Victorian stamp duty and land tax calculator

Using the two calculators

The land transfer duty calculator works out Victorian duty at the general rates on a dutiable value, can apply the published principal place of residence (PPR) concession rates up to $550,000, and can add foreign purchaser additional duty. The land tax calculator works out 2026 land tax at general rates or trust surcharge rates, with the absentee owner surcharge as an add-on.

Neither calculator decides eligibility. Where your client may qualify for the first home buyer exemption or concession, the spouse exemption, a trust exemption, the corporate reconstruction concession or landholder duty, the calculator says so and stops. Enter dutiable value, which is the greater of the price paid and market value, and includes GST if GST is payable.

Land transfer duty general rates

These are the SRO's current general rates for contracts entered into on or after 1 July 2021. They have not changed since then. The SRO rates page was updated 29 September 2026.

Two features trip people up. Between $960,000 and $2,000,000 the 5.5% rate applies to the whole value, not the excess. Above $2,000,000 the premium rate of 6.5% applies on the excess, and it applies to all property types, not only residential.

PPR concession rates

A buyer who will live in the property as their home can use concessional rates where the dutiable value is not more than $550,000. Above $550,000 the general rates apply.

SRO worked examples

Foreign purchaser additional duty

A foreign purchaser acquiring residential property pays foreign purchaser additional duty (FPAD) on top of land transfer duty. The rate is 8% for agreements and arrangements entered into on or after 1 July 2019. It is calculated on the dutiable value of the foreign purchaser's share, before any concessions.

A foreign purchaser is a foreign natural person, a foreign corporation or the trustee of a foreign trust. A foreign natural person is someone who is not an Australian citizen, does not hold a permanent residence visa, and is not a New Zealand citizen who ordinarily resides in Australia for 6 consecutive months within the 12 months before or after settlement. The SRO notes changed requirements for New Zealand citizens for settlements from 26 November 2025, and that following the High Court's decision in October 2025, FPAD payable on or after 1 January 2018 is valid.

The SRO's examples:

• A foreign individual buys a $1 million house and pays FPAD of $80,000 on top of land transfer duty.
• Three people buy a $600,000 home in equal shares. Only the foreign purchaser's $200,000 share is subject to FPAD, which is $16,000.
• A transfer that is exempt from land transfer duty, such as a spouse transfer of the home, is also exempt from FPAD.
• For a landholder acquisition, FPAD applies to the residential share of the landholdings only.

Where the corporate reconstruction concession applies, it applies to the full duty including FPAD.

Concessions and exemptions accountants meet

First home buyers

A first home buyer pays no duty on a home with a dutiable value up to $600,000, and a reduced amount between $600,001 and $750,000. It covers new and established homes and vacant land for building a first home. All purchasers must be natural persons, at least 18, buying at market value as their home, and at least one must be an Australian citizen, New Zealand citizen or permanent resident. At least one purchaser must live there for 12 continuous months starting within 12 months of settlement. A buyer cannot claim if they, their spouse or their partner have previously received a First Home Owner Grant or first home buyer duty benefit, or have owned a residential home in Australia before 1 July 2000, or owned and occupied a home in Australia for a continuous period of at least 6 months on or after 1 July 2000. If a co-buyer is not a citizen or permanent resident, FPAD may apply. The calculator does not compute the reduced amount; use the SRO calculator.

Changes legislated in 2026

The Building Legislation and Treasury Legislation (Tax Relief) Amendment Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 23 June 2026. It extends the temporary off-the-plan duty concession for strata apartments and townhouses to contracts entered into on or before 20 April 2027 (from 21 October 2024), and from 1 January 2027 changes the land tax PPR exemption for a home under construction or renovation, including allowing the exemption for up to 4 years even if the work takes longer. The 2026-27 Victorian Budget also announced duty, land tax and VRLT relief for people affected by the January 2026 bushfires. None of these change the general rates on this page.

Transfers between spouses and domestic partners

A transfer of residential property between spouses or domestic partners can be exempt where it is for no consideration, at least one spouse or partner lives there as their PPR (moving in within 12 months and staying for at least 12 continuous months), no one else receives an interest, all parties are natural persons, and there are no more than 2 transferors and 2 transferees. Taking on or refinancing the existing mortgage does not count as consideration, provided the arrangement was not entered into to take advantage of the exemption. Investment property transfers between spouses are dutiable. A separate exemption covers relationship breakdowns.

Trusts

Transfers into a trust are dutiable, and so is a declaration of trust over dutiable property. The SRO lists these trust exemptions, none of which is automatic:

• Change of trustee. Where property moves solely because a trustee retires or is appointed, the trust continues and there is no change in beneficial ownership.
• Apparent purchaser. Where the real purchaser provided the purchase money. Later paying the mortgage does not make someone the real purchaser.
• Bare trustee or nominee. Transfers to, and back from, a nominee holding solely for the transferor.
• Distribution to a beneficiary. For a discretionary trust, the beneficiary usually must have been a beneficiary when the property entered the trust, duty must have been paid when it entered, and the transfer must not involve a payment or benefit (which can include forgiving a loan). Transfers to a company or trust that did not exist at that time are usually not exempt.

SMSFs and limited recourse borrowing

Under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement, the custodian's purchase is dutiable at general rates. The custodian's declaration of trust can be exempt under section 34(1)(a)(i) of the Duties Act 2000 where the fund provided all the purchase money, or under section 17 where the transfer and declaration are contemporaneous. The final transfer from the custodian to the fund trustee can be exempt under section 34(1)(b) or section 36 if the conditions are met, including that duty was paid on the custodian's acquisition.

Corporate reconstruction concession

Duty on an eligible transaction between members of the same corporate group is 10% of the duty otherwise payable. A subsidiary must be at least 90% owned (beneficially) with at least 90% of voting control. Unit trust schemes can be members; discretionary trusts and natural persons cannot. Two companies owned by the same individuals are not a corporate group for this purpose. Where the same property moves twice within 30 days under eligible transactions, the duty on the first can be credited against the second.

Landholder duty basics

A landholder is a company or unit trust scheme holding Victorian land with an unencumbered value of $1 million or more. A relevant acquisition arises on acquiring a significant interest:

• 20% or more of a private unit trust scheme
• 50% or more of a private company or wholesale unit trust scheme
• 90% or more of a listed company or public unit trust scheme.

Duty uses transfer duty rates on the unencumbered value of the landholdings multiplied by the interest acquired. Interests acquired by associates over the preceding 3 years are aggregated. Where landholdings are between $1 million and $2 million, a phasing-in formula in section 89 applies. A landholder acquisition statement must be lodged and duty paid within 30 days.

Land tax for the 2026 land tax year

How the assessment date works

Victorian land tax applies for a calendar year. It is calculated on the site values (set by the Valuer-General Victoria) of all taxable land owned at midnight on 31 December of the year before. The 2026 assessment uses land held at midnight on 31 December 2025. Site values appear on council rate notices.

General rates

These rates apply for the 2024 to 2033 land tax years and include the COVID debt temporary surcharge.

SRO example: at midnight on 31 December 2024, Anika owned an investment property with a taxable value of $620,000 and a holiday house at $480,000, and her exempt home. Her 2025 land tax was $4,650 + ($1,100,000 − $1,000,000) × 0.9% = $5,550. The same rates apply for 2026.

Companies are assessed at the general rates, and related companies can be grouped. The PPR exemption does not apply to company-owned land even if a shareholder lives there.

Trust surcharge rates

Most discretionary, unit and fixed trusts pay land tax at trust surcharge rates once taxable land held on trust is $25,000 or more. From $3 million the trust and general rates are the same.

The trust surcharge may not apply where:

• the trustee of a discretionary trust or unit trust scheme nominates a beneficiary who uses the land as their PPR (one nominated PPR beneficiary per trust at a time)
• the trustee of a fixed or unit trust has notified the SRO of the beneficiaries or unit holders and their shares
• the trust is an excluded trust, such as a deceased estate administration trust during the concessionary period.

Trustees must notify the SRO within one month of acquiring land on trust and of changes to beneficial interests or nominated PPR beneficiaries. From 1 January 2026, trustees must also notify if they stop holding land as trustee without a change of title. Late notification can attract penalty tax.

Principal place of residence exemption

Land a person owns and lives in as their home is exempt. Generally only one PPR exemption can be claimed in Australia at a time, and holiday homes do not qualify. The exemption does not apply to land owned by companies, or to land held by a trustee of a discretionary trust or unit trust scheme (which can instead use a PPR beneficiary nomination). Eligible trustees include a fixed or bare trust where a vested beneficiary lives in the home and pays no rent. From 1 January 2026, owner-occupied land valued under $300,000 with a temporary residence such as a caravan can be exempt. The SRO points out that the PPR exemption and the CGT main residence exemption have different requirements.

Absentee owner surcharge

An absentee owner pays a surcharge on top of the general or trust surcharge rates: 4% from the 2024 land tax year (2% from 2020 to 2023). An absentee person can be an individual, an absentee corporation or the trustee of an absentee trust, meaning a trust with at least one absentee beneficiary. It does not apply to Australian citizens or permanent residents living overseas. From 1 January 2026, New Zealand citizens are subject to the same rules as other foreign citizens.

Status is tested at 31 December and must be notified by 15 January of the following year. No surcharge applies where taxable land is below $50,000, or below $25,000 for land on trust at trust rates. The SRO publishes combined tables; in each, the surcharge adds 4% of the total taxable value. For example, $1,000,000 at general rates with the surcharge is $44,650, being $4,650 plus $40,000.

Other Victorian property taxes to check

COVID Debt Repayment Plan

From the 2024 land tax year, land tax includes a temporary surcharge legislated to 30 June 2033: a $500 flat amount for holdings of $50,000 to under $100,000, $975 for $100,000 to under $300,000 (under $250,000 for trusts), and $975 plus an extra 0.10 percentage points at or above $300,000 ($250,000 for trusts). These amounts are already built into the rates above. A temporary payroll tax surcharge also applies from 1 July 2023 to businesses with national payrolls over $10 million.

Vacant residential land tax

VRLT applies to all residential land in Victoria (before 2025 it applied only to specified inner and middle Melbourne council areas). It is based on use in the previous year. A home is generally vacant if it was not lived in for 6 months of the year by the owner, a permitted occupant or a genuine tenant. From 1 January 2026 it also covers land in metropolitan Melbourne undeveloped for 5 years or more that is capable of residential development. VRLT is a percentage of capital improved value: 1% in the first year of liability, 2% in the second and 3% for three or more consecutive years, with a flat 1% for undeveloped metropolitan land and new residential land unsold for more than 3 years. There is no threshold. Owners must notify the SRO by 15 February.

Windfall gains tax

From 1 July 2023, windfall gains tax applies when government rezoning lifts capital improved value by more than $100,000. Uplifts between $100,000 and $500,000 are taxed at 62.5% of the amount above $100,000. Uplifts of $500,000 or more are taxed at 50% of the full amount. A $400,000 uplift gives $187,500 of tax; a $600,000 uplift gives $300,000. The owner at rezoning is liable, with grouping rules for related companies and trusts. The tax can be deferred, with interest, to the next dutiable transaction or for 30 years. Residential land up to 2 hectares is among the exempt land.

Quick reference for client conversations

For New South Wales, see stamp duty and land tax in NSW. For property GST, see GST on property.