Stamp duty in Victoria

Victoria calls it land transfer duty; most people still say stamp duty, and the State Revenue Office (SRO) uses both names. The SRO collects it, and it is the largest single cost of buying after the price itself. It is charged on the dutiable value: usually the price paid, or the market value if that is higher. The table below is computed from Victoria's bands by the same code as the library's calculator.

How duty is worked out in Victoria

Duty is a sliding scale. For a property that will not be the buyer's home, a dutiable value from $130,001 to $960,000 attracts $2,870 plus 6% of the amount over $130,000. From $960,001 to $2,000,000 the rate is 5.5%. Above $2,000,000 a premium rate applies: $110,000 plus 6.5% of the excess. The two lowest bands, to $130,000, were not returned from this environment.

The schedule applies to contracts entered into on or after 1 July 2021 and is not re-set on a yearly cycle. The official calculator is the SRO land transfer (stamp) duty calculator.

A second concession is not limited to first home buyers. The principal place of residence (PPR) concession cuts duty by up to $3,100 on a home with a dutiable value from $130,001 to $550,000. It is a 1% rate reduction to $440,000, then a flat $3,100 reduction to $550,000. It is open to anyone who pays market value, moves in within 12 months of settlement and lives there for at least a year. Above $550,000, and for investment properties and holiday homes, the general rates apply.

First home buyers

An eligible first home buyer pays no duty on a home with a dutiable value of $600,000 or less. From $600,001 to $750,000 a concession applies on a sliding scale; above $750,000 there is no first-home relief. The thresholds are the same for a new home, an established home, or vacant land bought to build on. For an off-the-plan purchase the off-the-plan concession is applied first, and the dutiable value after it cannot exceed $750,000.

The relief is conditional on the SRO's eligibility tests. Every applicant has to be at least 18, and at least one an Australian citizen or permanent resident. No applicant can have previously owned a home in Australia that they lived in, and the purchase has to be at market value. The buyer has to live in the home for at least 12 months, starting within 12 months of settlement. For vacant land, the move-in clock is 12 months from the occupancy certificate or 36 months from settlement, whichever comes first.

The relief is separate from the First Home Owner Grant, a payment with its own test. The conveyancer or lawyer applies through the SRO's Digital Duties Form (the application page lists the documents); if the buyer is eligible, the relief is applied automatically.

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.

Reading down the table: the first-home columns show nothing up to $600,000, a partial figure inside the $600,001 to $750,000 phase-out, and the full standard figure above $750,000. The new-home column matches the established column because the thresholds do not depend on whether the home is new. There is no column for the PPR concession; the SRO calculator shows that figure.

Other concessions and surcharges

Off the plan. Two concessions run at once. The standing concession deducts construction or refurbishment costs incurred on or after the contract date from the contract price. It is only available with the PPR concession (value after the deduction up to $550,000) or the first-home relief (up to $750,000). The buyer has to live in the home for 12 months, starting within 12 months of possession.

The temporary concession, announced on 21 October 2024, applies the same deduction to dwellings in a strata subdivision, apartments and townhouses included. It has no home-buyer test: investors, companies and trusts can use it. It was extended in 2025 and again by the Building Legislation and Treasury Legislation (Tax Relief) Amendment Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 23 June 2026. It now covers contracts from 21 October 2024 to 20 April 2027.

Pensioners and concession cardholders. For contracts from 1 July 2023, a buyer holding an eligible concession card at the date of transfer can claim an exemption on a home of $600,000 or less. From $600,001 to $750,000 there is a concession instead. It is once-only, at market value, for a home the buyer intends to live in; the SRO has a separate pensioner duty calculator.

Foreign purchaser surcharge. Not returned from this environment; the SRO's duty pages carry it.

What the figure leaves out

Duty is not the only charge at settlement. Land Use Victoria's title and mortgage registration fees, the conveyancing fee and a building and pest inspection sit on top and are not in the table. Land tax is an annual charge on some Victorian properties and is not a purchase cost.

Checking the figure

The SRO calculator applies the statutory formula, concessions included. The library's stamp duty calculator set to Victoria applies the bands in the table above and adds a purchase-cost total. The Property Decision Report, for one property, carries duty inside its purchase-cost figure, beside the fair-value range it builds from recorded comparable sales.