On February 15, 2018, the Finance Directorate of the Canton of Zurich published a technical note on the amendment of the circular on the deferral of real estate gains tax in the event of replacement of a home. The Circular has been adapted to recent case law.
According to the ruling of the Federal Supreme Court 2C_70/2017 of 28 September 2017 (see our contribution of 24 October 2017), in the case of replacement purchases made outside the canton, the canton in which the replacement property is located has the right to tax the deferred property gain if the tax deferral ceases to apply, even if the replacement property is sold within five years (so-called uniform method). The standard method is also to be applied in intermunicipal relationships in Zurich.
Furthermore, in a ruling 2C_306/2016 of 7 March 2017 (cf. our contribution of 26 March 2017), the Federal Supreme Court ruled that the criterion of permanent and exclusive self-inhabitation is already met if the taxpayer has taken up residence in the property in question.
The technical release is available here.
