No duty up to $800,000 Reduced to $1,000,000

First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme (NSW)

Q: How much stamp duty does a first home buyer pay in NSW?

Nothing at all on a home of $800,000 or less , and a reduced amount between $800,000 and $1,000,000. Above $1,000,000 the scheme does not apply and you pay the standard transfer duty rate.

Q: Does it apply to vacant land?

Yes, with lower thresholds: no duty on vacant land costing $350,000 or less , and a reduced rate between $350,000 and $450,000. At $370,000 the reduced duty is $2,761.40.

Q: Who is eligible?

You must be 18 or over , an Australian citizen or permanent resident, buying your first home, and intending to live in it for at least 12 months. You have to move in within 12 months of settlement (or of completion for a newly built home).

Q: Is this the same as the first home owner grant?

No. This scheme reduces transfer duty , the tax charged on the purchase. The first home owner grant is a separate payment, and in NSW it is limited to new homes. On many purchases the duty exemption is worth considerably more than the grant — see the state-by-state comparison .

NSW removes transfer duty entirely for an eligible first home buyer on a home of $800,000 or less, reduces it between $800,000 and $1,000,000, and does the same for vacant land on lower thresholds. This page sets out the limits, the reduced amounts the Government publishes, and who qualifies.

The limits

What you are buying	No duty at all	Reduced duty up to
New or existing home	$800,000 or less	$1,000,000
Vacant land	$350,000 or less	$450,000

The cliff is at $1,000,000. One dollar below it you are inside the reduced band; one dollar above it you pay the full standard rate on the whole purchase. If you are buying close to the limit, the difference in duty between $999,999 and $1,000,001 is far larger than the price difference.

Reduced transfer duty — the amounts NSW publishes

New and existing homes

Property value	Transfer duty payable
$850,000	$9,796.75
$900,000	$19,593.50
$950,000	$29,390.25
$990,000	$37,227.65

Vacant land

Land value	Transfer duty payable
$370,000	$2,761.40

These are the NSW Government’s own published figures for transactions entered into between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027, reproduced without rounding. They are points on the scale, not a formula — the full table sits on the scheme page linked at the bottom of this one, and the reduced amount between the published points is worked out by the revenue office. Our state-by-state comparison shows how the same purchase is treated in the other seven jurisdictions.

Who qualifies

You must be 18 or over, and an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
It must be your first home — you (and your spouse or partner) must not have owned residential property in Australia before.
You must move in within 12 months of settlement, or of completion for a newly built home, and then live there for at least 12 months.
It applies to new and existing homes, and to vacant land you build on — unlike the grant, which in NSW is for new homes.

An investment purchase does not qualify. The occupancy condition is the one people trip over: buying the property as your first home and renting it out from day one fails the test, however good the intention was.

Frequently asked questions

How much stamp duty does a first home buyer pay in NSW?

Nothing at all on a home of $800,000 or less, and a reduced amount between $800,000 and $1,000,000. Above $1,000,000 the scheme does not apply and you pay the standard transfer duty rate.

What does the reduced rate actually come to?

The NSW Government publishes a table of the reduced amounts, and it rises steeply. On a home of $850,000 the duty is $9,796.75; at $900,000 it is $19,593.50; at $950,000 it is $29,390.25; and at $990,000 it is $37,227.65. The full table is on the scheme page we link to below — the figures on this page are its own published values for transactions from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.

Does it apply to vacant land?

Yes, with lower thresholds: no duty on vacant land costing $350,000 or less, and a reduced rate between $350,000 and $450,000. At $370,000 the reduced duty is $2,761.40.

Who is eligible?

You must be 18 or over, an Australian citizen or permanent resident, buying your first home, and intending to live in it for at least 12 months. You have to move in within 12 months of settlement (or of completion for a newly built home).

Is this the same as the first home owner grant?

No. This scheme reduces transfer duty, the tax charged on the purchase. The first home owner grant is a separate payment, and in NSW it is limited to new homes. On many purchases the duty exemption is worth considerably more than the grant — see the state-by-state comparison.

Is the exemption automatic?

It is applied through the duty assessment, so it is normally reflected in the figure your conveyancer or solicitor calculates — but the scheme has its own application and evidence requirements, so ask them to confirm it has been claimed on your transaction rather than assuming it was.

Work out the duty on your purchase

NSW stamp duty calculator — the standard rate on any price, with the bands shown
First home buyer duty in every state — how NSW compares
First home owner grant NSW — the separate $10,000 grant for new homes
NSW land tax calculator — the annual tax that starts once you own it

Thresholds and reduced rates from NSW Government — First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme, checked 15 October 2026. General information only — eligibility is assessed by Revenue NSW.