Buying your main residence in Geneva costs around 4% in acquisition costs on top of the price. Casatax is the cantonal scheme that offsets part of this: in 2026, up to CHF 20’924 less in registration duties, and the mortgage note at half price — provided you stay under the cap, and live in the property.
The 2026 figures, in effect since 1 March
According to the communication from the Geneva Council of State dated 4 February 2026:
- reduction in registration duties: up to CHF 20’924 (20’616 in 2025);
- costs related to the mortgage note: reduced by 50%;
- cap on the eligible purchase price: CHF 1’394’928 (1’374’396 in 2025).
One franc above the cap, and the benefit disappears entirely — there is no partial reduction.
How the cap has evolved, year by year
| Year | Purchase price cap | Maximum reduction |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | CHF 1’258’454 | CHF 18’877 |
| 2023 | CHF 1’335’749 | CHF 20’036 |
| 2024 | CHF 1’359’903 | CHF 20’399 |
| 2025 | CHF 1’374’396 | CHF 20’616 |
| 2026 | CHF 1’394’928 | CHF 20’924 |
The amounts are indexed each year to the Geneva construction price index — the scheme tracks the market.
The conditions, without which everything is repayable
- You are a private individual — not a company;
- the property becomes your main residence, in the canton of Geneva;
- the purchase price does not exceed the cap for the year;
- you occupy the property within 2 years of the purchase, and for at least 3 years.
Quick resale, letting, conversion into a secondary residence: the authorities can require repayment of the benefit. Casatax has to be earned over time.
What this changes, in francs
Geneva transfer duties represent around 3% of the price. On a property costing 1’300’000 francs, they amount to some 39’000 francs: with the maximum reduction, only around 18’000 francs remains — plus half of the mortgage note fees saved. For a first-time buyer counting their own funds, this is often the difference that closes the financing plan, since these costs cannot be financed through the mortgage.
What Casatax does not change
The scheme acts on acquisition costs — nothing else. It changes neither the price of the property, nor the mortgage rate, nor the bank’s requirements: the 20% own funds, at least half of which must come from outside the second pillar, and the affordability test remain unchanged. Casatax can, however, be combined with your other financing levers — savings, third pillar, LPP withdrawal or pledge — and this is precisely its value: it eases the part of the costs that cannot be borrowed.
Why the scheme exists
Geneva combines some of the highest prices in Switzerland with acquisition costs of around 4% that must come from own funds. For many households, the obstacle is not the monthly repayment but the initial capital. Casatax targets exactly this constraint: reducing the entry cost for those who buy to live in the property — and only them. Companies and buy-to-let investors are excluded by design.
How to obtain it: through the notary, before signing
Casatax is not applied automatically: it must be requested in the notarial deed. The notary checks the conditions and applies the reduction when the property is registered in the land registry. Hence the rule: raise it as early as the financing preparation stage, not on the day of signing.
The commitment lasts longer than you might think
Add the time frames together: you have up to two years to move in, then at least three years of occupation. A buyer who takes their time is therefore, in practice, committing to a period that can reach five years after signing. This is not a minor detail for someone whose job, family or country of residence might change.
And two rules hit the same exit. Reselling before three years of occupation exposes you to the clawback of Casatax; reselling before two years of ownership places the gain at the heaviest IBGI rate, 50%. They do not offset each other, they add up. If your time horizon is short, Casatax is not a benefit to seize: it is a constraint to weigh up.
The form people forget, and that takes everything back
Requesting Casatax from the notary is not enough to keep it. The canton grants it based on an intention — to live in the property — and then checks that this intention was carried out. This is the purpose of the declaration of effective use, set out in article 8A of the Registration Duties Act.
What it requires, precisely:
- one form per buyer — a couple buying together must file two, not one;
- filed with the cantonal tax administration, special taxes department, within two years of signing the deed;
- accompanied by a certificate of residence from the cantonal population office, dated no earlier than the date of taking possession;
- and proof of the move: a removal company invoice, mail redirection order, or equivalent.
Without these documents, the declaration is not processed — and an unprocessed declaration leads to a corrective tax notice: the benefit is clawed back. Twenty thousand francs lost for a certificate that was never requested, two years after a move whose invoice is no longer kept in mind.
The safeguard comes down to a single action, on moving-in day: keep the certificate of residence and the removal company invoice together in the same file, and set a reminder for eighteen months later. The two-year deadline seems comfortable; it passes without you noticing.
The advice that is worth as much as the scheme
If your budget is close to the cap, the negotiation takes on a different nature: dropping from 1’400’000 to 1’394’000 francs does not save you 6’000 francs — it saves you nearly 27’000, reduction and half-price mortgage note included. This is an objective negotiating point that the seller can understand. Look through our properties for sale and off-market listings for anything below the threshold, test your plan with the mortgage simulator, and talk to us about your project — technical terms are explained in the glossary. And to place Casatax within your overall budget — whether you are a seller or a buyer who will one day resell — the net seller proceeds simulator calculates the whole picture, including tax on the gain.