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Selling a house in Meilen often goes with the idea of a fresh start with less effort. A flat, perhaps in a municipality with lower prices, closer to the children. The idea behind it is simple: what you save on the purchase stays in the bank.
This sum has a second side. Meilen has a municipal tax rate of 79 per cent. In 46 of the 47 Zurich municipalities with a lower house median, the tax rate is higher, sometimes considerably. Leave that out, and you spend part of the saving again, year after year.
And what does it cost if you leave Meilen after the sale?
Worked example
Worked example, Meilen: house, 18 years of ownership
Assumption: bought in 2007 and sold in 2025, each at the Meilen median for houses, without investments, costs or replacement purchase.
- Sale price (median 2025, provisional)
- CHF 2,955,005
- Purchase price (median 2007)
- – CHF 1,500,000
- Property gain
- CHF 1,455,005
- Tax per tariff, before reduction
- CHF 571,402
- Reduction for 18 full years: 44%
- – CHF 251,417
- Property gains tax
- CHF 319,985
- Remaining after tax, before mortgage
- CHF 2,635,020
How reliable is the Meilen house median?
It rests on 20 house sales in 2025.2 Half were above, half below. With an even number of sales, the median is the average of the two middle prices. That explains the odd figure of CHF 2,955,005. One or two different sales would already have shifted it.
Compared with 2015, the house median is 58 per cent higher; it was CHF 1,870,000 then, from 24 sales. The flat market is broader. 51 condominiums were sold on the open market in 2025, at a median of CHF 2,400,000. That is exactly double the cantonal median.2
What this means for you: the median shows that Meilen is one of the canton’s expensive municipalities. For your house it is only a rough guide. Plot, condition and fittings can make a large difference here.
What does moving away from Meilen cost in income tax?
Tax on the sale gain does not depend on where you live. It follows the same tariff throughout the canton; the municipality only levies it.1 The tax rate, by contrast, affects your income and wealth tax after the move.
Meilen is at 79 per cent, 174 per cent including the canton.3 Zollikon and Küsnacht are slightly lower. In Horgen, across the lake, you would pay about 6 per cent more cantonal and municipal tax on the same income. In Regensdorf it is about 22 per cent more, church tax excluded.
What this means for you: a lower purchase price at your new home is only half the calculation. With pensions, investment income and assets, the tax rate adds up every year. Work out both over ten or twenty years before you commit. Thalwil, incidentally, is just below Meilen at 173 per cent.
| Indicator | Meilen | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price (20 sales) | CHF 2,955,005 | 2025, provisional |
| Median condominium price (51 sales) | CHF 2,400,000 | 2025, provisional |
| Median house / flat (24 / 77 sales) | CHF 1,870,000 / CHF 1,780,000 | 2015 |
| Residential building land per m² (canton’s model) | CHF 2,998 (2015: CHF 1,832) | 2025, provisional |
| Residents, of whom 65 and over | 14,943, of whom 3,220 (21.5%) | 2025 |
| Tax rate municipal / total, excl. church | 79% / 174% | 2026 |
| Train from Meilen to Zürich HB | from 14 minutes (S 7) | 2026 timetable |
| Municipal value capture levy | 20% of the gain in value minus CHF 100,000 | in force since 01.05.2025 |
What remains after tax, and what matters to buyers in Meilen?
In the example, property gains tax takes CHF 319,985, which is 10.8 per cent of the sale price. After 20 full years of ownership it would be CHF 285,701 for the same gain, because from then on the tax is halved.1 Documented investments such as an extension lower the gain further.
In Meilen, 3,220 people are 65 or older, 21.5 per cent of the population.4 If you bought your house decades ago, you already receive the full reduction of 50 per cent. For buyers who commute into the city, the train matters. From Meilen the journey to Zürich HB takes from 14 minutes, on the S 7.5
What this means for you: did you buy more than 20 years ago? Then you may use the market value of 20 years ago instead of the old price.1 With a very old purchase price, this often lowers the gain considerably. It is worth checking carefully before the sale.
What applies to the value capture levy in Meilen?
Since May 2025, Meilen has charged its own levy: 20 per cent of the gain in value minus CHF 100,000.6 Plots under 2,000 square metres are generally exempt.6 The municipal assembly decided this in December 2024.
It is only charged on the rise in value from upzoning or rezoning, and only on development.9 Selling beforehand passes the obligation to the buyer. The sale contract must say so.8 With 20 per cent and an exempt area of 2,000 square metres, Meilen has one of the mildest rules in the canton. Only 2 of the 75 municipalities with a confirmed rate charge less. More in the guide to the value capture levy.
Sale, tax and your next home belong in the same calculation. I put it together for you, with your figures.
Prefer to talk? +41 76 325 11 95 – you speak directly with Dominik Devaja.
Estate agent in Meilen
Selling in Meilen with Immosmile: four phases, one contact person
I support sales throughout the Canton of Zurich, including Meilen. 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 Meilen worth?
What else do owners in Meilen ask?
Why is the Meilen house median not a round figure?
With 20 sales, the median is the average of the two middle prices. That produces a figure like CHF 2,955,005. It is also provisional, like all figures for the last three years.
Does it matter for tax where I live after the sale?
Not for property gains tax, which follows the same tariff throughout the canton. For income and wealth, the tax rate of your new municipality applies after the move.
Can I defer the tax if I buy again?
Yes, if you lived in the house permanently and exclusively yourself and buy or build a home for the same use in Switzerland within a reasonable period. Only as much is deferred as the proceeds used for it.
How do I find the right estate agent in Meilen?
With only 20 house sales a year, the median says little about your house. So ask every agent how they derive your price. I handle sales across the whole Canton of Zurich. What matters is evidence, a written net calculation and a look at the tax at your new home. 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, 219, 220(2), 221, 225, 226 (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: Meilen – Zürich HB, fastest connection departing 09:00–09:59 · 2026 timetable, queried 14.10.2026 for 20 and 22.10.2026
- Building regulations of Meilen, art. 1B (value capture levy), added by municipal assembly decision of 09.12.2024, in German · in force since 01.05.2025, 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), §§ 6, 7, 19, 20, in German · retrieved 09.10.2026
- Value Capture Ordinance of the Canton of Zurich (MAV, LS 700.91), § 21, 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
