, no tax is due.
Do I pay church tax on top of property gains tax in Thurgau?
No, the 40 per cent is the whole tax. Canton, municipalities and parishes share its revenue (§ 203(2) Tax Act). Your denomination and your municipality therefore do not change the amount. The official tax calculator asks for neither the municipality nor a tax multiplier.
How does the holding period count in Thurgau after an inheritance?
It carries on, for example from your parents' purchase. If they bought in 1995, a sale today receives the full reduction: the tax is 11.2 per cent of the gain. Inheritance, gifts and transfers between spouses do not interrupt the holding period (§ 131(2) Tax Act). Read what applies when you sell an inherited house.
Can I offset a loss against a property gain in Thurgau?
Yes, if the loss arose on a property in Thurgau. Losses from the same calendar year and the four years before can be offset, but not losses from other cantons (§ 134 Tax Act1; tax practice StP 134 No. 16). On the official calculator, a CHF 300,000 gain after 10 years costs CHF 96,000 in tax. With a CHF 40,000 loss from 2024 it is CHF 83,200; our calculator has no field for this.
How accurate is the calculator for the Canton of Thurgau?
Accurate to the franc, if your figures are right and the case is simple. It calculates like the Tax Administration's tax calculator; the worked example above gives the same amount there. It has no separate field for losses from other sales, for a former replacement home with deferred tax, or for a bank's early repayment charge. It simplifies the tax value from 20 years ago, and in hardship cases it shows the surcharge in full.
The result is a reference value, not a tax ruling. Your figures stay in your browser and are not sent to us, so you can run them for your parents too, in your own time.
Do I have to report the sale to the Thurgau Tax Administration myself?
No, you do not have to report the sale: land registry offices and notaries report every transfer within 14 days (§ 168(1) Tax Act). The Cantonal Tax Administration then sets the tax, not the municipality (§ 142). Keep receipts for the purchase, investments and selling costs to hand, as they lower the gain. You can work it out in advance with our calculator or the official tax calculator2.
Sources
- Thurgau Tax Act (Steuergesetz des Kantons Thurgau, StG, RB 640.1), §§ 126–142 and § 203, in German · version of 1 January 2025, retrieved 9 October 2026
- Property gains tax calculator (Steuerkalkulator Grundstückgewinnsteuer) of the Thurgau Tax Administration, in German · tax period 2026, retrieved 9 October 2026
- Thurgau tax practice (Steuerpraxis) StP 133 No. 1: acquisition costs, in German · edition 2026-09, retrieved 9 October 2026
- Thurgau tax practice (Steuerpraxis) StP 129 No. 4: replacement purchase of owner-occupied property, in German · edition 2026-09, retrieved 9 October 2026
- Thurgau tax practice (Steuerpraxis) StP 34 No. 9: fixed-rate mortgage, early repayment charge, in German · edition 2026-09, retrieved 9 October 2026
- Thurgau tax practice (Steuerpraxis) StP 134 No. 1: offsetting losses for property gains tax, in German · edition 2026-09, 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
