Stamp Duty Calculator Tasmania

You’re already dropping a bundle of money on buying a home - why do you then need to pay more for stamp duty?

Well, stamp duty is a tax designed primarily to cover the cost of the legal documents involved in buying and selling property - mainly changing the ownership title and searching to ensure that you’re buying the property from the legal owner.

When you use our calculator to work out the cost of your Tasmania stamp duty, your results are broken down into a few different components which make up the total cost commonly thought of as stamp duty. These include:

• Mortgage registration fee. Essentially, this is a fee that covers the cost of registering the physical property you’re buying as security against the home loan you take out to buy it.
• Transfer fee. This is the cost for changing the name on the property deed, which you’ll need to do whenever you buy a new property, or transfer the ownership of a property.
• Stamp duty. This makes up the bulk of the cost, and you can think of it as a tax charged on your property purchase, based on how much the property is worth.

Each state has different rates for calculating stamp duty, based on the value of the property you’re buying. Here’s a breakdown of the different cost tiers for stamp duty in Tasmania, for properties bought after October 2013:

Source: State Revenue Office of Tasmania, Rates of Duty

Seem complicated? That’s why we’ve built the calculator above, so you don’t have to crunch these numbers yourself.

Stamp duty is charged by sate governments, which means the cost and the fineprint varies from state to state. We’ve built dedicated calculators for each state to make calculating stamp duty easy for all Aussies.

• Stamp duty calculator NSW
• Stamp duty calculator Victoria
• Stamp duty calculator Queensland
• Stamp duty calculator South Australia
• Stamp duty calculator Western Australia
• Stamp duty calculator ACT
• Stamp duty calculator Northern Territory

In many states stamp duty is also now known by different names, like “land transfer duty”. In Tasmania, it’s now simply called Duty.

You can pay your Transfer Duty through the Tasmanian Revenue Online website, by sending your documents via post, or in person at the Tasmanian Revenue Office.

There are a range of documents and forms you need to lodge, along with a cheque for the stamp duty amount you owe if you’re paying in person or via post. Once your payment is approved, your stamped documents will be returned to you so you can keep them for your records.

In Tasmania, you’ll need to pay stamp duty within 3 months of purchasing a property. If you don’t pay within this timeframe, you can wind up being hit with penalties or interest so it’s important to make sure that you have everything in order before signing on the dotted line.

In Tasmania, some first home owners can score  stamp duty concessions to help them get a foot in the market. If you're buying an existing home worth $400,000 or less, it's worth looking into whether you're eligible for this concession.

First home buyers may  also be able to score a land tax exemption, a first home owners grant, or jump on board with the Federal Government’s First Home Super Saver Scheme.

First home buyers don't get all the help! There are a couple of other circumstances under which you might be able to claim a concession on your Tasmanian stamp duty.

• Pensioners. Pensioners downsizing to a smaller home may be eligible for a duty concession, as long as their new home is worth $400,000 or less and is also worth less than their old home.
• Personal relationship concessions. If you’re transferring a property between partners or family - or in some business situations - you may be exempt from coughing up duty. This exemption is available for “transfers between partners in a marriage, significant relationship, or caring relationship” but other conditions may apply, so make sure you check if you’re eligible.

Generally speaking, no, you aren’t able to cover your stamp duty costs with a personal loan. However, if you haven’t budgeted to pay stamp duty upfront, you’re not stuck. You may be able to take the cost of your stamp duty out of your home loan deposit - just remember that this will affect your loan-to-value ratio (LVR), as you’ll be borrowing more money.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you’re using a portion of your Tassie home deposit to pay stamp duty and your LVR winds up being higher than 80%, you’ll also wind up paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which could add another few thousand dollars to your bill.

When you’re heading across state lines to buy a property - whether you’re moving to Tasmania yourself or jumping on an investment opportunity - you may be a little confused about the how stamp duty applies. Basically, if you’re buying a property in Tasmania, then the stamp duty rates and rules of Tasmania apply, no matter which state you’re from.

Yes, people buying a home in Tasmania from overseas will pay duty. Overseas buyers will also have to budget for an additional tax of 3% of the property duty when buying in Tasmania.

It’s important to be aware of the effect stamp duty can have on your budget, but don’t forget to plan for the other costs of buying a home! Along with the sale price of your house, you’ll need to consider other costs involved with a property purchase and a home loan, including:

• Mortgage application fees. Depending on what mortgage you apply for, you may be up for an application fee upfront. These can add hundreds, or in some cases over $1,000 to your bill.
• Valuation fee. When you buy a property, your lender will need to send someone to value it and work out what that property is worth. This fee may be set by your lender, or it may be up to you to arrange a valuation, in which case you are responsible for the price.
• Legal fees. This includes the cost for your lender to have the mortgage documents drawn up and to attend the settlement on behalf of your lender. You may also want to have your own solicitor look over the sale agreement, which is another bill to consider.
• Building and pest inspection costs. A house might look great on the surface, but underneath that shiny new coat of paint it might have structural problems than can cost you a tonne in the long run. That’s why it’s a good idea to consider the cost of having the building inspected by a professional a necessary part of your budget.
• Lenders Mortgage Insurance. Saving up a hefty deposit can be really hard, which is why some home buyers opt for low deposit loans, which let you borrow with a deposit of only 5% or 10% of the property’s value. While this is great for getting into the market, it’s important to remember that if you have a deposit smaller than 20% of the property’s value (an LVR 80% or higher) you’ll usually also have to pay for lenders mortgage insurance. This ensures the banks won’t be left out of pocket if you default on your loan, so many lenders insist on it for borrowers with a small deposit, but it can add thousands of dollars to the cost of buying your home.
• Home and contents insurance. And don’t forget that once you’re the owner of a new home, you’ll want to make sure it’s covered by a top notch home insurancepolicy as soon as possible - it might even be a stipulation of your mortgage. The cost of this will differ depending on what insurer you go with and what level of cover you’re after.