Stamp Duty Calculator

Our stamp duty calculator can help you estimate your costs and find out if you're eligible for an exemption or discount in your state or territory.

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.

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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Richard Whitten is Finder’s Senior Money Editor, with over eight years of experience in home loans, property, credit cards and personal finance. His insights appear in top media outlets like Yahoo Finance, Money Magazine, and the Herald Sun, and he frequently offers expert commentary on television and radio, helping Australians navigate mortgages and property ownership. Richard started his career in education and textbook publishing in South Korea. He holds multiple industry certifications, including a Certificate IV in Mortgage Broking (RG 206) and Tier 1 and Tier 2 certifications (RG 146), as well as a Bachelor of Education from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Certificate in Communications from Deakin University. See full bio

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339 Responses

    Default Gravatar
    joeMay 22, 2014

    Hi my sister & her husband who have bought a house 4 months ago for $460,000(First home owner) . Now they decided to divorce and my sister & I decided to buy over the house. Does my sister need to pay any stamp duty or just me need to pay for the stamp Duty? My sister will continue staying in the house. Thanks in advance for your advise.

      Shirley Liu's headshotFinder
      ShirleyMay 23, 2014Finder

      Hi Joe,

      Thanks for your question.

      It’s likely that your sister won’t need to pay stamp duty. However, because this property isn’t your ‘matrimonial home’, it’s likely that you may need to pay stamp duty if you would like to share titles on the property.

      Cheers,
      Shirley

    Default Gravatar
    ConfusedMay 22, 2014

    my husband has been made bankrupt. I have not worked full time since a back injury in 2008
    therefor my son has offered to pay out the mortgage( 45K and the bankruptcy 75k) the bank wants his name put on the title which i agree with as my husband is financially incompetent and this would stop this situation repeating and leave me homeless. Son would be borrowing $120K which hopefully I can repay. House is valued at approx $380k does he stamp duty on his share ( 120) or all? once debt to him is cleared property would be mine again.

      Shirley Liu's headshotFinder
      ShirleyMay 23, 2014Finder

      Hi Confused,

      Thanks for your question.

      If you’re transferring property to a family member, generally the person obtaining the property is required to pay stamp duty. The amount he is required to pay depends on the value of the property, so it’s likely that he’ll need to pay the full amount.

      Cheers,
      Shirley

      Default Gravatar
      ConfusedMay 24, 2014

      So even though were only buying out a share of it , we have to pay stamp duty for the full property price?
      Seems unfair , no win for the ones left with the fall out!
      Doesn’t seem that different a situation than Joes except my son will buy my husbands share of our house!

    Default Gravatar
    CourtneyMay 19, 2014

    Hello, My brother and I have recently inherited a house in Victoria valued at approximately 500,000k, I plan to buy him out for 250,000k. Can you please advise if I have to pay stamp duty when I buy his share of the house? Thanks

      Elizabeth's headshotFinder
      ElizabethMay 20, 2014Finder

      Hi Courtney,

      Thanks for your question.

      This will depend on a few different factors, such as whether this property will be your primary place of residence. Your question may be better directed to the State Revenue Office of Victoria directly.

      Hope this has helped.

      Thanks,

      Elizabeth

    Default Gravatar
    MalcolmMay 17, 2014

    Do you pay stamp duty on rural produce property in WA

      Elizabeth's headshotFinder
      ElizabethMay 19, 2014Finder

      Hi Malcolm,

      Thanks for your question.

      Yes you will need to pay stamp duty on a rural property purchase on WA.

      Hope this has helped.

      Thanks,

      Elizabeth

    Default Gravatar
    RKMay 6, 2014

    Hi We have purchased an off-the-plan property on 4 people’s name in our family.

    nearly 11 months has passed since we booked the property and it is estimated it will take another 6-7 months before it is complete.

    Stamp Duty is not yet paid and we are planning to pay it in couple of months time as off-the-plan stamp Duty needs to be paid before 15 months of the signing of the contract.

    However now we want to remove 2 names in the property as their financials are bit weak and bank told us that it will be easier to finance on only 2 particular names.

    My Question is can we remove 2 names from the purchase contract without any stamp duty implications ? (as mentioned stamp duty is not paid yet)

      Shirley Liu's headshotFinder
      ShirleyMay 7, 2014Finder

      Hi RK,

      Thanks for your question.

      To our understanding there won’t be any stamp duty implications, as stamp duty generally depends on the value of the property/land. Please confirm this with your local Office of State Revenue, as it is dependent on which state you in live in.

      There could be some legal fees involved in removing the titles of the property, but your lender will be able to advise on those.

      Cheers,
      Shirley

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