Selling property in Möhlin: a 30 per cent levy on new building land

Official statistics on prices paid are missing for Möhlin. The Canton of Aargau does not collect them by municipality, unlike the Canton of Zurich. What portals quote for Möhlin are asking prices, not prices paid.

What is on record is the stock: Möhlin has 2,509 buildings with residential use in the Rheinfelden district. 1,755 of them are single-family houses, or 69.9%. The cantonal figure is 65.9%. Möhlin ranks 6 of 14 in the Rheinfelden district. In total, Möhlin has 5,153 dwellings. 47.1% were built before 1981, against 51.8% in the canton. 28.7 hectares of 323.2 hectares of building zone are undeveloped, or 8.9% (as of 2022). For the share of undeveloped zone, Möhlin ranks 57 of 196 in the canton.

The price of your house in Möhlin depends on location, plot and building, measured against similar sales. The free assessment gives you a written price range with its reasoning.

Möhlin uses its cantonal leeway in full. On land newly zoned for building, the levy is 30 per cent.¹² Cantonal building law allows municipalities no higher rate.¹³ For rezoning or upzoning that lifts a plot’s value by at least 30 per cent, a contract can set at least 20 per cent.¹² The assembly adopted it on 22 June 2023, and the canton approved it on 13 December 2023.¹² The levy is collected when the plot is sold or a building permit is granted.¹³ Owners whose plot received no such planning gain pay none of it on a sale.

Since 1 October 2026, Möhlin has had an advice centre for older residents at the municipal offices.¹⁴ It also includes the social insurance branch office, previously part of the municipal office.¹⁴ For owners considering a move, it is a first point of contact. Since 2014, a core-zone commission has advised the council on key building projects.¹⁵

In Möhlin, 1,182 of 2,509 buildings with residential use date from before 1981. That is 47.1%. Among the 196 municipalities in the canton, that is rank 102, counting from the highest share. In the Rheinfelden district: rank 5 of 14. Möhlin therefore has a lower share than the canton at 51.8%.

In Möhlin, oil or gas heats 1,245 buildings with residential use, 49.6%, against 51.8% in the canton. Among the 196 municipalities in the canton, that is rank 75, counting from the highest share. In Möhlin, a smaller share of houses uses oil or gas than in the canton.

For a sale in Möhlin, records of heating, roof and windows show what has been renewed; they belong in the sale documents. On 1 January 2029, the imputed rental value and maintenance deduction end in Möhlin, as everywhere, for owner-occupied homes.¹ Whether a renovation pays off first is explained in Renovate or sell.

Möhlin has 11,351 residents. 2,243 of them, 19.8%, are 65 or older, against 19.5% in the canton. Among the 196 municipalities in the canton, that is rank 95, counting from the highest share. In the Rheinfelden district: rank 10 of 14. Compared with Möhlin, the figure in Rheinfelden is 21.9%.

On 1 June 2026, 22 homes in Möhlin were empty, 0.43% of the stock, against 1.05% in the canton. Among the 196 municipalities in the canton, that is rank 40, counting from the lowest vacancy. The rate for Möhlin covers rented and owner-occupied homes, not the supply of houses.

The municipal tax rate of Möhlin is 112%. Among the 196 municipalities in the canton, that is rank 119, counting from the lowest tax rate. How Möhlin compares for the same income and wealth is shown in the municipality atlas. By public transport, Zurich HB is 57 minutes away from the Möhlin stop, with no change.

In Aargau, property gains tax falls with every full year of ownership. The rate drops from 40 per cent in year one to 5 per cent after 25 full years.² After more than ten full years, a house gets at least a flat-rate cost deduction: 80 down to 65 per cent of the sale price.³

If you sell your permanent and exclusive home, you can apply to defer the tax.² You must buy or build a new Swiss home within 2 years before or 3 years after the sale.² Only the reinvested proceeds are deferred.² Deferred does not mean waived: the next taxable sale also taxes this gain.²

Aargau has no classic transfer tax. Instead, the canton charges a land register levy (Grundbuchabgabe) on every sale: 4 per mille of the price.⁴ Buyer and seller are jointly liable; the law does not say who bears it.⁴

Only an Aargau notary (Urkundsperson) may notarise the sale contract.⁵