Key takeaways
- Stamp duty is one of the biggest additional costs you'll have to pay when buying property in Australia.
- It's a form of tax charged by the state government and only applies when you buy property, not sell.
- First home buyers in most states and territories qualify for one-off exemptions or discounts.
Stamp duty calculator
To use this calculator select your state or territory, enter the value of your property (the full value, not your loan amount), choose the type of purchase (home to live in, investment or land) and select yes or no if you're a first home buyer or not.
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What is stamp duty?
Stamp duty in Australia is a state/territory level tax levied on large transactions such as property purchases, cars or other assets. Historically, stamp duty was levied on the signing of various legal documents, hence the word stamp. Stamp duty is sometimes referred to as transfer duty.
Stamp duty rates by state/territory
Your stamp duty cost varies depending on where you live. Governments update these costs every few years, depending on state budgets and tax policy.
Click your state or territory below to find out about stamp duty costs where you live.
How do I pay my stamp duty?
Many buyers pay stamp duty at settlement. Depending on your state or territory, it may be due on settlement day, and in other states you have around 30 days from settlement to organise the payment.
Your lawyer or conveyancer can help you with the logistics of paying stamp duty and will advise you of deadlines. Your conveyancer can also help you organise your paperwork when applying for a concession or exemption.
Can I borrow stamp duty with my loan?
Typically your stamp duty is an upfront cost, not rolled into your home loan. However, if you're not using your full borrowing power to buy the property, you may be able to use your loan to pay stamp duty. This is known as having your stamp duty capitalised into the principal of the loan.
It will depend on your borrowing power and the size of your deposit. But because you're borrowing money to pay for the duty, you'll be paying interest on that amount for 30 years.
Keep in mind that this may increase your loan to value (LVR) ratio, which could require you to pay a higher Lenders Mortgage Insurance premium, if your loan is above 80% of the property's overall value.
Divorce and stamp duty
Stamp duty isn't payable if one of you is transferring the title to a home or land to another. However, you can only save on stamp duty if the transfer is done so you can obey a court order. The court must be able to know what assets are owned by each of the parties. This includes all of your assets like land, bank accounts and superannuation. It may be necessary to hire an expert to value an asset.
It's important to know that parenting is seen as a very important contribution. If the marriage has been a long one, it is often seen as equal to financial contributions. Usually, the court gives the party whose financial future is not as good as the other some extra part of the property owned by the parties.
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In Victoria if a husband owns 100% of the investment property, and he transfers 50% of ownership to his wife will stamp duty apply?
IF so is the stamp duty calculated on 50% of the market value on the day of the transfer??
Hi Karen,
thanks for the question.
There’s an exemption on stamp duty when transferring property between a spouse/partner in Victoria.
I hope this helps,
Marc.
In Victoria, do we pay stamp duty on purchase of vacant land as well as building a new home on it? My husband receives an age pension and I qualify for Health Card concession. This will be our principle place of residence. I understand that we are eligible for stamp duty exemption depending on value of property but de we pay stamp duty on both?
Thank you.
Hi Meri,
Thank you for contacting finder.com.au, a financial comparison website.
Vacant land is typically liable for land tax however this is not payable when you plan to build your principal place of residence on the land, you will pay stamp duty on the final structure once built but may be eligible for concessions on this as it will be used as you principal place of residence.
It would be recommended you contact your local office of state revenue to get a better idea of the amounts you will be due to pay.
Regards
Jodie
Sorry, left the page earlier and not sure if I submitted by question :)as below
I will soon acquit the mortgage on my principal place of residence in WA, purchased as a joint tenancy with a friend. I would like to make my friend, who is a disability pensioner, sole owner of this property. Will this incur stamp duty in WA and what might other costs be (approx) for conveyancing/whatever other paperwork is required.
Thanks
Hi PerthG,
Thanks for your enquiry.
If you’d like to make your friend the sole owner of the property, then you might be interested to read our guide about the process and costs involved when changing property ownership.
Generally, you will need to pay stamp duty which is estimated at around 3-5.5% of the property value. However, in some cases, you may be exempt from paying stamp duty so you should check with the WA office of state revenue.
You may also need to pay capital gains tax (CGT) which is typically around 25% of the capital gain from the transfer, as well as any legal or valuation charges required. You should also consider speaking to a conveyancer who will give expert and practical advice on what to do at every step of the process.
Thanks,
Belinda
My wife and I have lived in our house for 30 years which was owned by my father in law. When he passed he left it to my wife and her brother.We need to add my name to the title.
Could you please advise what the costs would be?
Regards,
David
Hi David,
thanks for the question.
As we’re an information service only, we can’t give an accurate estimate of what you would pay to do this. I would recommend contacting the office of state revenue for your state and putting the question to them to get an accurate answer.
I hope this helps,
Marc.
I have an 1 bedroom unit as an investment property in Victoria and I want to transfer it from my name to my wife’s name, will there be stamp duty payable to do this? If so, as no money will be exchanged how will the value the stamp duty is based on be determined? Thanks.
Hi Clint,
Thanks for your enquiry.
You can read about the process and costs involved when transferring property ownership and you might also be interested to read about how to minimise costs when transferring property within the family.
Generally, stamp duty is calculated on the value of the property or land that is being transferred and is represented as a percentage. However, some purchases may be exempt from stamp duty, so it’s a good idea to check with your state office of revenue.
You can fill out the form to speak with a property tax specialist if you need further clarification.
Thanks,
Belinda