Stamp duty in New South Wales

In New South Wales the tax on buying a home is called transfer duty, and Revenue NSW collects it. Most people still say stamp duty. After the price itself it is the largest single cost of the purchase. The table below is computed from the NSW bands by the same code that runs the library's calculator, so the two cannot disagree.

How duty is worked out in New South Wales

Transfer duty is not a flat percentage. Revenue NSW applies a sliding scale of rates to the dutiable value, which is usually the price paid. Each tier charges a base amount plus a rate for every $100 above its threshold, so the effective rate rises with the price.

The thresholds and base amounts are indexed to the Sydney consumer price index and take effect each 1 July. For contracts from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, a home priced between $387,000 and $1,290,000 pays $11,602 plus $4.50 for every $100 over $387,000. Above $1,290,000 the top standard tier is $52,237 plus $5.50 for every $100 over that threshold. The full scale, including the tiers under $387,000, is on the Revenue NSW page in the sources.

Above the standard scale sits premium property duty, on residential land above the premium threshold. From 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 the threshold is $3,870,000 and the formula is $194,137 plus $7 for every $100 above it.

The official tool is the Revenue NSW Transfer of Land or Business Calculator. No general home concession appeared on the Revenue NSW pages reached from this environment; the relief is for first home buyers.

First home buyers

The First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme removes or reduces duty for eligible buyers. For contracts from 1 July 2023, a new or existing home valued up to $800,000 is exempt. A home valued over $800,000 and under $1,000,000 gets a concessional rate. Vacant land bought to build a home on is exempt up to $350,000, with a concessional rate from $350,000 to under $450,000. New and existing homes share the thresholds; Revenue NSW's scheme page stated the figures as current when checked.

Eligibility is a set of tests. The buyer, and any spouse or partner, must never have received an exemption or concession under the scheme before. Neither may have owned residential land anywhere in Australia at any time, other than solely as trustee or executor. At least one buyer must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Every buyer must be a natural person aged at least 18; companies, partnerships and trustees are not eligible.

There is also a residence test. One of the eligible buyers must move in within 12 months of settlement, or of completion for a newly built home. They must then live there as their principal place of residence for 12 continuous months. Permanent Defence Force members are excused if each buyer is enrolled to vote in NSW, and Revenue NSW may waive the test on application.

Service NSW hosts the application page; the full criteria are in the Revenue NSW scheme guide.

Duty at a glance

State/territory transfer-duty rate bands — NSW on the 2026–27 scale (the tiers from $387,000 and premium duty read on Revenue NSW 15 Sep 2026; the three tiers below reconstructed from the published base amount), VIC and SA schedules verified against the revenue office 15 Sep 2026, NT top rates per the Territory Revenue Office 15 Sep 2026, ACT first band from 1 Jul 2025 with the upper bands unverified; first-home-buyer concessions as published for 2026–27 (checked 6 Sep 2026). First-home-buyer figures assume you meet the relevant eligibility conditions, which the report does not verify: you (and any co-buyer) are an individual who has not previously owned property in Australia, you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident, you intend to move in and live there for the required period, and you meet any state price, contract-date, residency or income tests that apply. Confirm eligibility with the relevant state revenue office before relying on these figures. Where a concession phases out between two thresholds the calculator approximates it as a straight line; the revenue office calculator applies the statutory formula.

Read down the two first-home columns and the pattern is the scheme in numbers. Up to the exemption threshold the figure is nil for an established home and a new home alike, because the two share the thresholds. Between that threshold and the concession ceiling the figure climbs from nothing towards the standard amount. From the ceiling upwards the first-home columns match the standard one. Every price in the table sits in the 2026-27 tiers read on the Revenue NSW page, so the standard column is the current scale.

Other concessions and surcharges

No pensioner, off-the-plan or house-and-land duty concession appeared on the Revenue NSW pages reached from this environment. The transfer duty section in the sources is the place to confirm.

What does exist is surcharge purchaser duty. Foreign persons acquiring residential property pay it on top of transfer duty, and Revenue NSW publishes a separate Surcharge Purchaser Duty Calculator for it. The rate was not visible from this environment; the table above does not include it.

What the figure leaves out

Land transfer registration and mortgage registration fees are charged separately and are not in the table. Conveyancing, the building and pest inspection and any strata report are the buyer's own costs. Land tax is an annual charge and not part of a purchase figure. The ownership costs calculator stacks duty with the other purchase costs for NSW.

Checking the figure

The Revenue NSW calculator gives the statutory figure for a specific price and contract date. The library's stamp duty calculator set to NSW shows the standard duty, the first-home figure and the effective rate side by side. The Property Decision Report includes duty in its purchase-cost figure for the one property being weighed up.