Stamp duty is a state or territory tax on certain property transfers. Budget for it separately from your deposit.
- Deposit
- Money towards the price
- Transfer duty
- Check your state’s rules
- Legal and inspection costs
- Get separate quotes
- Cash buffer
- Money left for surprises
This is a checklist, not a duty estimate. A concession or exemption only applies when its conditions are met.
Choose your state or territory
Official duty tools and guidance. Check concessions, foreign-buyer charges and the tool's exclusions.
Why there is no single Australian amount
Rates, concessions and eligibility differ by state or territory. The value used for duty may differ from what you borrow. Contract dates, property type and whether you will live there can matter.
First home does not mean automatically free
Check the current first-home rules for the state and property. Existing homes, new homes and vacant land may receive different treatment. Occupancy and buyer-status conditions can continue after settlement.
Get an estimate you can explain
Have the location, contract date, price or required value, buyer details and property type ready. Use the relevant revenue office tool and read its exclusions. Mixed ownership, foreign-buyer rules or unusual transactions may require a separate calculation.
Turn the buying budget into separate lines
Consider a made-up $700,000 purchase with $70,000 towards the price. For a budgeting exercise only, allow $20,000 for duty, $2,500 for legal work, $700 for inspections and a $10,000 cash buffer. The cash target is $103,200. The $20,000 is an invented placeholder, not the duty payable in any state. Replace it with the relevant revenue office estimate for the actual transaction. Notice that entering all $103,200 as a deposit in an LVR calculator would incorrectly shrink the loan.
Keep the inputs with the estimate
A saved duty number is difficult to check without its assumptions. Beside it, record the state or territory, property price and any other required value, contract date, property type, buyer details and the concession selected. Save the official tool URL and the date you used it. If you change from an existing home to vacant land, or add a joint buyer, run the official calculation again. Do not assume an earlier result follows you to a different property or ownership arrangement.
Read what must happen after purchase
A concession can depend on more than what is true on signing day. Read the revenue office conditions about occupation and any later change in use, and ask your conveyancer which dates and records apply. Put confirmed obligations in your calendar with the official source. The federal deposit guarantee and state duty relief have separate purposes and tests. A lender saying that you qualify for a guarantee does not establish that the property transfer is exempt from duty.
Reconcile the estimate before settlement
Compare the duty estimate with the itemised settlement statement and ask about differences while there is time to understand them. Keep government charges, professional fees, loan costs and property adjustments on separate lines. If an amount will come from the loan, check that it has not also been counted as cash you must supply. This guide is a way to organise the calculation, not a national rate table. Use the state links below for the transaction rules and the official calculators they provide.
Does a 5% deposit guarantee automatically remove stamp duty?
Sources & update record
- Queensland Revenue Office: calculate duty ↗
- Revenue NSW: calculating transfer duty ↗
- Moneysmart: buying assistance ↗
Expanded with original worked examples, practical checks and common mistakes. Current rule notes remain separate from illustrative arithmetic.
Published 18 Sept 2026 · Updated 18 Sept 2026. These dates do not guarantee rules are unchanged.
Published by Howloop. AI assists preparation. This lesson has not been reviewed by a licensed financial adviser. How we check our content →