The imputed rental value will be abolished on 1 January 2029. In return, owners will no longer be able to deduct the maintenance and renovation costs of their home. The result: the way — and above all the timing — of a renovation becomes a tax decision. Here is when it changes, what remains deductible, and how to plan ahead.
From when?
On 28 September 2025, Switzerland accepted, by 57.7%, the reform of the taxation of home ownership. It abolishes the imputed rental value — that notional income which owner-occupiers had to declare — for both main and second homes.
On 1 April 2026, the Federal Council set the entry into force at 1 January 2029 (Federal Council press release, in French). The 2028 tax period is therefore the last under the old regime: until then, the imputed rental value remains taxable and the current deductions remain valid.
What disappears, and what remains
The abolition of the imputed rental value comes with a trade-off: the end of several deductions.
| Deduction | Until end of 2028 | From 2029 |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance and renovation costs (owner-occupied dwelling) | Deductible | Abolished (federal, cantonal, municipal) |
| Investments in energy saving and environmental protection | Deductible | Abolished for direct federal tax; cantons may keep it, until 2050 at the latest |
| Mortgage interest | Largely deductible | Deductible only in proportion to the let or leased properties in your total assets, or as a first-time buyer |
| First purchase of a home | — | Interest deductible up to CHF 10,000 (married couples) or CHF 5,000 (single persons) in the first year; the cap falls by 10% each year, over ten years |
Sources: Federal Council, 1 April 2026 (in French); FDF dossier (in French); FTA fact sheet on the new interest deduction (in German). The first-time buyer deduction applies to a first home bought in Switzerland and lived in by its owner.
In other words: after 2029, maintaining or renovating your own home will in principle no longer give rise to a tax deduction — except for energy measures in the cantons that choose to keep the incentive.
What the cantons are deciding
Two choices rest with the cantons: whether to keep the energy deduction (until 2050 at the latest), and whether to introduce a special tax on second homes used mainly by their owners. As of 15 October 2026, no canton has yet adopted its law and the drafts diverge: Bern, Fribourg, Aargau and Lucerne are moving towards keeping the energy deduction, Zurich, Grisons and Uri rather towards dropping it; Grisons and Ticino are preparing a cantonal tax on second homes. The status of all 26 cantons, with sources, is in our guide deducting renovation costs after 2029, canton by canton.
For owners of chalets and holiday flats, the abolition of the imputed rental value therefore does not necessarily mean a zero tax burden. Where the deduction disappears, direct renovation subsidies remain: see for example the support available in the canton of Zurich.
Renovate before or after 2029?
That is the real question. As long as the old regime applies (until the end of 2028), major maintenance works — roof, façade, windows, heating — remain deductible from taxable income. After the switch, this advantage disappears for the owner-occupied home.
This window is prompting some owners to bring forward planned works. But bringing a renovation forward only makes sense if the project is realistic given the plot: an added storey or an extension presupposes available building rights, a compatible building envelope and the absence of any restriction in the RDPPF. Renovating the existing building to improve energy efficiency, by contrast, depends above all on the condition of the building.
What to do now
Map out the planned works
List the renovations envisaged before 2030 and distinguish maintenance (deductible until 2028) from energy measures (possibly deductible for longer depending on the canton).
Check the plot's potential
An extension or an added storey depends on the zone, the utilisation index and the building envelope — not on the tax calendar. First confirm what can be built. If you are buying to renovate, our guide on assessing potential before buying lists the points to check.
Follow the cantonal implementation
Whether the energy deduction is kept, or a tax on second homes is introduced: these choices are made at cantonal level, and the bills for 2029 are being prepared. Consult the official source before any decision.
The reform reshuffles the cards of property maintenance, but it says nothing about the building potential of your property. To weigh up renovating, extending or selling, the first piece of information remains the same: what your plot really allows, backed by official sources.