Selling property in the Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden
Selling in Appenzell Innerrhoden: only one office notarises the sale.
The office in Appenzell does not accept a purchase contract from a Zurich notary. We calculate what you keep after tax under the Innerrhoden Tax Act.
As of September 2026 · Tax Act of the Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden (GS 640.000), as of 1 January 2024, checked against the original on 30 September 2026.
What most people overlook: after more than twenty years of ownership, the old purchase price is not all that counts.
Tax when you sell
Selling a house in Appenzell Innerrhoden: how much tax do I pay?
In Appenzell Innerrhoden, property gains tax (Grundstückgewinnsteuer) on a house sale runs in bands from 10 to 40 per cent. It taxes the gain, not the sale price. Gain means sale price minus investment costs (Anlagekosten). These are the purchase price and value-adding improvements.
The tax falls after five full years' ownership and halves after twenty (Article 109, Innerrhoden Tax Act, as of 1 January 2024). Ignoring improvements and selling costs, a CHF 200,000 gain after 25 years costs CHF 34,700, not 69,400. Selling in Zurich would mean the same tax, with two differences. Only gains under CHF 4,000, not 5,000, are tax-free, and each month short of three years adds 1 per cent.
What this means for you: after more than twenty years, you can choose. Bought 1995, sold 2026: the officially assessed value from 2006 may replace the purchase price, if higher (Article 107(5)). Conservatory invoices from the last twenty years lower the gain. Our Innerrhoden tax calculator deducts them.
You know the old purchase price and have the receipts. What is missing is today's price, and the valuation estimates it. Then we calculate the tax under Article 109 of the Innerrhoden Tax Act, using your years of ownership and receipts. We deduct the mortgage repayment and selling costs. You get this net calculation in writing, for your family and before you sign in Appenzell.
Process and notarisation
What is different about selling a house in Appenzell Innerrhoden compared with Zurich?
In Appenzell Innerrhoden, a house sale is notarised (Beurkundung) and signed only at the Land Registry and Inheritance Office (Grundbuch- und Erbschaftsamt). A contract from a Zurich notary cannot enter the land register (Grundbuch), the official record of owners. The office accepts no outside notarisation. We accompany you to the office appointment: our four-phase sale.
Unlike Zurich, Innerrhoden charges 1 per cent transfer tax (Handänderungssteuer). The buyer owes it (Articles 116 and 119, Tax Act). If they default, the seller is liable too. You deposit the expected property gains tax as security before registration (Article 160(4)).
What this means for you: if your permanent home, used only by you, funds a new Swiss home, you can defer the tax. This replacement purchase (Ersatzbeschaffung) lets you buy first: up to a year before selling (Article 41, Innerrhoden Tax Ordinance). If the new home costs less than the proceeds, the rest is taxed at once. Then staying can work out better; the six-question home check helps you weigh this.
What is different here
What you should know about selling in Appenzell Innerrhoden.
Selling to your children: full transfer tax.
If you sell to your children, the full 1 per cent transfer tax applies. There is no exemption between parents and children. Exemptions include spouses and a community of heirs (Erbengemeinschaft) registered within two years of the death (Article 118, Tax Act). Here too, the buyer owes the tax: your child.
Five districts, one property gains tax.
The districts mainly look after building and roads. In the wider village area of Appenzell, the Feuerschaugemeinde, a special municipality, handles building and fire inspection instead. Property gains tax, by contrast, is set by the canton itself, with no local multiplier (Steuerfuss). So it is the same in every district (Articles 3(3) and 120, Tax Act).
Under three years, every month counts.
If you bought less than three years ago, the tax rises by 1 per cent for each missing month. The increase is capped at 36 per cent (Article 109(3), Tax Act). Sell after exactly two years, and twelve months are missing: the tax rises by 12 per cent. To be honest: with such short ownership, waiting can work out better.
Districts
Which municipalities are there in Appenzell Innerrhoden?
In Innerrhoden, the five districts (Bezirke) are the political municipalities. Oberegg is an exclave, separate from the rest of the canton. Population as at 31 December 2025, according to the canton.
Getting there
From the office at Bahnhofplatz Zurich
By train from Zurich HB; to Oberegg by train and bus. Fastest connection on a weekday from 9 am (SBB timetable 2026, checked on 30 September 2026; note the timetable change in December).
- Zurich HB → Gonten 102 min · 1 change
- Zurich HB → Oberegg 107 min · 2 changes
- Zurich HB → Appenzell 112 min · 1 change
- Zurich HB → Weissbad 117 min · 1 change
Questions from the Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden
What owners here want to know.
How high is property gains tax in the Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden?
10 to 40 per cent of the gain, in bands (Article 109(1), Tax Act). That is 10 per cent on the first CHF 4,000 and 40 per cent on the part above CHF 100,000. After five full years the reduction is 5 per cent, rising by 3 percentage points a year to 50 per cent at twenty years. Set by the canton with no multiplier (Steuerfuss), it is equal in every district (Articles 3 and 120).
Do I pay tax on a small gain in Appenzell Innerrhoden?
No, not if the gain is under CHF 4,000 (Article 109(4), Tax Act). This is a threshold (Freigrenze), not an allowance: from CHF 4,000, the whole gain is taxed, from the first franc. In our test on 29 September 2026, the official online calculator did not apply this threshold; the law is what counts.
Can I defer the tax in Appenzell Innerrhoden if I buy a new home?
Yes, on application, if you replace the house or flat you live in permanently and exclusively with another such home in Switzerland. Tax is deferred only on the proceeds that go into it (Article 104(1)(f), Tax Act). You have until three years after the sale; buying up to a year before also counts (Article 41, Tax Ordinance). If you buy only after selling, tax already paid is refunded without interest.
Is there a transfer tax in the Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden?
Yes: 1 per cent of the purchase price, or of the market value (Verkehrswert) if higher (Articles 117 and 119, Tax Act). Market value means what a buyer would realistically pay. The buyer owes it, even if the contract has the seller pay (Article 116(4), Tax Act; Article 45, Tax Ordinance). If the buyer does not pay, the seller is also liable (Article 116(5)).
Who notarises the purchase contract in Appenzell Innerrhoden?
Only the Land Registry and Inheritance Office Appenzell (Grundbuch- und Erbschaftsamt). It is an official notary's office (Amtsnotariat): a public office that notarises purchase contracts itself and does not accept outside notarisations. Notarisation and registration each cost 0.1 per cent of the value at which the house changes hands (Articles 11 and 14, Fee Schedule). The minimum is CHF 60 for notarisation and CHF 100 for registration.
Inherited a house in Appenzell Innerrhoden: which purchase price and which years of ownership count?
As a rule, your parents' purchase price and the years since they bought. Inheritance, gifts and advances on inheritance (Erbvorbezug), meaning a share given during their lifetime, only defer the tax (Articles 104 and 105, Tax Act). If your parents bought more than twenty years ago, you may choose. Instead of their purchase price, the officially assessed value from twenty years ago then counts, if higher (Article 107(5)).
As an estate agent from Zurich, do you also handle sales in the Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden?
Yes, from the Immosmile GmbH office at Bahnhofplatz 1 in Zurich, 1 hour 52 minutes from Appenzell by train. Managing director Dominik Devaja calculates your property gains tax under the Innerrhoden Tax Act and stays your only contact until you sign. In 2026 we sold a two-family house in Innerrhoden on a building lease (Baurecht), meaning on someone else's land. It was a complicated case with a parish right of first refusal, completed cleanly at the second attempt after the first buyer fell through.
What does buying cost in the Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden?
Transfer tax (Handänderungssteuer) 1 %, owed solely by the buyer (Art. 116, 119 StG AI). Land registry and notarisation fees come on top. For a purchase price of CHF 1 million, the buyer pays CHF 11,000 to 12,000, depending on the purchase contract and excluding mortgage notes (as of 30 September 2026).
All eight cantons and a calculator: purchase costs by canton.
Sources
- Tax Act of the Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden (GS 640.000) (German)
- Tax Ordinance of the Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden (GS 640.010) (German)
- Notarisations – Land Registry and Inheritance Office Appenzell (German)
- Fee Schedule of the Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden (GS 172.513) (German)
- Districts – Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden (German)
- Innerrhoden in figures – Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden (German)
General information, not tax advice. You receive the exact calculation for your property in the free valuation.
Your contact for the Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden
How much do you keep in Appenzell Innerrhoden after tax? Call me.
Selling your own home or asking for your parents? From Bahnhofplatz Zurich, I am in Appenzell in 1 hour 52 minutes by train. You get an honest assessment – even if it says «wait».
