Dutiable value: the figure duty is charged on
Every duty scale is applied to a number, and that number is not always the price on the contract.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Methodology
The dutiable value is the amount a state's duty scale is applied to, and in NSW it is the higher of the price you pay and the market value of the property, so a sale below value is taxed on the value. Revenue NSW's own example is land in Nowra worth $450,000 sold to the seller's son for $300,000: duty is assessed on $450,000, $14,437, not on the price, which would give $8,557. Revenue NSW expects a formal valuation when the parties are related, when no agent is involved, or when the same firm acts for buyer and seller. Victoria shows the dutiable value can also be lower than the price: an off-the-plan contract is charged on the price less the construction cost still to come, and a first home buyer of vacant land is assessed on the land alone. Rounding also changes the base. Most offices charge each band per $100 or part of $100, so the value above a band floor is rounded up before the rate applies.
Price or market value: which one is taxed
Duty on the dutiable value
$22,087
| Dutiable value | $620,000 |
| Duty if only the price counted | $16,687 |
| Extra duty from the valuation | $5,400 |
The number before the scale
People usually check the rate table first. The base matters as much: a scale of 5.5 % applied to the wrong figure gives the wrong answer however carefully the bands are read. There are four ways the base can differ from the price written in the contract, and each is backed by an office's own words.
- Market value above the price. NSW charges duty on the higher of the two.
- Part of the price is not taxed yet. Victoria removes construction still to come in an off-the-plan contract.
- Only the land counts. Victoria's first home and residence concessions on vacant land look at the land value alone; Queensland charges the normal rate on any part of the land not used for the home.
- Rounding. Most offices round the value inside each band up to the next $100.
NSW: the higher of price and market value
Revenue NSW defines the dutiable value as the greater of the price paid and the market value. Between strangers who negotiated through an agent these are the same. They part ways in family transfers and private deals, which is why Revenue NSW names the situations in which it expects a valuation: related parties, no agent, the same firm acting for both sides.
| Revenue NSW example | Value used | Duty |
|---|---|---|
| Yamba, purchase at $1,350,000 | $1,350,000 | $55,537 |
| Balmain, $4,000,000 pre-auction offer (premium duty) | $4,000,000 | $203,237 |
| Nowra, land worth $450,000 sold to a son for $300,000 | $450,000 | $14,437 |
| Nowra, if the price had been used | $300,000 | $8,557 |
The Nowra case shows the cost of a family discount: $5,880 more duty than the price alone would suggest. The Balmain case shows the other end of the scale, where a value above $3,870,000 moves into premium duty at $7.00 per $100. Premium duty only applies to residential land, and on a holding above two hectares Revenue NSW applies the premium rate to the first two hectares on a proportional basis.
This price in one state, four buyer profiles
Investor
$40,070
| Home buyer, not first | $40,070 |
| First home buyer, established | $40,070 |
| First home buyer, new home | $40,070 |
| Foreign investor | $100,070 |
What a below-market price is worth in each scale
The NSW rule is the one this site has read in full. As a measure of how much is at stake, the table runs the same two figures through each of the eight general scales: the duty on $300,000 and on $450,000. If an office assesses on the market value, the right-hand column is the one you pay.
| State | Duty on $300,000 | Duty on $450,000 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $8,557 | $14,437 | $5,880 |
| VIC | $13,070 | $22,070 | $9,000 |
| QLD | $8,925 | $14,175 | $5,250 |
| WA | $8,835 | $15,390 | $6,555 |
| SA | $11,330 | $18,830 | $7,500 |
| TAS | $9,935 | $16,123 | $6,188 |
| ACT | $4,600 | $9,700 | $5,100 |
| NT | $10,414 | $20,057 | $9,643 |
Victoria: a value below the price
The State Revenue Office Victoria takes the construction cost still to be incurred after the contract date off the dutiable value of an off-the-plan purchase. In its example, Michelle contracts at $1,000,000 with $400,000 still to be built: the dutiable value is $600,000, and duty at the general scale falls from $55,000 to $31,070. The concession thresholds are then tested against that reduced value, except for the foreign purchaser additional duty, which is charged on the price before the deduction. The off-the-plan guide sets out who can use it.
For vacant land, Victoria assesses the first home buyer exemption and the principal place of residence concession on the land's value alone. A first home buyer who pays $550,000 for a block pays $0; the cost of the house built later never enters the calculation.
Queensland: residential and non-residential land
Queensland's first home (new home) and first home vacant land concessions are full, but only on the part of the land used as the residence. The Queensland Revenue Office charges the normal rate on any part of the land that is not, so a larger property can carry duty even for an eligible first home buyer. The Queensland first home page has the detail.
Rounding: per $100 or part of $100
Six offices write their rates "for every $100, or part of $100". The calculator rounds the amount above each band floor up to the next hundred before applying the rate; Victoria and the Northern Territory apply their rate to the exact amount.
| State | Rounding | Duty on $500,050 | Duty on $500,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | per $100 or part | $16,692 | $16,687 |
| VIC | exact | $25,073 | $25,070 |
| QLD | per $100 or part | $15,929 | $15,925 |
| WA | per $100 or part | $17,770 | $17,765 |
| SA | per $100 or part | $21,336 | $21,330 |
| TAS | per $100 or part | $18,252 | $18,248 |
| ACT | per $100 or part | $11,404 | $11,400 |
| NT | exact | $23,933 | $23,929 |
The differences are small, but they explain why an online estimate can be a few dollars off the assessment. Revenue NSW's own calculator returns the same figure as this site for $500,050.
Using the calculators with a valuation
The calculators on this site take the figure you type as the dutiable value. For a sale below market value, enter the market value. For a Victorian off-the-plan purchase, use the Victorian calculator, which asks for the construction cost still to come. For anything involving a mixed-use property, a farm or a company, the office's own assessment is the only reliable figure.