All 8 jurisdictions Checked 14 October 2026
First Home Buyer Stamp Duty — Every State
Transfer duty is the biggest one-off cost after the deposit, and first home buyers are treated differently in every state — an outright exemption, a sliding concession, or a flat discount. This page sets out what each jurisdiction actually gives, in its own words, with a link to the rule that decides it.
What a first home buyer pays, state by state
| State | What the concession is | Official rule |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | The First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme removes transfer duty entirely on a new or existing home valued at $800,000 or less, and reduces it on homes under $1 million (vacant land: nil to $350,000, reduced under $450,000). | Revenue NSW |
| VIC | First home buyers get a full duty exemption on a home up to $600,000 and a concession between $600,001 and $750,000. The off-the-plan concession is separate and can apply regardless of whether it is your first home. | State Revenue Office Victoria |
| QLD | A home concession lowers the rate for a home you move into, and the first home concession lowers it again — the first home owner grant of $30,000 is separate from duty. | Queensland Revenue Office |
| WA | First home buyers pay no duty up to $450,000 and a reduced amount between $450,000 and $600,000 under the first home owner rate of duty. This calculator uses the general rate. | Department of Treasury and Finance (WA) |
| SA | South Australia offers first home buyer relief from duty, and a separate concession where you buy a home off the plan or build — both are claimed through RevenueSA rather than applied automatically. | RevenueSA |
| TAS | First home buyers can apply for a 50% duty concession on an established home up to $600,000 while the first home owner grant of $20,000 runs for eligible new builds. | State Revenue Office Tasmania |
| ACT | The ACT abolished its first home owner grant in 2019 and helps buyers through duty instead: the eligible owner occupier rate in the table below, the Home Buyer Concession Scheme (income-tested, and it can waive duty altogether), and a pensioner duty deferral. | ACT Revenue Office |
| NT | The Ready Reckoner lists three duty concessions — the First Home Owner Discount (up to $23,928.60 off, on an established home of $650,000 or less), the Senior, Pensioner and Carer Concession (up to $8,500) and the Principal Place of Residence Rebate (up to $7,000) — and only one of them can be used on a purchase. | NT Territory Revenue Office |
Each entry is the wording of the revenue office’s own page, read 14 October 2026. Thresholds are indexed regularly and a change of a few thousand dollars flips the whole entitlement, so treat this as the map and the linked page as the rule.
The four words that decide it
Exemption
Duty is removed entirely below the threshold. NSW does this up to $800,000, Victoria and Tasmania up to $600,000 (Tasmania as a 50% concession on an established home).
Concession
Duty is reduced, not removed. Above an exemption threshold most states taper the amount down to zero over an upper limit — Victoria to $750,000, NSW to $1 million.
New home or established
Some concessions apply only to a new build or off-the-plan purchase. South Australia, for example, has relief that applies where you buy off the plan or build — not to every first home.
Owner occupier
Almost every concession requires you to move in within a set period. An investment purchase does not qualify, even if it is the first property you have ever bought.
Concession or grant?
They are different payments that arrive at different points, and the difference matters when you are working out what you can afford:
- The duty concession reduces a tax. You never see the money — it simply is not charged, and it reduces the cash you need at settlement.
- The grant is paid to you, usually only for a new home, and in most states it is claimed after settlement. The Northern Territory’s HomeGrown Territory grant is currently the largest in the country at $50,000.
- Rarely both in full: some states stop a first home buyer claiming a duty concession and a grant on the same property, or offer a choice. Check the state’s rule rather than assuming they stack.
The grants, and how each state’s rules differ, are on the first home owner grant hub. If you are working out the annual cost of the property after you buy it, the land tax calculators cover every state that levies it — your home is exempt there, an investment property is not.
Frequently asked questions
Do first home buyers pay stamp duty?
Usually less than everyone else, and sometimes none at all — but not automatically, and not by one national rule. Every state sets its own threshold and its own kind of help: NSW waives duty outright on a first home up to $800,000 and reduces it under $1 million, while Tasmania gives 50% off an established home up to $600,000, and Victoria exempts up to $600,000 with a concession to $750,000. The table above is each state in its own words.
Is the first home owner grant the same thing as the duty concession?
No, and they are easy to confuse. The grant is money paid to you — usually only for a new build. The duty concession reduces a tax you would otherwise pay. In most states you can claim both on the same purchase, provided it is a new home. The grants are on the first home owner grant hub.
Why do the thresholds differ so much?
Because transfer duty is a state tax and each state decides both its rate table and who it relieves. The thresholds are indexed at different times — and in some states the help is a cliff rather than a taper, so one dollar over a threshold can cost thousands. Check the specific state page before you make an offer.
Does the concession apply to vacant land?
It depends on the state. NSW covers vacant land up to $350,000 (reduced under $450,000), and the other states each set their own rule. What is nearly universal is that the concession is conditional on you living there — a home you rent out from day one generally does not qualify.
Is it applied automatically?
Not always, and it is worth asking. Some reliefs are claimed rather than granted: South Australia’s is claimed through RevenueSA rather than applied automatically, and the ACT’s Home Buyer Concession Scheme is income-tested and has to be applied for. Others depend on data already in the transaction. If your solicitor or conveyancer calculates the duty, ask them which concession has been applied — it is a large enough number to be worth the question.
What is the biggest one-off cost when buying?
For most buyers it is the deposit, and after that transfer duty — the tax is charged as a lump sum at settlement. On an $800,000 home the standard duty across the eight jurisdictions on this site ranges from $25,150.00 to $43,070.00, before any first home buyer concession is applied.
Work out the duty where you are buying
- Stamp duty calculator — New South Wales — $1.25 per $100, topped at 5.5%
- Stamp duty calculator — Victoria — 1.4% to 6.5%, or a lower PPR table
- Stamp duty calculator — Queensland — $1.50 per $100, topped at 5.75%
- Stamp duty calculator — Western Australia — $1.90 per $100, topped at 5.15%
- Stamp duty calculator — South Australia — $1 per $100, topped at 5.5%
- Stamp duty calculator — Tasmania — $50 minimum, topped at 4.5%
- Stamp duty calculator — Australian Capital Territory — 1.2% rising to 6.4%, then a flat 4.54% over $1,455,000
- Stamp duty calculator — Northern Territory — A formula below $525,000, then a flat 4.95%
- Every state compared on the standard rate
Concessions from each state and territory revenue office, read 14 October 2026; each row above links to the page it came from. General information only — your entitlement is assessed by the revenue office, not by this page.