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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Everything you need to know about stamp duty in Tasmania and how it’s calculated.
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Queensland stamp duty calculator
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NSW stamp duty calculator & guide
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Hi, my daughter purchased an apartment under construction a year ago from purchasers who had bought off the plan. The apartment block was only at foundation level when she paid the deposit. Does she qualify for any stamp duty concessions at all?
Thank you very much
Hi Jenni,
Thanks for your question.
There are different factors that will allow you to get stamp duty exemptions:
The value of your house. If you pay less than the threshold amount for your state you may find that the amount of stamp duty that you pay will be quite low or even nil.
First home owner. If your daughter qualifies for FHOG, she may also get stamp duty exemptions, but depending on where the property is located.
Pensioners and health card holders. If your daughter is currently receiving Government benefits, she may be eligible for a concession or exemption. You can get in touch with the local Office of State Revenue in your area to find out if you are eligible.
If your daughter qualifies under the above criteria, the type of home that qualifies for the purpose of stamp duty exemption is a new or established house, home unit, flat or other type of self contained fixed dwelling that meets local planning standards. The exact specifications will depend on your state, so you may have to call the office of the State Revenue in your area to confirm your eligibility.
Cheers,
Anndy
Hi, my husband and I are planning to buy a apartment (off the plan, building completion is set to be in 2019) but we have not gotten our PR. We are trying to get the apartment confirmed before the 1 July stamp duty revision. If we confirm the apartment now and get our PR ready before the the completion. Is the foreigner investor levy (7%) applicable for us? We plan to live in this property once it’s done. We are in Victoria. Please advise, thanks!
Hi Jewel,
Thanks for your inquiry.
Data released under freedom of information laws by the Office of State Revenue showed that in the three months from July last year, following the introduction of the foreign investor levy in NSW, foreign nationals counted for 11 percent (2995) of residential property purchases in the state compared with 7.51 per cent to first home buyers. In Victoria, the introduction of the 7 per cent levy had made no impact on foreign buyers, which have stayed at 2 percent of the market for the past 18 months. So, the effects of the levy will differ depending on where your location is.
Hope this information helped.
Cheers,
Arnold
Do i need to pay stamp duty if i am purchasing my brothers share of an inherited property?
Hi Virginia,
Thank you for your question and for contacting finder.com.au – we are a financial comparison website and general information service we are not mortgage specialists so can only offer general advice.
Basically, when you purchase a property, you would need to pay stamp duty. Although there are also certain exemptions you may be eligible for depending on your state or location. In some states, you could avoid paying hefty stamp duty costs if the purchase price or value of your property is below a certain level. So you’d be best to visit your local state office of revenue to get more information on stamp duty exemption and/or computation.
Cheers,
May
Hi, I have given 5% deposit for a land which cost $280000. Is the stamp duty applicable only for the land cost ($280k) or the total cost after building my home on it?
Hi Abs,
Thank you for your question and for contacting finder.com.au we are a financial comparison website and general information service we are not mortgage specialists so can only offer general advice.
Basically, the computation of your stamp duty will be based on the cost and type of the property you are buying. This will also depend on which state/territory you live in. I would suggest that visit your state’s office of revenue to get the exact amount of your stamp duty.
Cheers,
May
Hi,
We paid stamp duty on our land in April (in Victoria) we are building our house and looks like we may be in within the year of land settlement, do we get some stamp duty refund for being in within the year?
Thanks
Tamara
Hi Tamara,
Thanks for your question.
Generally, stamp duty refund is available in case the sale transfer is rescinded.
For your situation, you may want to directly get in touch with the government agency that handles stamp duty in your area and inquire for any possible refund.
Cheers,
Anndy
Hi there I bought my land on 15/5/11 and built and moved into my house within the 12 months on 13/4/12 I got my fhbg but was never told I would get a refund for my stamp duty. And now it has been just over 5 years there telling me they can’t refund me ? I’m so upset can this be fixed ?
Hi Aaron,
Thanks for your question.
Kindly note that in some states, first home buyers will not have to pay stamp duty at all, while in others stamp duty will always be payable. In some states, you may be entitled to a rebate, but you have only up to five years after the transaction to apply for a rebate. You can check our guide above to see if you qualify for a stamp duty rebate, depending on where the property is located.
Alternatively, you may want to directly get in touch with the government agency that handles stamp duty in your area to see the posibility of getting a rebate or refund.
Cheers,
Anndy
I didn’t know and was never told I was entitle to a refund and when I found out from a friend who brought a house they said it had just passed the 5 year mark and denied me… my stamp duty has and has nothing to do with any tax deduction so I have no idea why they won’t return my money ?
Hi Aaron,
Thanks for getting back.
You may want to directly get in touch with the government agency that collects stamp duty in your area and clarify with them if there is a possibility that you can get a tax refund, given your circumstances. As mentioned in our page above, different state have different eligibility criteria when it comes to receiving a refund and this is something you need to discuss with the collecting agency.
Cheers,
Anndy