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NSW transfer duty and the first home buyer exemption

What Revenue NSW charges on a purchase in 2026-27, and the point at which a first home buyer stops paying nothing and starts paying full rates.

Checked 7 numbered sources at the end of this page

In short. On a $750,000 home, NSW transfer duty at general rates is $27,937. A first home buyer who will live in the property pays nothing up to $800,0003, then a concessional rate less than $1,000,0004, and full duty at $1 million or more.

How NSW duty on a $750,000 home builds up, bracket by bracket Duty is not one rate on the whole price. Each slice of a $750,000 purchase is charged at the rate for its bracket, and the slices add up to the assessment. Price $750,000, split at the bracket edges $0 to $103,000 Charged at several lower rates $1,663 $103,000 to $387,000 Charged at $3.50 per $100 $9,940 $387,000 to $750,000 Charged at $4.50 per $100 $16,335 Duty payable $27,937
Duty is not one rate on the whole price. Each slice of a $750,000 purchase is charged at the rate for its bracket, and the slices add up to the assessment.

How much is stamp duty in NSW?

Take a two-bedroom unit in Parramatta bought for $750,000. At the general rates for 2026/2027 the duty is $27,937, payable on top of the deposit, the balance of the price and your conveyancer's fee. The same buyer, if this is their first home and they intend to live in it, pays nothing.

NSW transfer duty at common prices, 2026/20271
PriceGeneral ratesEligible first home buyer
$500,000 $16,687 $0
$650,000 $23,437 $0
$750,000 $27,937 $0
$900,000 $34,687 Below $34,687
$1,200,000 $48,187 $48,187
NSW transfer duty at general rates Bar chart of NSW transfer duty at four prices: $500,000, $750,000, $1,000,000 and $1,500,000, showing duty rising faster than price. $500,000 $16,687 $750,000 $27,937 $1,000,000 $39,187 $1,500,000 $63,787
NSW transfer duty at general rates. Doubling the price from $750,000 to $1.5m roughly triples the duty, because the top slice is charged at a higher rate. Source: Revenue NSW1.
Chart data
ItemDuty at general rates
$500,000$16,687
$750,000$27,937
$1,000,000$39,187
$1,500,000$63,787

What are the 2026-27 brackets?

Revenue NSW indexes the thresholds each year, so last year's table gives the wrong answer. These are the figures for the 2026/2027 financial year.

Revenue NSW general transfer duty, 2026/20271
Dutiable valueDuty
Up to $18,000$1.25 for every $100 (minimum $20)
Over $18,000 to $38,000$225 plus $1.50 for every $100 over $18,000
Over $38,000 to $103,000$525 plus $1.75 for every $100 over $38,000
Over $103,000 to $387,000$1,662 plus $3.50 for every $100 over $103,000
Over $387,000 to $1,290,000$11,602 plus $4.50 for every $100 over $387,000
Over $1,290,000 to $3,870,000$52,237 plus $5.50 for every $100 over $1,290,000
Over $3,870,000$194,137 plus $7.00 for every $100 over $3,870,000

Read a row as a fixed amount plus a rate on the part of the price above that bracket's floor. A $750,000 purchase sits in the $387,001 to $1,290,000 band: $11,602, plus $4.50 for every $100 of the $363,000 above $387,000.

Who qualifies as a first home buyer?

The First Home Buyers Assistance scheme gives a full exemption up to $800,0003 and a concessional rate less than $1,000,0004. Buy for $1 million or more and the concession disappears completely, which makes the gap between a $999,000 contract and a $1,001,000 contract expensive.

You also have to live there. Revenue NSW requires you to move in 6 within 12 months after settlement and stay for 12 continuous months6. Buying vacant land to build on has its own lower limits: $350,000 exempt, $450,000 concession5.

Revenue NSW does not publish the arithmetic for the concessional band on its rates page. For a price between $800,000 and $1 million, use the official First Home Buyers Assistance calculator rather than any estimate, including ours.

Does living in the home reduce the duty?

Not by itself. Unlike Victoria and Queensland, New South Wales publishes one general rate schedule that applies whether you are an owner-occupier or an investor. Living in the property matters for the first home scheme and for later land tax questions, not for the duty rate on an ordinary purchase.

What is premium property duty?

Above a set value, a higher rate applies: $7.00 per $100 over $3,870,0002. It catches a small number of purchases, mostly in the eastern suburbs and on the lower north shore, and it is worth knowing about if you are bidding near the threshold.

How long is the cooling-off period?

NSW gives buyers 5 business days7, ending at 5pm on the fifth business day after exchange. Using it is not free, and there is no cooling-off period at auction. The cooling-off guide sets out what withdrawing costs and how the deposit is structured around it.