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Victorian stamp duty and the concessions that cut it

Victoria runs two rate tables and two kinds of relief. Which one applies comes down to the price and whether you will live in the home.

Checked 11 numbered sources at the end of this page

In short. Eligible first home buyers pay no duty on a home valued up to $600,0005 and a reduced amount up to $750,0006. Owner-occupiers buying a home valued up to $550,000 can use the principal place of residence rates2. Everyone else pays the general rates, which run from 1.4% to 6.5%1.

Which Victorian duty schedule applies at each price Two lanes and four thresholds: the owner-occupier rates stop at $550,000, while first home relief is full to $600,000 and tapers to $750,000. Owner-occupier, not a first home Principal place of residence rates General rates First home buyer who lives in it No duty Reduced Full rates $0 $550,000 $600,000 $750,000 $900,000
Two lanes and four thresholds: the owner-occupier rates stop at $550,000, while first home relief is full to $600,000 and tapers to $750,000.

How much is stamp duty in Victoria?

A three-bedroom house in Geelong at $650,000 attracts $34,070 in land transfer duty for a buyer who is not a first home buyer. Above $550,000 there is no owner-occupier discount in Victoria, so an investor buying the same house pays the same $34,070.

Victorian land transfer duty at common prices1
Price General rates Owner-occupier Eligible first home buyer
$450,000 $22,070 $18,970 $0
$550,000 $28,070 $24,970 $0
$650,000 $34,070 $34,070 Less than $34,070
$750,000 $40,070 $40,070 Less than $40,070
$900,000 $49,070 $49,070 $49,070

What are the rate tables?

Victoria, general land transfer duty rates1
Dutiable valueDuty
Up to $25,0001.4% of the dutiable value
Over $25,000 to $130,000$350 plus 2.4% of the value over $25,000
Over $130,000 to $960,000$2,870 plus 6% of the value over $130,000
Over $960,000 to $2,000,0005.5% of the dutiable value
Over $2,000,000$110,000 plus 6.5% of the value over $2,000,000
Victoria, principal place of residence rates2
Dutiable valueDuty
Up to $25,0001.4% of the dutiable value
Over $25,000 to $130,000$350 plus 2.4% of the value over $25,000
Over $130,000 to $440,000$2,870 plus 5% of the value over $130,000
Over $440,000 to $550,000$18,370 plus 6% of the value over $440,000

One quirk is worth knowing. Between $960,000 and $2,000,000 the general table charges 5.5% of the whole dutiable value, not a fixed amount plus a rate on the excess, so duty jumps at $960,000 instead of easing in.

What does the principal place of residence concession do?

It gives anyone buying a home to live in, not only first home buyers, a gentler middle bracket on a property valued up to $550,0002. On a $500,000 purchase the concession rates charge $21,970 instead of $25,070, a saving of $3,100. SRO Victoria puts the saving at a flat $3,100 anywhere from $440,000 to $550,0003.

General rates compared with principal place of residence rates Grouped bar chart comparing Victorian duty at general rates and at principal place of residence rates for prices of $300,000, $400,000, $440,000, $500,000, $550,000. General rates Principal place of residence $300,000 $13,070 $11,370 $400,000 $19,070 $16,370 $440,000 $21,470 $18,370 $500,000 $25,070 $21,970 $550,000 $28,070 $24,970
General rates compared with principal place of residence rates. The saving grows with price up to $440,000, where it reaches $3,100. It stays at $3,100 from there to $550,000, and above $550,000 the concession stops entirely. Source: State Revenue Office Victoria1; State Revenue Office Victoria2.
Chart data
ItemGeneral ratesPrincipal place of residence
$300,000$13,070$11,370
$400,000$19,070$16,370
$440,000$21,470$18,370
$500,000$25,070$21,970
$550,000$28,070$24,970

You claim it through the Digital Duties Form, which your conveyancer or solicitor completes as part of the transaction. You need to move in within 12 months of settlement and live there for 12 straight months. It can also apply to vacant land for your home, and it is not available if you received the property at a heavy discount or as a gift4.

What do first home buyers get?

A full exemption on a home or vacant land valued up to $600,0005, and a reduced amount up to $750,0006. At least one buyer has to live there for 12 continuous months within 12 months of settlement7.

Having owned property before does not always rule you out. SRO Victoria excludes you if you or your partner have already had a First Home Owner Grant or first home duty relief, owned a home in Australia before 1 July 2000, or owned and lived in a home here for a continuous 6 months since then8. Someone who bought an investment property after 1 July 2000 and never lived in it is not caught by either ownership test, although every other rule still applies.

How is the concession band worked out?

SRO Victoria says buyers in the band from $600,001 to $750,000 pay a reduced amount, and sends them to its calculator for the figure. It does not publish the formula on its first home buyer page6, so the table above shows only the ceiling: the duty is less than the full amount at that price.

The reduction shrinks as the price rises through the band, so a buyer near $750,000 keeps much less of it than one just above $600,000. Run your exact price through the SRO calculator before you bid.

What do foreign buyers pay?

Foreign purchaser additional duty of 8% applies to contracts from 1 July 2019, on top of land transfer duty11. If anyone on the contract may be a foreign purchaser, get advice before you sign.

How long is the cooling-off period?

For a private sale of residential property, Victoria gives 3 clear business days9, counted from the day you sign, not the day the vendor does. Buy at auction, or within three clear business days either side of one, and there is none10. The cooling-off guide covers what it costs to use.