Transfer Duty in Geneva: Rate, Payment, Casatax and Calculator

Transfer duty in Geneva is a cantonal tax on transfers of real property ownership against payment, referred to as transfers for consideration, which Geneva law classifies among registration duties under the name sale duty. It is levied on the value of the home at a rate of 3% and is settled separately from the mortgage loan.

This article covers the applicable rate, the amount due on a given purchase price, its basis, who owes it, when it is due, the Casatax reduction for a primary residence, and purchases outside the scope of transfer duty. A calculator lets you work out the exact amount due for a Geneva purchase, including the Casatax reduction.

What is the transfer duty rate in Geneva?

The transfer duty rate in Geneva is 3% of the value of the property. No additional centimes are added to it.

The Geneva law on registration duties (rsGE D 3 30) sets this rate in its article 33 paragraph 1, and its article 49 rules out any collection of additional centimes on the real estate sale duty. The canton officially calls it the sale duty and includes it within registration duties, while buyers and banks call it transfer duty.

The 3% duty applies to all transfers for consideration of ownership, bare ownership or usufruct of real property located in the canton of Geneva, in particular sales, substitutions of buyer, adjudications, contributions in kind and takeovers of property. The rate stays the same regardless of the sale price, with no bracket-based scale.

For an apartment bought for 800,000 francs, the sale duty comes to 24,000 francs before the Casatax reduction.

How much is transfer duty on your purchase?

The calculator below works out the transfer duty due on a Geneva purchase, including the Casatax reduction.

For a price of 1,000,000 francs, the duty comes to 30,000 francs gross, i.e. 9,076 francs after deducting the Casatax reduction of 20,924 francs applicable to deeds executed since 1 March 2026.

The net duty comes out of the buyer's cash on hand. The mortgage loan is calculated on the property's lending value, and registration duties are not included in this value: the buyer pays them to the notary, who settles them with the registration authority.

This duty is added in full to the equity required by the bank, which does not finance it.

At 1,400,000 francs, the duty is 42,000 francs, compared with 20,924 francs owed just below the transaction's price cap.

What amount is transfer duty calculated on?

Transfer duty is calculated on the price stated in the deed of sale or on the property's value at market price, known as its market value, with no deduction whatsoever for mortgage debts (LDE art. 35 para. 1).

The assessment base is the total price: a mortgage note taken over from the seller does not reduce the taxable base. Any charges expressed as a capital sum placed on the buyer are added to it. Two situations remove part of the price from the 3% rate.

• Furniture sold with the home. The duty applies to the entire price at the real estate rate, unless a separate price is stipulated for movable items, listed and valued item by item in the contract or in an appended schedule (LDE art. 58 para. 1). This movable-property price falls under the 1% duty (art. 52 para. 1).
• A home not yet built. The 3% rate applies to the value of the land and that of the construction already completed at the date of transfer; the remainder of the construction still to be completed falls under the 1% duty as a works contract (LDE art. 83 para. 2).

Who pays transfer duty in Geneva?

The buyer pays transfer duty in Geneva: the law places the duty relating to deeds transferring real property ownership on the new owners (LDE art. 163 para. 1).

The notary pays the tax to the State before the deed is registered and passes it on to the buyer (LDE art. 161 para. 1 let. a and art. 163 para. 1).

A clause to the contrary in the sale contract is valid between the parties only, and is not enforceable against the registration authority (LDE art. 163 para. 3). A buyer who obtains a contribution toward the duty from the seller is negotiating an element of the price: the 3% burden remains on the new owner.

What the law says (art. 163 para. 3 LDE): "No provision to the contrary is enforceable against the registration authority."

When do you have to pay transfer duty?

You have to pay transfer duty before the deed of sale is registered, meaning before it is entered in the land register (LDE art. 161 para. 1).

The notary must then file the deed for registration within 10 days of its date (LDE art. 154) and is personally liable for payment of the duty, interest and fines (art. 161 para. 3). This liability explains the advance payment the notary asks the buyer for before filing the deed.

As an exception, the law allows the notary to pay in a single batch the duty on deeds filed during the previous calendar month, no later than two business days after being notified of their duty account (art. 161 para. 2). The land registrar accepts no application that is not registered or that does not result from a registered title (art. 136 para. 2). Registration, which alone effects the transfer of ownership (Civil Code art. 656 para. 1), takes place after payment of the duty.

A lack of funds blocks registration of the deed and the transfer of ownership. The director of the registration authority grants an extension of payment deadlines in exceptional circumstances (LDE art. 162).

The timeline below follows the money and the deed, from the advance payment given to the notary through to registration in the land register.

What fees are added to transfer duty?

The fees added to transfer duty in a Geneva purchase are three items of a different nature.

• Land register fee: 0.21% of the price, capped at 40,000 francs per transaction (REmORFDIT art. 3), the administrative charge for registration.
• Notary's fee: a degressive bracket-based scale (REmNot art. 10), amounting to 5,200 francs for a deed of 1,000,000 francs, the remuneration of a public officer.
• Mortgage deed: a registration duty of 0.65%, raised to 1.365% by additional centimes, plus a land register fee of 0.085% of the claim.

The notary passes on to the State the tax portion and the land register fee. The firm keeps only its own fee, which is degressive and below 1% of the price according to the Geneva Chamber of Notaries, the only part of notary fees in the strict sense subject to value added tax, at the standard rate of 8.1%.

What conditions qualify you for the Casatax reduction?

The conditions that qualify you for the Casatax reduction are four in number, and cumulative (LDE art. 8A).

• The property serves as the buyer's primary residence.
• The value of the transaction does not exceed the legal price cap.
• Proof of use reaches the tax authority within two years of the deed being registered.
• Occupancy then continues uninterrupted for three years.

The price cap for the transaction and the reduction follow the Geneva construction price index each year. Based on an index of 115.5 points, the price cap for the transaction stands at 1,394,928 francs and the reduction at 20,924 francs for deeds executed from 1 March 2026 (RDE art. 1). Exceeding the cap by even one franc forfeits the entire Casatax reduction.

The chart below shows this cliff-edge effect: up to the cap, the duty due stays under 21,000 francs; one franc higher, it suddenly doubles.

The reduction cuts the registration duty on the mortgage deed by half, including additional centimes, within the same limits.

Do you have to repay the Casatax reduction if you resell within three years?

Yes, the beneficiary must repay the Casatax reduction if they resell within three years: the uncollected balance of the duty becomes immediately payable (LDE art. 8A para. 3). Only the beneficiary's death is an exception.

Proof of use is filed on the declaration-of-actual-use form, together with a certificate of residence from the Cantonal Population and Migration Office. An incomplete declaration triggers a reassessment of the duty.

Does a gift or an inheritance trigger transfer duty?

No, a gift or an inheritance does not trigger transfer duty in Geneva: the 3% sale duty applies only to transfers for consideration (LDE art. 33 para. 1).

A transfer with no corresponding consideration falls under gift duty (LDE art. 11), at a rate based on the degree of family relationship (LDE art. 19 to 23), which fully exempts the spouse and relatives in the direct line (LDE art. 27A).

A transfer resulting from a death falls under Geneva inheritance duty (LDS of 26 November 1960), from which the surviving spouse and heirs in the direct line are exempt (LDS art. 6A).

Division among heirs and the division of matrimonial property are subject to a duty of 1 per thousand, with a minimum of 10 francs (LDE art. 62).

Is transfer duty higher in Geneva than elsewhere in Switzerland?

Yes, transfer duty is higher in Geneva than in most Swiss cantons. Geneva's rate of 3% exceeds Bern's 1.8% and stays below Vaud's 3.3%, which combines a 2.2% cantonal share with up to 1.1% at the communal level. Zurich and Zug limit themselves to a land register fee, and Schwyz levies no transfer duty at all, according to the Federal Tax Administration.