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With a house in Küsnacht, everyone talks about the sale price. Agents, neighbours, sometimes the children. Hardly anyone talks about the tax on the gain, even though much of it is decided before the first listing appears.
A house bought in 2007 at the then median of CHF 1,900,000 and sold in 2025 at the median of CHF 6,205,000 costs CHF 958,384 in property gains tax. How much of that you can influence depends on a few dates and decisions.
Which levers legally reduce a tax of this size?
Worked example
Worked example, Küsnacht: house, 18 years of ownership
Assumption: bought in 2007 and sold in 2025, each at the Küsnacht median for houses, without investments, costs or replacement purchase.
- Sale price (median 2025, provisional)
- CHF 6,205,000
- Purchase price (median 2007)
- – CHF 1,900,000
- Property gain
- CHF 4,305,000
- Tax per tariff, before reduction
- CHF 1,711,400
- Reduction for 18 full years: 44%
- – CHF 753,016
- Property gains tax
- CHF 958,384
- Remaining after tax, before mortgage
- CHF 5,246,616
What does the Küsnacht price level mean for your sale?
Küsnacht is the most expensive market of all Zurich municipalities with an official house median. A house cost a median of CHF 6,205,000 in 2025, against CHF 1,590,000 for the canton.2 A condominium cost CHF 2,998,000. Compared with 2015, the house median is 110 per cent higher, with 24 sales in each year.
At prices this high, houses vary widely. A median of CHF 6,205,000 says little about whether your house is worth three million or nine. But it shows one thing clearly: a house here fetches over twice the price of a flat. Across the canton the factor is 1.3.
What this means for you: moving from a house to a flat in Küsnacht frees up a lot of capital. The two medians are CHF 3,207,000 apart. But exactly this move has tax consequences you should know beforehand.
Which levers legally reduce the tax in Küsnacht?
The period of ownership. From 20 full years the tax is halved.1 With the same gain as in the example, CHF 855,700 would be due instead of CHF 958,384. Waiting two years would save more than CHF 100,000 here.
The old purchase price. If you bought more than 20 years ago, you may use the market value of 20 years ago instead of the original price.1 This often lowers the gain considerably. Documented investments, such as an extension, also count.
The deferral. Did you live in the house permanently and exclusively yourself? If you then buy or build a home for the same use in Switzerland within a reasonable period, the tax is deferred.1 But only to the extent the proceeds are used for it. If the new home costs less than the proceeds, part of the gain remains taxable at once. What this means for you: plan the timing and your next home together, before you sell.
| Indicator | Küsnacht | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price (24 sales) | CHF 6,205,000 | 2025, provisional |
| Median condominium price (53 sales) | CHF 2,998,000 | 2025, provisional |
| Median house / flat (24 / 39 sales) | CHF 2,952,750 / CHF 1,875,000 | 2015 |
| Residential building land per m² (canton’s model) | CHF 4,522 (2015: CHF 2,478) | 2025, provisional |
| Residents, of whom 65 and over | 15,142, of whom 3,551 (23.5%) | 2025 |
| Tax rate municipal / total, excl. church | 73% / 168% | 2026 |
| Train from Küsnacht ZH to Zürich HB | from 13 minutes (S 16) | 2026 timetable |
| Municipal value capture levy | waiver adopted, approval pending | municipal assembly 22.06.2026 |
Who sells in Küsnacht, and what matters after the sale?
In the Meilen district (11 municipalities), Küsnacht has the third-highest share of people 65 and over, after Stäfa and Hombrechtikon. 3,551 people are 65 or older, 23.5 per cent.4 8.9 per cent are 80 or older. At this age a sale is often a family decision, in which children or heirs have a say.
After the sale, the tax rate of your new home matters, for income and wealth.3 Küsnacht is at 73 per cent, 168 per cent including the canton. Of all 160 municipalities in the canton, only Zumikon and Kilchberg are lower, Herrliberg ties. On the same income, Zollikon means about 2 per cent more cantonal and municipal tax, Meilen about 4 per cent more. With substantial assets, these are noticeable sums.
For buyers who commute into the city, the train matters. From Küsnacht ZH the journey to Zürich HB takes from 13 minutes, on the S 16.5 What this means for you: involve everyone with a say early, with the same written figure.
Is Küsnacht waiving the value capture levy?
It has decided to. On 22 June 2026 the municipal assembly adopted a partial revision of the building and zoning regulations and waived a municipal levy, against the proposal of the municipal council.6 The Building Department has not yet approved this revision.7 The current building and zoning regulations contain no article on the levy.6
Without its own decision, a municipality charges no municipal levy.8 It would in any case only affect plots that are upzoned or rezoned. More in the guide to the value capture levy.
With a gain in the millions, every hour of preparation pays off. I calculate your tax with your purchase date, your receipts and your next home.
Prefer to talk? +41 76 325 11 95 – you speak directly with Dominik Devaja.
Estate agent in Küsnacht
Selling in Küsnacht with Immosmile: four phases, one contact person
I support sales throughout the Canton of Zurich, including Küsnacht. Through all four phases you have one contact person: me, Dominik Devaja, managing director of Immosmile. You pay nothing beforehand. Our fee falls due only when you sign the contract at the notary (Beurkundung).
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Clarity
Independent valuation, net calculation after taxes and costs, a look at what comes after. You decide on figures, not on hearsay.
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Preview
Before anyone sees your house, film, photography and exposé are produced. Then we show it to vetted buyers first – not yet on the portals.
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Market decision
You receive the demand report and every offer immediately. Then you choose the path to the best price: accept, bidding round – or the broad public phase on the portals, the normal case.
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Completion & move
Notary appointment, key handover, documents for what comes after – and, if you wish, guidance into your next home. Our fee only falls due now, with the notarised deed.
The full process in detail What is your property in Küsnacht worth?
What else do owners in Küsnacht ask?
Does Küsnacht’s low tax rate mean less tax on my gain?
No. Property gains tax follows the same tariff throughout the canton. The tax rate only applies to income and wealth.
How reliable are the 2025 Küsnacht prices?
They are official but still provisional. According to the canton, this applies to the figures for the last three years. With medians in the millions, even a small correction can mean a lot of money.
What applies if we inherited the house?
The inheritance itself does not trigger property gains tax. On a later sale, the acquisition by the deceased usually counts, with their period of ownership. More on the page about inheritance.
How do I find the right estate agent in Küsnacht?
In Küsnacht the tax quickly runs into hundreds of thousands of francs. Whoever advises you should therefore put a figure on it early, together with the timing and your next home. I handle sales across the whole Canton of Zurich. Look for a derived valuation, evidence and a written net calculation. The 12 questions help you compare.
Nearby
Selling property in neighbouring municipalities
Sources
- Tax Act of the Canton of Zurich (StG ZH, LS 631.1), §§ 205, 216(3), 219, 220(2), 221, 225 (Nachtrag 132), in German · as of 1.4.2026, retrieved 14.10.2026
- Canton of Zurich, Office for Statistics and Data: Freihandverkäufe von Immobilien inkl. Medianpreisen seit 2007 (KTZH_00000077) · data as of 2025/Q4, 2023–2025 values provisional, retrieved 14.10.2026
- Canton of Zurich, Statistical Office: municipal tax rates 2026, in German · as of 24.03.2026, final
- Canton of Zurich, Statistical Office: population by municipality and age (KTZH_00000254) · year 2025, retrieved 14.10.2026
- SBB online timetable: Küsnacht ZH – Zürich HB, fastest connection departing 09:00–09:59 · 2026 timetable, queried 14.10.2026 for 20 and 22.10.2026
- Municipality of Küsnacht: partial revision of the land-use plan, explanatory report (levy waived, municipal assembly 22.06.2026), in German · retrieved 14.10.2026
- Building Department, Canton of Zurich: status of value capture levies in the municipalities (map), in German · as of 10.10.2026, retrieved 14.10.2026
- Value Capture Act of the Canton of Zurich (MAG, LS 700.9), §§ 19, 29, in German · retrieved 09.10.2026
- Government Council, Canton of Zurich: RRB No. 42/2026, cantonal tax rate 2026 (95%), in German · dated 14.01.2026
- Canton of Zurich, Office for Statistics and Data: dataset «Immobilienpreise im Kanton Zürich» (KTZH_00003158), residential building land in CHF/m², in German · as of 2025/Q4 (transfer statistics, published 4.5.2026), 2022–2025 values provisional, retrieved 14.10.2026
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
