Stamp Duty Calculator Western Australia

Depending on how much you paid for your new property, you’ll fall into a certain rate tier, which determines your stamp duty fee. The general rule of thumb is; the more expensive your new home or investment in Western Australia, the more expensive your stamp duty fee will be. Our calculator makes it easy to find out how much you'll have to pay based on your property price.

While stamp duty rates will make up the bulk of the overall bill you pay to the WA state government, they aren’t the only expense. You’ll also need to pay a flat mortgage registration fee (worth $169 in Western Australia) if you’re taking out a home loan to pay for your new property.

And there is a transfer fee to pay, which is calculated as a percentage of the overall property value.

These three government charges - your stamp duty rates, mortgage registration fee and transfer fee - make up your stamp duty bill and are exactly what our WA stamp duty calculator takes into account when it crunches the numbers.

If it’s your first time entering the property market, the chances are you can save on your stamp duty fee. For example, if you’re a first home buyer in Western Australia you won’t pay a cent in stamp duty on homes - whether they’re new or existing building - valued under $430,000. If you’re spending more than that, you’ll pay at a concessionary rate of $19.19 per $100 for properties up to the value of $530,000.

To help get your head around what this means and might look like in the real world, here’s a home buying scenario to consider.

HOME BUYING SCENARIO

Sarah, having recently moved to Western Australia for work, is on the hunt for an apartment close to Perth’s CBD. After months of trawling the online real estate listings and heading to a tonne of open houses, she has found a winner with a modern two-bedroom apartment in East Perth that’s on the market for $350,000 - an ideal first home.

Using Mozo’s stamp duty calculator Sarah finds out that, as a first home buyer in Western Australia who is buying a property worth less than $430,000, she qualifies for a stamp duty exemption. This means she only needs to pay the $169 mortgage registration fee and a $259 transfer fee which comes out to a total stamp duty charge of $427.

If you’re buying vacant land as a first home buyer you’ll also be able to claim a total exemption so long as it’s worth no more than $300,000. If the property is worth more than that you’ll pay a concessional stamp duty rate of of $13.01 for every $100 over that, up to the value of $400,000.

Stamp duty concessions aren’t the only way to save as a Western Australian first home buyer, though. The state government also has a generous $10,000 up for grabs in the form of a first home buyer grant, depending on how much you’re spending and where your new home is located.

If you’re in the market for a property in Perth’s metropolitan areas (south of the 26th parallel) and you’re spending less than $750,000, you’ll eligible for the grant. And if you’re building or buying in more regional areas (north of the 26th parallel), you’ll be able to spend as much as $1,000,000 on your first home and still have access to the $10,000 first home buyers grant.

Stamp duty is a state government tax so your precious dollars and cents will be paid towards the Government of Western Australia’s Department of Finance.

Yes, as long as your credit limit is high enough to cover the cost. When it comes to making the actual payment, you’ll have a variety of options to pay the Office of State Revenue like BPay, credit card, over the phone or in-person with cash or cheque.

Yes, the Western Australian government will need your stamp duty money pretty quickly and there isn’t an option to pay in instalments. The good news is that a bunch of lenders will give you the opportunity to roll the amount into your home loan.

Once you purchase your new property and lodge your transfer of property documents you can expect a formal notice in the mail that outlines the amount, specific costs and due date. Generally speaking, the Western Australian government will give you about a month to pay your bill.

Stamp duty might be a pretty big expense when it comes to budgeting for home ownership, but there are also a bunch of other notable fees and payments to be aware of before you take the property plunge. Check out some of the other big expenses worth budgeting for, below or head over to our home buying guides section for a host of more helpful information, tips and tricks.

Deposit

The recommended deposit for a property is 20% but the more you have saved, the less you’ll have to pay in interest over the life of your home loan. The size of your deposit also affects your LVR (loan-to-value ratio) and if this falls below the 80% threshold, be prepared to stump up additional charges on your mortgage in the form of Lenders Mortgage Insurance.

Conveyancer fees

When you settle your new home or investment, a solicitor or lawyer will charge you to look over the papers and this could cost you as much as $2000.

Pest and building inspection fees

Making sure your new home is as healthy on the inside as it is beautiful on the outside is key in the home buying process, so it’s definitely worth organising pest and building inspections.

Your monthly mortgage repayments

Taking out a home loan to land your new property in WA? You’ll have weekly, fortnightly or monthly home loan repayments to start paying really soon so head over to Mozo’s mortgage repayments calculator to get an idea of what these could look like and get an idea of what your home loan interest rate could look like by surveying a few of the most popular options on the market.

Home and contents insurance

If you do have a mortgage, your home loan lender will insist you take out a cosy home insurance policy, but if you’re after something even more comprehensive you might prefer a home and contents insurance policy. Either way, this is another expense you’ll have to incorporate into your new monthly budget now that you own a property.

Landlords insurance

If you are dipping into the WA property market as an investor you’ll want to have landlords insurance sorted so that you’re covered for any damage that a tenant might cause.