If you’re a Queenslander currently searching for your dream home or investment property, then you’ll need to be prepared to pay stamp duty. Mozo’s easy to use stamp duty calculator quickly crunches the numbers so that you can work out how much stamp duty will cost you.
Check out the FAQ section below to find out more about concessions and other important info you’ll need to know about buying property in Queensland.
Calculations valid for 2023-2024 financial year Includes duty discounts for first home buyers but does not include state or federal grants Some states may give further discounts or exemptions in certain circumstances
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Yes, stamp duty is more commonly known in QLD as transfer duty. It’s a one-off government charge you will have to pay once you purchase property or land, regardless of whether it will be used for residential, commercial or investment purposes.
Stamp duty in Queensland will need to be paid to the Office of State Revenue. Stamp duty is considered a tax, so the money will be used to fund different public sectors, such as transport, health and emergency services and education.
However before you make your payment, you will need to submit all the necessary documents and applications for assessment. These documents will also need to be submitted to the Queensland Office of State Revenue or a registered assessor, like a solicitor.
Once all your documents have been assessed, stamp duty will need to paid within 30 days.
You have four payment options to pay your stamp duty in QLD, they include:
Stamp duty is calculated on the market value of the property, so the more expensive the property, the larger your stamp duty payment will be. But you are able to roughly estimate your duty cost based on number of factors, which include:
Source: Queensland Government Transfer Duty Rates
If you are a first homebuyer in Queensland, you may be able to claim a stamp duty concession or exemption, however, you will need to meet specific eligibility requirements, which are that you:
The QLD Government has a first home duty rate, which has different tiers depending on how much the property is. In addition to this, there is an extra concession which gets applied. For more information about how this amount is calculated, you can visit the home transfer duty concession rates page.
But to give you an example of how it works, say you were purchasing a property worth $530,000, the concession amount on the first $350,000 would be $3,500. The remaining $180,000 balance would then incur a stamp duty amount of $6,300, making the total home concession amount $9,800.
Now that you have the home concession amount, it is then deducted from the first home concession rate, which for a property valued at $530,000 is $3,500, making your total stamp duty amount $6,300.
In Queensland, there is also the First Home Owners Grant (FHOG) - a government initiative aimed to ease the financial burden for first home buyers. If you are purchasing a property valued at under $750,000, you may receive a grant of $15,000 or $20,000 - depending on your contract date.
Yes, even if you are not a first homebuyer you are still able to claim on other stamp duty concessions, such as:
There is also an automatic stamp duty exemption in the following circumstances:
Yes, but foreign buyers planning to purchase a home in QLD will also face an ‘additional foreign acquirer duty’ (AFAD), which is an additional 7% charge of the value of the property. So say you purchased a home worth $700,000, you would have to pay a total of $40,480, compared to a regular first home buyer who would pay $19,480 in stamp duty.
Yes, there is also a mortgage registration and transfer fee attached to stamp duty. A mortgage registration fee is the cost to create all the needed documentation and files once you get a home loan, while a transfer fee is the cost to move the property title from the previous owner to the new one.
Yes, there are circumstances in which your stamp duty can be refunded in Queensland. This may involve a decrease on your dutiable transaction after it is submitted for assessment. If this does occur, you will need to lodge the original stamped documents again along with written evidence for reassessment.
You may also receive a refund on your stamp duty if the sale is cancelled, however you will need to submit certain documents, such as a reassessment application for cancelled stamp duty and a completed statutory declaration from each party and a dutiable transaction statement.
No, stamp duty is a nation-wide government charge, but there are differences between each state. If you’d like to find out how stamp duty varies between states, you can check out our state-based stamp duty pages here:
Once you become a homeowner, you’ll find that there are many other expenses that need to be factored into your budget. Some include:
When it comes to purchasing your first home in Queensland, there are some things you can’t avoid, like stamp duty. But the good news is, you can choose who you take out your home loan from and with rates dropping left, right and centre, there’s the potential for massive savings. Our Home Loans Interest page compares interest rates from a range of lenders, helping you find the right option for you