Buying in Zurich vs the UK: costs and taxes

In Zurich the purchase tax is pocket change and the hurdle is the deposit. Back home it's the other way round: lenders are friendlier, but stamp duty bites harder the moment you live abroad or own a second home.

The short version

Whether you can buy at all depends on your permit. Brits covered by the Citizens' Rights Agreement and C permit holders buy like the Swiss; newer B permit holders can buy only the home they live in [7].
The canton of Zurich charges no property transfer tax, just notary and land registry fees [9].
Swiss banks want about 20% of the price from your own funds, with at least 10% not from your pension fund [8].
In England, a Brit living in Zurich usually pays a 2% non-resident surcharge on stamp duty, and owning a Swiss flat adds the 5% higher rates [1][2].
The tax on imputed rent goes from 1 January 2029 [6].

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = CHF 1.10).

What a Brit can buy in Zurich, compared

Switzerland is the odd one out in Europe. Lex Koller, the federal law on property purchases by people abroad, exists to stop Swiss land "falling into foreign hands" [7], and since Brexit Brits split into groups:

Your situation	Your own home in Zurich	A second or holiday home
Living in Switzerland, covered by the Citizens' Rights Agreement (here before 2021)	No authorisation needed [7]	No authorisation needed while resident [7]
B permit, arrived from 2021	No authorisation if you live in it and don't let it [7]	Authorisation needed [7]
C permit	Same rights as Swiss citizens [7]	Same rights as Swiss citizens [7]
Living outside Switzerland, even if covered by the Agreement	Authorisation needed [7]	Authorisation needed, and very limited [7]

Holiday homes for foreigners are rationed by a national quota, and Zurich doesn't sell them to foreign nationals at all [7]. So a B permit holder in Wiedikon can buy the flat they live in, but not a chalet as well.

Back home, nobody checks your passport. Anyone can buy in the UK, wherever they live. In England and Wales, houses are usually freehold and flats usually leasehold. In Zurich, most buyers get a freehold flat in a building divided into owner units (Stockwerkeigentum), with a shared repair fund and owners' meetings: closer to share of freehold. Our guide to buying property in Switzerland has the full Lex Koller detail.

Upfront costs side by side

Zurich prices are steep, so here's a CHF 1.2 million flat against a £300,000 house in England, bought by a Brit living in Zurich.

	Zurich: CHF 1,200,000 flat (about £1,093,000)	England: £300,000 house
Foreign-buyer rules	Lex Koller, by permit [7]	None, but a 2% surcharge if you're not UK resident [1]
Transfer tax	None in the canton of Zurich [9]	SDLT £5,000 at standard rates [1]
Non-resident buyer	No change	£11,000, or £6,000 with first-time buyer relief [1]
You also own another home	No change	£20,000 at the higher rates, UK resident [1][2]
Non-resident and another home	No change	£26,000 [1][2]
Notary and land registry	Generally 1‰ of the value each, so about CHF 2,400 together (about £2,200) [9]	Solicitor's fees and HM Land Registry fee
Cash you need	About CHF 240,000 (about £219,000) of own funds [8]	Deposit set by the lender

The UK figures grow fast at Zurich-style prices. On a £1 million home in England, a non-resident pays £63,750 in stamp duty, and £113,750 if they also own a home elsewhere [1]. HMRC's higher rates apply if you'll own residential property worth £40,000 or more anywhere in the world [2], and your Zurich flat counts. You can reclaim the 2% if you then spend 183 days in the UK within a year of buying; see buying UK property from abroad.

Scotland and Wales have no non-resident surcharge, but Scotland adds a flat Additional Dwelling Supplement to LBTT for second homes, and Wales has higher rates of Land Transaction Tax. Check Revenue Scotland or the Welsh Revenue Authority for the current figures.

Financing: Swiss bank or UK lender?

In Switzerland, the rules are the same for locals and foreigners with the right permit. Expect to put in about 20% of the price yourself, and if you borrow, at least 10% must come from sources other than your pension fund [8]. The first mortgage usually covers about 65% of the price and a second mortgage takes you to 80%, normally at a higher rate [8]. Banks also test whether you could afford the home at a much higher notional interest rate than today's, so ask each bank how it does the sums. You can use Pillar 2 and Pillar 3a savings towards the deposit, with tax and retirement costs; our guide to Pillar 2 and Pillar 3a explains.

Back in the UK, borrowing while living in Zurich narrows the field. Many high-street lenders won't lend to people abroad or count franc income, and those that do tend to want a bigger deposit. See UK mortgages for Brits living abroad for the foreign-currency rules.

Owning it: property tax and running costs

In Zurich, the big yearly cost isn't a property tax but income tax on the Eigenmietwert, a notional rent you're treated as earning from your own home, offset by mortgage interest and maintenance deductions. That changes on 1 January 2029: the imputed rent tax goes, maintenance deductions for your own home go, mortgage interest stays deductible only for let property, and first-time buyers get a limited, temporary interest deduction [6]. Cantons may then charge a special tax on second homes [6]. Add wealth tax on the property's tax value less the mortgage, and the owners' fund for the building.

In the UK, council tax is the yearly bill. If the house sits furnished and empty while you're in Zurich, English councils can now charge extra on second homes, at their discretion, and councils in Scotland and Wales have their own premiums.

Let it out and the tenant usually pays council tax, while you join the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme. Your letting agent, or a tenant paying more than £100 a week, takes basic rate tax off the rent unless HMRC has approved you to be paid gross [4]. You apply on form NRL1 and file a Self Assessment return each year. Budget 2026 lists a property basic rate of 24% from 2027/28 [1]. Under the UK–Swiss convention, Switzerland exempts UK rent and gains the UK may tax, but can count them when setting your Swiss rate [5]. See renting out your UK home.

Tax when you sell

The Swiss side

In the canton of Zurich, the communes levy property gains tax (Grundstückgewinnsteuer) [10]. The rate rises with the size of the gain, there's a surcharge if you sell soon after buying, and the tax falls the longer you own, by up to half for very long ownership [10]. Your commune's tax office can give you the exact figures. Sell your own home and reinvest in a replacement home in Switzerland you'll live in, and the tax can be deferred, though not written off [10]. Moving back to Blighty doesn't count as a replacement.

The UK side

Selling your UK home while you live in Zurich. You must report the sale to HMRC within 60 days of completion and pay any tax in the same window, even if nothing is due [3]. Gains on residential property are taxed at 18% or 24% in 2026/27, with a £3,000 annual exempt amount [1]. The UK may tax gains on UK property under the treaty, and Switzerland exempts them [5]. Private residence relief can still cover years you lived there; our guide to selling UK property as a non-resident covers the 90-day test.

Selling your Zurich flat after moving back. Once you're UK resident again, the UK taxes your worldwide gains, measured in pounds at the exchange rates when you bought and sold, so a strong franc can enlarge the sterling gain. Switzerland may tax the gain too, and the treaty lets you credit the Swiss tax against the UK bill [5]. Private residence relief may help on a home you lived in, but that's general information. A tax adviser who knows both countries can check your case.

Which makes sense for whom

Settled in Zurich with a C permit or Agreement rights. You buy like a Swiss national, the purchase costs are tiny, and the gains tax falls with time.
On a B permit and a few years' contract. You can buy the home you live in, but the 20% deposit and the two-year surcharge make renting look sensible.
Keeping the UK house. Switzerland won't tax the rent, but the UK will, so sort NRL1 early and diarise the 60-day return for the sale.
Buying back in the UK from Zurich. At Zurich-sized budgets, the non-resident and additional-home rates add up to serious money. Time the purchase around your return if you can.

Compare mortgage interviews and Lex Koller tales in our community group for Brits in Switzerland.

Buying in Zurich vs back home: Lex Koller, a 20% deposit and almost no stamp duty