First home buyer stamp duty, state by state
Five of the eight jurisdictions will waive your stamp duty entirely if you qualify. Two will not help at all. The thresholds are not close to each other, and the rules changed in three states during 2026.
Rates as at 27 August 2026. Every figure links to the revenue office it came from.
The short version
| Where | Pay nothing up to | Reduced duty up to | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | $800,000 | $1,000,000 | New or existing homes alike. Vacant land: free to $350,000, reduced to $450,000. |
| Victoria | $600,000 | $750,000 | The concession tapers smoothly — at $675,000 you pay about half the normal duty. |
| Queensland | $700,000 (existing) | $800,000 | A new home or vacant land is free at any price, with no cap at all. |
| Western Australia | $600,000 | $800,000 | Vacant land: free to $450,000, reduced to $550,000. Thresholds rose on 7 May 2026. |
| South Australia | No cap, but new homes only | — | Full relief on a new home, off-the-plan apartment or vacant land. Established homes get nothing. |
| Australian Capital Territory | No cap | — | From 1 July 2026 the income test and the price cap were both removed. |
| Tasmania | Nothing | — | The exemption ended for settlements after 30 June 2026. No successor scheme. |
| Northern Territory | Nothing specific | — | No first home buyer duty concession. Grants exist but do not reduce duty. |
Sources: Revenue NSW, SRO Victoria, Queensland Revenue Office, RevenueWA, RevenueSA, SRO Tasmania, ACT Revenue Office, Territory Revenue Office.
Three things worth knowing before you make an offer
A concession can vanish over one dollar
Most of these schemes are not smooth. Queensland's first home concession steps down in $10,000 bands, so a home at $710,000 attracts $1,735 more duty than the same home at $709,999. Buying at $709,999 costs $450. Buying at $710,000 costs $2,185. Nothing about the house has changed.
Victoria is the exception and does this properly: its concession tapers by the dollar between $600,000 and $750,000, so there is no cliff to fall off.
New and established homes are treated very differently
South Australia gives first home buyers full relief with no price cap at all — but only on a new home, an off-the-plan apartment or vacant land you intend to build on. An established house gets nothing. Queensland is similar in spirit: a new home or vacant land is exempt at any price, while an established home is capped at $800,000.
New South Wales and Victoria make no distinction. The same thresholds apply either way.
Eligibility is not just about the price
Every scheme carries conditions a calculator cannot check. You will generally need to be an individual over 18, never to have owned residential property in Australia, and to move in within twelve months and stay for a continuous period. From 1 August 2026 Queensland also requires buyers to be Australian citizens, permanent residents or specified foreign retirees. Read the revenue office's own eligibility page before relying on any figure.
Where the honest gaps are
Revenue NSW does not publish the formula it uses for the concessional band between $800,000 and $1,000,000 — it only publishes the thresholds and directs people to its own calculator. We therefore do not show a number in that range. Our calculator says a concessional rate applies and links to Revenue NSW rather than estimating something we cannot source.
Work out your own number
Tick the first home buyer box and the calculator applies the scheme for the state you pick, including the cliffs above.