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Suppose you bought your house in Obfelden in 2007, at the then median of CHF 730,000. Across the canton, the house median at the time was CHF 780,000. So the Obfelden median was below the canton.
By 2025 that had turned round. The Obfelden house median was CHF 1,625,000, 2 per cent above the canton at CHF 1,590,000. Compared with 2007, that is more than double. For the price, that is good news. For the tax it means: more gain, so more tax.
Why is the tax in Obfelden higher than at the cantonal median?
Worked example
Worked example, Obfelden: house, 18 years of ownership
Assumption: bought in 2007 and sold in 2025, each at the Obfelden median for houses, without investments or costs. In 2007 there were only 7 flat sales, too few for a median.
- Sale price (median 2025, provisional)
- CHF 1,625,000
- Purchase price (median 2007)
- – CHF 730,000
- Property gain
- CHF 895,000
- Tax per tariff, before reduction
- CHF 347,400
- Reduction for 18 full years: 44%
- – CHF 152,856
- Property gains tax
- CHF 194,544
- Remaining after tax, before mortgage
- CHF 1,430,456
Why is the tax in Obfelden higher than at the cantonal median?
Because the village has caught up. In 2007 the Obfelden house median, at CHF 730,000, was below the cantonal one of CHF 780,000.2 In 2025, at CHF 1,625,000, it was above it. The canton stood at CHF 1,590,000. Buying and selling at the Obfelden median therefore brings a larger gain. At the cantonal median, the gain is smaller.
In the example, that is a gain of CHF 895,000 and tax of CHF 194,544.1 The tax takes 21.7 per cent of the gain and 12 per cent of the sale price. The tariff is the same across the canton. The larger gain raises the tax.
What this means for you: with a gain of this size, every receipt counts. Above CHF 100,000, each further franc of gain is taxed at 40 per cent. After the reduction for 18 years, that is about 22 centimes per franc. A documented extension or converted loft reduces the gain. Routine upkeep does not.1
How much does the period of ownership reduce the tax in Obfelden?
Considerably. From five full years there is a 5 per cent reduction. Each further year adds 3 percentage points, up to half from 20 years.1 Applied to the Obfelden gain of CHF 895,000: after 5 years, CHF 330,030 in tax, after 10 years CHF 277,920.
After 15 years it is CHF 225,810, after 18 years, as in the example, CHF 194,544. From 20 full years, CHF 173,700 is due. A purchase in 2007 reaches that threshold in the course of 2027, depending on the month of the original transfer.
Selling again within the first year, on the other hand, adds a 50 per cent surcharge.1 What this means for you: a sale is not purely a tax question. Your circumstances and the condition of the house count just as much. But if the 20-year threshold is only a few months away, check the dates in your purchase contract closely.
What changes if you leave Obfelden after the sale?
The Obfelden tax rate is 118 per cent, 213 per cent including the canton.3 Only six of the 62 municipalities I describe here are higher. It applies to income and wealth, not to the property gains tax.
On the same income, Wettswil means about 14 per cent less cantonal and municipal tax, Affoltern am Albis about 2 per cent more.3 If the proceeds sit in your account after the sale, they are part of your wealth. Your new municipality taxes that too, at its own rate.
Staying in the village means keeping your tax rate. In 2025 a flat cost a median of CHF 1,249,000, from 23 sales.2 A house cost 1.3 times as much, as in the canton. The medians are CHF 376,000 apart. What this means for you: if you move away, factor in the new tax rate, not just the price of the next flat.
| Indicator | Obfelden | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price (16 sales) | CHF 1,625,000 | 2025, provisional |
| Median condominium price (23 sales) | CHF 1,249,000 | 2025, provisional |
| Median house / flat (19 / 36 sales) | CHF 1,155,000 / CHF 781,900 | 2015 |
| Residential building land per m² (cantonal model) | CHF 1,456 (2015: CHF 840) | 2025, provisional |
| Residents, of whom 65 and over | 6,066, of whom 1,095 (18.1%) | 2025 |
| Tax rate municipal / total, excl. church | 118% / 213% | 2026 |
| Bus and train from Obfelden, alte Post to Zürich HB | from 40 minutes (bus 217, 1 change) | October 2026 timetable |
| Municipal value capture levy | 30% of the gain in value minus CHF 100,000 | in force since 12.10.2022 |
What applies to the value capture levy in Obfelden?
Since 12 October 2022, Obfelden has levied 30 per cent of the gain in value minus CHF 100,000 on planning benefits.6 Plots under 1,200 square metres are exempt unless the gain in value exceeds CHF 250,000. 1,200 square metres is the smallest threshold the law allows.8 This means gains from upzoning or rezoning, not the normal rise in a house’s value.
Payment is only due on development.9 If the plot changes hands first, the buyer carries the obligation forward, recorded in the sale contract.8 The method of calculation is shown in the guide value capture levy.
The larger the gain, the more a careful calculation before the sale pays off. I check your purchase date and receipts and show you what remains after tax.
Prefer to talk? +41 76 325 11 95 – you speak directly with Dominik Devaja.
Estate agent in Obfelden
Selling in Obfelden with Immosmile: four phases, one contact person
I support sales throughout the Canton of Zurich, including Obfelden. 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 Obfelden worth?
What else do owners in Obfelden ask?
How do I find the right estate agent in Obfelden?
Ask to see what remains after tax and costs before the first listing goes out. I handle sales across the whole Canton of Zurich. Make sure an agent derives the valuation and calculates the tax with your purchase date. More checkpoints are in the 12 checking questions.
How do you get from Obfelden to Zurich?
Obfelden has no railway station. From the Obfelden, alte Post stop, bus 217 runs to Affoltern am Albis. With one change you reach Zürich HB from 40 minutes. Only three of the 62 municipalities I describe here take longer.
Does selling my house in Obfelden trigger a value capture levy?
No, the sale does not. It concerns upzoned or rezoned plots from 1,200 square metres, smaller ones only with a gain in value above CHF 250,000. It only falls due on development. If it is open, it is recorded in the sale contract.
Nearby
Selling property in neighbouring municipalities
Sources
- Tax Act of the Canton of Zurich (StG ZH, LS 631.1), §§ 205, 219, 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: Obfelden, alte Post – Zürich HB, fastest connection departing 09:00–09:59 · 2026 timetable, queried for 20 and 22.10.2026
- Municipality of Obfelden: building and zoning regulations, art. 41b «Kommunaler Mehrwertausgleich», in German · in force since 12.10.2022, retrieved 15.10.2026
- Canton of Zurich, Office for Statistics and Data: property prices in the Canton of Zurich (KTZH_00003158), residential building land, model value per municipality in CHF/m², in German · data as of 2025/Q4, 2022–2025 values provisional, retrieved 14.10.2026
- Value Capture Act of the Canton of Zurich (MAG, LS 700.9), §§ 6, 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
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
