Stamp Duty Calculator

Stamp duty, more properly transfer duty, is a state and territory tax on the transfer of property. It is usually the largest single upfront cost in a purchase after the deposit, and it is generally payable at or shortly after settlement.

The figure moves with more than the price

Duty depends on where the property is, what it is, who is buying it and what they intend to do with it. Two buyers paying the same price for the same house can owe materially different amounts. First home buyer concessions, principal place of residence rates, off-the-plan arrangements, pensioner concessions, and surcharges for foreign purchasers all change the answer, and each state sets its own rules for every one of them.

There is no national stamp duty. Each state and territory legislates its own scale, its own thresholds and its own concessions, and they are revisited at budget time. A figure that was right last year may not be right now, and a rule that applies in Victoria may have no equivalent in Queensland.

Use this tool for a rough sense of scale. Use the revenue office for the number you actually plan around. Most of them publish their own calculator, and that one is authoritative in a way ours is not.

Your conveyancer or solicitor will confirm the assessed amount before settlement. If a concession is in play, they are the right person to confirm you qualify, because eligibility usually turns on details a calculator never sees.

• The purchase price you entered is the dutiable value. Where the market value is higher, duty is generally assessed on the higher figure.
• A standard transfer of an established residential property, rather than a vacant land and building contract arrangement.
• No concession or exemption is applied unless you have selected one.
• No foreign purchaser or absentee owner surcharge applies.
• The current published scale for the state you selected, which may have changed since.
• One buyer type and one intended use, applied to the whole property.

If you are buying with someone whose circumstances differ from yours, or buying through a company or trust, the treatment can change. That is a conveyancing question and, where structure is involved, an accounting one.

1. 01Check the current figure on your state or territory revenue office calculator.
2. 02Ask your conveyancer whether any concession applies to your circumstances.
3. 03Add the other upfront costs to the duty figure and treat the total as the real cash requirement.
4. 04Rerun your borrowing power once you know how much deposit is left after costs.
5. 05Talk to a broker before you bid or sign, so the finance and the settlement date line up.

WeL’nd arranges the finance. Duty, eligibility and the settlement mechanics belong with your conveyancer or solicitor, and we will work alongside them.