First home buyer stamp duty, state by state

The fade above the threshold

A buyer looking at a $650,000 unit in Melbourne and one looking at the same price in Brisbane are in very different positions, even though both are "under the threshold" in the loose way people talk about it. The first table shows duty on an established home for a first home buyer at five prices, so you can see where each concession bites and where it has gone.

The fades work differently. NSW starts from full duty and takes off a share of the duty at $800,000 that shrinks to nothing at $1,000,000. Victoria does the same between $600,000 and $750,000. Western Australia charges a single steep rate of $16.15 per $100 on the value above $600,000, which catches up with the general rate at the cap. Queensland applies its home concession scale and then subtracts a fixed amount, $17,350 below $710,000, falling by $1,735 for each $10,000 band after that.

The practical consequence is that the marginal cost of a slightly dearer home is far higher inside a fade than outside it. In Victoria the step from $650,000 to $700,000 adds $13,357 of duty; in Western Australia the same step adds $8,075.

Established, new or land: the property type changes everything

Three states treat a new home or a block of land more generously than an established home. At $700,000, the second table runs the same first home buyer through the three property types.

Queensland and South Australia stand out: nothing on a new home or land at any price, full duty or close to it on an established home. NSW is the reverse case for land, with a lower ceiling of $350,000 for the exemption and $450,000 for the concession. Victoria and Western Australia have separate land thresholds too; the vacant land guide lists them. The Northern Territory only removes duty on a new home when house and land are bought as a single package from a building contractor, which the table does not assume.

Who counts as a first home buyer

The label sounds universal; the tests are not. NSW asks that you and your spouse never owned residential land in Australia, that you are at least 18 (the age can be waived), and that at least one buyer is a citizen or permanent resident. Victoria asks that at least one buyer is an Australian citizen, a New Zealand citizen or a permanent resident. The ACT's Home Buyer Concession Scheme asks instead that you held no interest in any property, anywhere, in the 5 years before the contract, so a former owner can qualify again. Western Australia lines its first home owner rate up with the grant rules. Queensland, since 1 August 2026, requires a citizen, permanent resident or specified foreign retiree.

The residence condition, compared

This is where concessions are lost after the fact. Each office writes the condition differently, and the table only repeats what the office itself states.

Two details catch people. Victoria's land rule gives you longer, but only up to a fixed limit counted from the occupancy certificate or settlement. Queensland's one-year deadline cannot be extended, whatever happens with the builder. If a requirement is missed, the duty that was waived becomes payable, which is why a conveyancer will ask about your plans before lodging the concession.

Grants sit on top, not instead

The concessions above reduce duty. The First Home Owner Grant is a separate cash payment, only for a new home in every state that still pays it, and the ACT ended its grant on 1 July 2019. A first home buyer in Queensland at $700,000 on a new home pays $0 and receives $30,000. The grant guide compares the eight schemes, and the new versus established guide nets duty against grant.

Changes this year

Tasmania closed its established-home exemption for settlements after 30 June 2026; Western Australia raised its thresholds on 7 May 2026; the ACT removed its income and value limits on 1 July 2026. The 2026 changes guide dates them all.