Tool 01 For buyers
What buying costs, on top of the price.
The same home, the same price, four countries. Taxes, notary and registers, agency: the items the buyer pays, each with its source. In Italy, buying from a private seller, the taxes can be calculated on the cadastral value instead of the price.
Your assumptions, in Italy
Luxury homes, villas and castles do not get the main-home relief; bought from a company they pay 22% VAT.
This is an example figure, not data: enter the one in the cadastral record (visura).
In the province of Novara the custom recorded by the Chamber of Commerce is 3% from each party, plus 22% VAT. It is a 2005 custom, not a legal cap: the signed agreement is what counts.
- Italy · Lake Ortaat least €44,740
7.46% of the price · plus, being checked: notary
- Switzerland · canton of Zurichat least €1,200
0.2% of the price · plus, being checked: commission
- Germany · Bavariaat least €21,000
3.5% of the price · plus, being checked: notary and Grundbuch, commission
- Austriaat least €27,681
4.61% of the price · plus, being checked: contract and escrow, commission
In Switzerland fees and minimums are in francs: we apply them to the same figure, without conversion. The comparison holds as a percentage of the price.
Italy: at least €44,740; Switzerland: at least €1,200; Germany: at least €21,000; Austria: at least €27,681
Line by line
| Item | Who pays | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration tax, 9% On the cadastral value of €252,000 (income × 1.05 × multiplier), minimum €1,000. | buyer | €22,680 | agenziaentrate.gov.it |
| Mortgage and cadastral taxes €50 + €50, fixed, on a sale by a private seller. | buyer | €100 | agenziaentrate.gov.it |
| Notary There is no tariff: since 2012 the fee is agreed, with a written quote. By custom the buyer chooses and pays the notary. | buyer | being checked | notariato.it |
| Commission, 3% + VAT 22% Custom of the province of Novara: 3% from each party, unless agreed otherwise. | buyer | €21,960 | pno.camcom.it |
| Total for the buyer | at least €44,740 | ||
How we calculate
Italy, from a private seller: registration tax 9%, or 2% for a main home, with a minimum of €1,000; fixed mortgage and cadastral taxes, €50 + €50. Under the prezzo-valore rule the base is the cadastral value: income × 1.05 × 120, or × 110 for a main home. Without the income the item stays out of the total.
Italy, from a company: VAT 4% on a main home, 10% on other homes, 22% on A/1, A/8 and A/9; fixed registration, mortgage and cadastral taxes of €200 each. Commission follows the Novara custom, 3% from each party plus 22% VAT; the notary has no tariff and stays "being checked".
Switzerland, canton of Zurich: no transfer tax; public deed and land register 1‰ each of the value, minimum CHF 100. Germany, Bavaria: Grunderwerbsteuer 3.5%; notary and Grundbuch being checked. Austria: Grunderwerbsteuer 3.5%, Grundbuch registration 1.1% plus €81; contract and escrow being checked.
Outside Italy we do not add commission: we found no official source stating how much of it the buyer pays. That is why the "With an agency" switch changes only the Italian row.
When an item moves from "being checked" to verified, the calculator adds it by itself: the rule lives in a data file with source and date, not in the code. Totals with missing items read as "at least".
Sources
- Agenzia delle Entrate, «L'acquisto della casa: le imposte e le agevolazioni fiscali» (marzo 2024)agenziaentrate.gov.it · read on 6 October 2026
- Agenzia delle Entrate, comunicato del 21/2/2014 sulla tassazione degli atti immobiliari dal 1/1/2014agenziaentrate.gov.it · read on 6 October 2026
- Compenso del notaio: tariffe abolite dall'art. 9 D.L. 1/2012, preventivo libero (letto solo in una sintesi di ricerca)notariato.it ·
- Camera di Commercio di Novara, «Raccolta provinciale degli usi» 2005, Titolo III, Cap. 1pno.camcom.it · read on 6 October 2026
- Sorveglianza dei prezzi (Preisüberwachung), «Handänderung von Liegenschaften», luglio 2024preisueberwacher.admin.ch · read on 6 October 2026
- Kanton Zürich, Notariatsgebührenverordnung (NotGebV, LS 243), Gebührentarif Ziff. 1.1.1 e 2.2.1notes.zh.ch · read on 6 October 2026
- Svizzera: provvigione del mediatore a carico di chi compra (nessuna fonte ufficiale trovata)no document to link ·
- Bayerisches Landesamt für Steuern, Grunderwerbsteuer: häufig gestellte Fragenlfst.bayern.de · read on 6 October 2026
- Grunderwerbsteuergesetz, § 11 (Steuersatz)gesetze-im-internet.de · read on 6 October 2026
- Germania: notaio e Grundbuch (GNotKG, tabella B degressiva): importo non rilettogesetze-im-internet.de ·
- Germania: provvigione del compratore (BGB §§ 656c–656d): percentuale non fissata per leggegesetze-im-internet.de ·
- Bundesministerium für Finanzen (AT), Grunderwerbsteuer – Steuersatz (agg. 1/1/2026)bmf.gv.at · read on 6 October 2026
- oesterreich.gv.at, Eintragung des Eigentumsrechts ins Grundbuch (agg. 1/8/2026)oesterreich.gv.at · read on 6 October 2026
- Austria: contratto, notaio o avvocato e fiduciario: nessuna tariffa rilettano document to link ·
- Austria: provvigione del compratore (Immobilienmaklerverordnung): non rilettano document to link ·
Three prices, four countries
| Price | Italy | Switzerland | Germany | Austria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €500,000 | at least €41,080 8.2% | at least €1,000 0.2% | at least €17,500 3.5% | at least €23,081 4.6% |
| €900,000 | at least €55,720 6.2% | at least €1,800 0.2% | at least €31,500 3.5% | at least €41,481 4.6% |
| €1,500,000 | at least €77,680 5.2% | at least €3,000 0.2% | at least €52,500 3.5% | at least €69,081 4.6% |
The table's assumptions
- Italy
- Second home from a private seller under prezzo-valore with an example cadastral income of €2,000, commission 3% + 22% VAT, notary being checked.
- Switzerland
- Canton of Zurich, public deed and land register paid in full by the buyer; commission being checked.
- Germany
- Bavaria, Grunderwerbsteuer; notary, Grundbuch and commission being checked.
- Austria
- Grunderwerbsteuer and Grundbuch registration; contract, escrow and commission being checked.
Items "being checked" do not yet have an official source re-read by us: they are left out of the totals, which therefore read as "at least".
Indicative. These calculations are not tax or legal advice and do not replace the notary, the lawyer or the accountant. Rules change: every item carries the date on which we read it at the source.
Private Collection · Lake Orta
The lake's homes will arrive here first.
Today the lake's Private Collection holds 0 homes, and we say so. Sign up: we will tell you when the first one arrives, for the areas and price band you give us.
Do you have a home on the lake to sell instead? Introduce it to us. →
The other tools
- 02What your budget buys
The square metres a budget reaches, municipality by municipality, at OMI quotations.
For buyers · Open the tool → - 03Find your lake
Six questions, sixteen places, a ranking explained by the data.
For buyers · Open the tool → - 04From price to net
Capital gains, commission, documents: what the seller keeps.
For sellers · Open the tool → - 05What is my home worth
The OMI quotation range for your home, and a valuation made by a person.
For sellers · Open the tool → - 06From cadastral value to market
What the cadastral value is, where to find it and why it is not the price.
For sellers · Open the tool → - 07Documents to sell
The checklist, from the cadastral record to the energy certificate.
For sellers · Open the tool →