27/06/2022
First home buyer Property tax scheme (Choice between stamp duty or property tax)
To be eligible:
• you must be an individual (not a company or trust)
• you must be over 18 years old
• you, or at least one person you’re buying with, must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
• you or your spouse must not have previously:
o owned or co-owned residential property in Australia
o received a First Home Buyer Grant or duty concessions.
• The property you are buying must be worth less than or equal to $1.5 million
• You must move into the property within 12 months of purchase and live in it continuously for at least 6 months
• You must sign the contract of purchase on or after the scheme commencement date (see below for details).
Choice between stamp duty or property tax
If you are eligible, you can choose between (a) paying the usual amount of stamp duty based on the ‘dutiable value’ of your property; or (b) paying an annual property tax based on the unimproved land value of the property.
Existing first home buyer duty exemptions and concessions are not changing. The exemptions and concessions are described here. There are no first home buyer stamp duty concessions for properties worth more than $800,000.
If the first home buyer is not eligible for a duty exemption or concession, the normal rates of stamp duty apply.
The annual property tax payments will be based on the land value of the purchased property. The property tax rates for 2022-23 will be:
• $400 plus 0.3 per cent of land value for properties whose owners live in them
• $1,500 plus 1.1 per cent of land value for investment properties.
These tax rates will be indexed each year, so that the average property tax payment rises in line with average incomes.
Property tax assessments will be issued in respect of financial years. For properties that are owned for less than a full financial year, a pro rata adjustment will be made based on the number of days in the year the property is owned.
A property tax calculator will be available after the enactment of legislation and before 16 January 2023 when buyers can opt-in to property tax.
What happens when a property that is subject to the property tax is sold?
Only first home buyers are eligible to pay the property tax. All other purchasers must continue to pay stamp duty as normal.
If you are buying a property from somebody who is paying the property tax, you will not be subject to the property tax (unless you are also an eligible first home buyer and you choose to pay the property tax).
Scheme commencement
The Government intends that legislation to establish the property tax will be introduced into the NSW Parliament during the second half of 2022.
Eligible first home buyers who sign a contract of purchase on or after 16 January 2023 will be eligible to opt into the property tax and will not be required to pay stamp duty in order to complete their transaction.
Eligible first home buyers who sign a contract of purchase between the passage of the legislation and 15 January 2023 will be eligible to opt into the property tax. However, these purchasers will be required to pay any applicable stamp duty within the usual required periods and from 16 January 2023, will be able to apply for and receive a refund of that duty.
Information on how to apply for the property tax will be made available once the legislation is enacted.