Land transfer (stamp) duty waiver for residential property transactions of up to $1 million for Victorians

11 February 2021

The State Government of Victoria has recently announced a land transfer (stamp) duty waiver for the purchase of residential properties in Victoria with a dutiable value of up to $1 million. The waiver applies to residential properties that are either owner-occupied or leased (i.e. investment property). In other words, you are not required to live in the property as your principal place of residence after settlement.

To be eligible for the waiver, the contract of sale must be signed on or after 25 November 2020 and before 1 July 2021. It does not matter when the transfer or settlement actually occurs.

The amount of waiver depends on the type of property being purchased:

(a)    For a new residential property – 50% land transfer (stamp) duty waiver applies

(b)    For an existing residential property – 25% land transfer (stamp) duty applies

(c)     For a vacant residential land - 25% land transfer (stamp) duty applies

The dutiable value will be the price that you pay for the property or its market value, whichever is greater.

The waiver shall apply to the stamp duty payable after all other relevant concessions such as the first home owner duty concession, off-the-plan concession, principal place of residence concession and pensioner concession have been applied to the transfer (where applicable). Please note – the off-the-plan concession is only available if the transfer qualifies for the principal place of residence concession or the first home buyer duty exemption or concession.

If you have signed the contract before 25 November 2020, then you are not eligible for the waiver.

Gifts or other transfers of property which do not involve consideration will not be entitled to the waiver.

Provided that they meet the eligibility requirements above, foreign purchasers may also benefit from the waiver, however, the foreign purchaser additional duty of 8% will still apply as usual.

If you would like more information on the eligibility of your purchase for the waiver, please contact our property team today at Meerkin & Apel.