Stamp duty calculator ACT
Conveyance duty on a Canberra purchase, with the separate owner-occupier and investor scales, the Home Buyer Concession Scheme without caps, and the unit and pensioner exemptions.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Methodology
ACT conveyance duty
$19,208
Owner-occupier conveyance duty rates · 2.56 % of the price
| Duty at the general scale | $22,200 |
| Saved by the concession | −$2,992 |
| Duty payable | $19,208 |
| Total to the revenue office | $19,208 |
Contract signed in 2026-27, residential property, one buyer profile for the whole purchase. How this is calculated
Since 1 July 2026 the ACT has removed every income and property value cap from its Home Buyer Concession Scheme: an eligible buyer pays no conveyance duty at all, whether the home costs $600,000 or $2,000,000. Eligibility does not depend on being a first home buyer in the usual sense. The test is that no buyer has held an interest in any property, anywhere, in the 5 years before the contract, and that you live in the home for a year, starting within a year of settlement. Everyone else pays one of two scales: an owner-occupier rate and a higher rate for buyers who will not live there, the gap between them being $2,992 on a $600,000 purchase. Above $1,455,000 both scales become a flat 4.54 % of the whole value. Owner-occupiers buying a new unit off the plan, and eligible pensioners, are also exempt without a cap.
The end of the HBCS caps on 1 July 2026
Before 1 July 2026, the Home Buyer Concession Scheme was limited by household income and by the value of the home. Both limits are gone. An eligible purchase of a new home, an established home or residential land now attracts no conveyance duty, and the ACT is the only jurisdiction on this site where a buyer can pay nothing on an established $1,500,000 house. The conditions that remain are about the buyers, not the property:
- every buyer is an individual aged 18 or over;
- no buyer has held an interest in any property, anywhere, in the 5 years before the contract;
- you live in the home for a year, starting within a year of settlement.
The five-year look-back is wider than a first home test. Someone who sold a flat in another state seven years ago can qualify; someone who still holds a share in an investment property cannot. Details are on the ACT Home Buyer Concession Scheme page.
Owner-occupier and investor scales side by side
For buyers outside the scheme, the ACT Revenue Office applies one of the two tables below. We read them from the rate tables behind its own calculator for 2026-27. Duty is charged per $100 or part of $100.
| Value from | Owner-occupier | Non-owner-occupier |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | $0.28 per $100 | $1.20 per $100 |
| $260,000 / $200,000 | $728 plus $2.20 per $100 over $260,000 | $2,400 plus $2.20 per $100 over $200,000 |
| $300,000 | $1,608 plus $3.40 per $100 over $300,000 | $4,600 plus $3.40 per $100 over $300,000 |
| $500,000 | $8,408 plus $4.32 per $100 over $500,000 | $11,400 plus $4.32 per $100 over $500,000 |
| $750,000 | $19,208 plus $5.90 per $100 over $750,000 | $22,200 plus $5.90 per $100 over $750,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $33,958 plus $6.40 per $100 over $1,000,000 | $36,950 plus $6.40 per $100 over $1,000,000 |
| $1,455,000 | 4.54 % of the whole value | 4.54 % of the whole value |
The second band starts at $260,000 for owner-occupiers and $200,000 for others; from $300,000 upwards the marginal rates are the same and only the base amount differs. That makes the investor premium a fixed $2,992 across most of the range, until the flat rate takes over and erases it.
ACT duty at common prices
| Price | Owner-occupier | HBCS eligible | Investor | Owner-occupier, off-the-plan unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $400,000 | $5,008 | $0 | $8,000 | $0 |
| $600,000 | $12,728 | $0 | $15,720 | $0 |
| $750,000 | $19,208 | $0 | $22,200 | $0 |
| $1,000,000 | $33,958 | $0 | $36,950 | $0 |
| $1,455,000 | $63,078 | $0 | $66,070 | $0 |
| $2,000,000 | $90,800 | $0 | $90,800 | $0 |
The off-the-plan column is the second big change of July 2026. An owner-occupier buying a unit-titled apartment or townhouse off the plan pays nothing, whatever the price, where the old exemption stopped at $1,020,000. Try a unit price below:
ACT apartment or townhouse, owner-occupier
Owner-occupier pays
$0
| Rule | Off the plan unit duty exemption (owner-occupier) |
| Investor, same unit | $20,904 |
The ACT off-the-plan page also covers the Newly Unit Titled Duty Exemption, which applies to a new unit bought from the developer within 2 years of the units plan being registered.
Pensioners
The Pensioner Duty Concession Scheme also lost its value cap on 1 July 2026. An eligible pensioner pays no duty on the home they buy. The ACT pensioner page sets out who counts as eligible.
No grant, and no foreign question
The First Home Owner Grant has not been paid in the ACT since 1 July 2019. The ACT Revenue Office's calculator asks no question about foreign buyers, and this calculator adds no foreign surcharge to an ACT purchase.
Canberra against the states
Without any concession, an owner-occupier at $800,000 pays $22,158 in the ACT, close to Queensland's $21,850 and well below Victoria's $43,070. With the scheme, an eligible buyer pays nothing at any price, so the ACT is never beaten on duty for that buyer. The eight-state comparison ranks your own purchase.