The same purchase attracts a different tax in each state, and the first home rules differ even more. This is what the revenue offices publish.
Checked 23 numbered sources at the end of this page
In short. Transfer duty is charged on a sliding scale set by each state, so the same price costs
different amounts in Sydney and Brisbane. A first home buyer pays nothing on a home valued up to
$800,000 in NSW2, $600,000 in
Victoria6 and $700,000 in Queensland10, with
reduced duty above those figures.
Three questions decide which duty schedule applies: whether you will live in the home, whether it is your first, and whether the price sits under your state's limit.
What is stamp duty, and who sets it?
Stamp duty, called transfer duty in New South Wales and Queensland and land transfer duty in Victoria, is a state
tax on the transfer of property. Each state publishes a bracket table: a fixed amount plus a rate applied to the part
of the price above the bracket floor. Because the rate climbs with price, duty rises faster than the price does. In
New South Wales, the first $18,000 of any purchase is charged at $1.25 for every $100,
while the bracket above $1,290,000 charges $5.50 for every $1001.
Nothing about it is national. The Commonwealth does not set the rate, the thresholds or the concessions, which is why
a first home buyer in Perth and one in Hobart can be treated very differently on the same day.
What are the limits in each state?
First home buyer relief on a home, by jurisdiction
New and established homes, from 7 May 2026. Vacant land: no duty to $450,00019.
Tasmania
None
None
The exemption for established homes does not apply to transactions settling after 30 June 202620.
Australian Capital Territory
No value cap
Not applicable
Home Buyer Concession Scheme from 1 July 2026: no income test and no price cap for eligible buyers21.
Northern Territory
See note
See note
An exemption to 30 June 2027 for a new house-and-land purchase from a building contractor23.
Three of them do not fit the two-column shape. South Australia's relief depends on what you buy, not what you pay: new
or substantially renovated homes and vacant land to build on, with no value cap16. The Northern Territory's exemption, for conveyances executed up to 30 June 2027, covers a new home on developed land bought from a building contractor23. Tasmania's exemption for established homes does not apply to transactions settling
after 30 June 202620.
How far does the money go in each state?
Price limits for first home buyer relief on a home. Established homes. Queensland treats brand-new homes separately, with no value cap at all.
Source:
Revenue NSW2; Revenue NSW3; State Revenue Office Victoria6; State Revenue Office Victoria7; Queensland Revenue Office10; Queensland Revenue Office11; Government of Western Australia, Department of Treasury and Finance18.
Chart data
Jurisdiction
No duty to
Reduced duty
New South Wales
$800,000
under $1,000,000
Victoria
$600,000
to $750,000
Queensland
$700,000
under $800,000
Western Australia
$600,000
to $800,000
The spread matters more than the ranking. As first home buyers of an established $700,000 townhouse, a
couple would pay no duty in Sydney, no duty in Brisbane,
a reduced amount in Melbourne and $16,150 in Perth. At $780,000 it becomes
no duty in Sydney, $17,480 in Brisbane, $41,870 in
Melbourne and $29,070 in Perth.
What do you have to promise in return?
Most schemes attach a residence condition, and they are not the same length. Miss one and the revenue office can
reassess the duty.
Residence conditions after settlement. Queensland states the move-in deadline and bars selling or leasing the whole property in the first year, without stating a minimum stay on that page.
Source:
Revenue NSW5; State Revenue Office Victoria8; Queensland Revenue Office14; RevenueSA17; ACT Revenue Office22.
Chart data
Jurisdiction
Move in within
Then live there for
New South Wales
12 months of settlement
At least 12 months
Victoria
12 months of settlement
At least 12 months
Queensland
12 months of settlement
No minimum stated on the source page
South Australia
12 months of settlement
At least 6 months
ACT
12 months of settlement
At least 12 months
Queensland also says you must not sell, transfer, lease or give exclusive possession of the whole property in that
first year14. Whether renting out part of the home affects your concession depends on
the details, so raise it with your conveyancer before you sign a lease.
Does vacant land work the same way?
Not always, and the limits differ. New South Wales gives first home buyers no duty on land valued at
$350,000 or less, and a concessional rate under $450,0004.
Western Australia charges no duty on land up to $450,000, with a reduced rate to
$550,00019. Victoria uses the same limits for land as for a
home, valuing the land alone6. Queensland has a separate first home vacant land concession
with no value cap, if you build and move in within 2 years13.
If you are buying land and signing a separate building contract, ask your conveyancer how duty will be assessed
before you sign either one. The structure of the deal can change the dutiable value.
What changed recently?
Queensland's home and first home concessions need the buyer to be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or specified foreign retiree for transactions from 1 August 202615.
The ACT removed the income test and the price cap from its Home Buyer Concession Scheme from 1 July 202621, and keeps a rule that buyers must not have owned property in the last five years22.
Tasmania's established-home exemption does not apply to transactions settling after 30 June 202620.
Western Australia lifted its first home thresholds for transactions from 7 May 202618.
Queensland made brand-new first homes free of duty from 1 May 202512, and kept the deduction table for established homes9.
Dates like these are why every figure here carries the day it was checked. If you are reading this long after that
date, open the source note before you rely on the number.