Victoria's pensioner and concession card holder duty reduction
For contracts from 1 July 2023, eligible pension and concession card holders buying a home in Victoria can cut or remove land transfer duty once; this page shows the figures and the choices involved.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Methodology
A pensioner or concession card holder buying a home in Victoria pays no land transfer duty when the dutiable value is $600,000 or less, under the State Revenue Office reduction that applies to contracts signed from 1 July 2023. Between $600,000 and $750,000 the reduction tapers away evenly, so a downsizer paying $680,000 owes $19,130 rather than $35,870, and at $750,000 or above the full general scale applies. These are the same thresholds as the first home buyer scheme, but the two cannot be combined, and the pensioner reduction can be claimed only once in a lifetime. A retiree who sells the family home and buys a smaller unit is the typical user; one who buys above $750,000 gets no benefit at all and pays $43,070 on an $800,000 purchase. Every figure on this page is produced by the same engine as the Victorian calculator.
Pensioner buying a home: VIC and ACT
Victoria, pensioner reduction
$19,130
| Victoria without it | $35,870 |
| ACT, pensioner scheme | $0 |
| ACT without it | $16,184 |
Where the reduction starts and stops
The pensioner reduction is built around two numbers. At $600,000 or less there is no duty at all. Above $750,000 there is no reduction at all. In between, the duty you pay is the general duty multiplied by how far the price has travelled into the $150,000 band.
| Price of the home | With the pensioner reduction | Owner-occupier without it | Reduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| $450,000 | $0 | $18,970 | $18,970 |
| $600,000 | $0 | $31,070 | $31,070 |
| $640,000 | $8,925 | $33,470 | $24,545 |
| $680,000 | $19,130 | $35,870 | $16,740 |
| $720,000 | $30,616 | $38,270 | $7,654 |
| $750,000 | $40,070 | $40,070 | $0 |
| $800,000 | $43,070 | $43,070 | $0 |
The third column is not the investor rate. Below $550,000 an owner-occupier already gets the principal place of residence concession, so the pensioner reduction at $450,000 saves $18,970 against the PPR rate, and more against the $22,070 an investor would pay. From $550,000 upward, the comparison is with the general scale.
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 |
The taper, step by step
The SRO works out the reduced amount in three moves. First, the general duty is calculated on the dutiable value as if no concession existed. Second, that duty is multiplied by ($750,000 − value) ÷ $150,000, which gives the reduction. Third, the reduction is taken off. On $660,000: the general duty is $34,670, the fraction is 0.60, and the duty payable is $13,868. The SRO's calculator rounds the reduction up to the whole dollar, and so does this one.
A worked downsize
Consider a couple on the age pension selling a four-bedroom house and buying a $640,000 two-bedroom unit near the shops, to live in. Without any concession the unit would cost them $33,470 in land transfer duty. With the pensioner reduction they pay $8,925, a saving of $24,545. Had they found a similar unit for $595,000, the duty would have been $0. Those few tens of thousands on the price are worth an extra $8,925 in duty, which is the kind of gap worth bringing to a negotiation.
What "once only" means in practice
The SRO page for contracts from 1 July 2023 limits the reduction to a single use. That makes timing a real decision for people expecting to move twice in retirement, perhaps from the family house to a townhouse, then later to a smaller unit closer to family or care. Using the reduction on the first move makes sense when the first purchase is inside the $600,000 exemption, because that is where it saves the most. Using it on a purchase just under $750,000 spends the single entitlement on a modest saving: at $740,000 it removes $2,632.
| Price | Saving from the reduction | As a share of the general duty |
|---|---|---|
| $600,000 | $31,070 | 100 % |
| $650,000 | $22,714 | 67 % |
| $700,000 | $12,357 | 33 % |
| $740,000 | $2,632 | 7 % |
Pensioner reduction or first home benefit
A card holder who has never owned a home qualifies for both the pensioner reduction and the first home buyer exemption or concession. The thresholds match, so on the purchase itself the duty is the same either way. The SRO requires you to choose one, and since the first home benefit is by nature used once anyway, claiming it keeps the pensioner reduction in reserve. The first home route also opens the $10,000 First Home Owner Grant on a new home up to $750,000.
Downsizing in other states
Relief for older buyers varies widely across Australia. The figures below use the same $700,000 purchase.
- ACT. From 1 July 2026 the Pensioner Duty Concession Scheme has no value cap and an eligible pensioner pays no duty: $0, compared with $17,048 for another owner-occupier. See the ACT pensioner page.
- South Australia. For contracts from 25 March 2026, buyers aged 60 or over who sell their home and buy a new home, an off-the-plan apartment or land to build on, on a smaller block, can receive relief of up to $103,830.
- Tasmania. The pensioner downsizing concession applied only to sales settled by 30 June 2025, so a Tasmanian downsizer now pays the ordinary scale: $26,748.
The national downsizer guide compares the schemes side by side.
Points to settle before signing
The reduction works on the dutiable value, which is the contract price unless the market value is higher; a sale between relatives at a discount is assessed on the market value. Off-the-plan purchases have their own deduction, described on the Victorian off-the-plan page, and how it combines with the pensioner reduction on a particular contract is a question for the SRO. Finally, a buyer who is a foreign purchaser pays foreign purchaser additional duty of 8 % on top, whatever the age.