Guide · records read 30 Aug 2026
How stamp duty is calculated
Transfer duty is a sliding scale, a rounding rule, and a set of concessions that differ by state. Here is each part, with the office that publishes it.
What you need before you start
Five answers, and two of them are the ones people get wrong. This is the list the calculator asks for, in the order it asks.
- Where are you buying?
- The state, not the suburb. All eight states and territories are covered.
- What's the purchase price?
- The contract price — not the listing price and not the valuation. If market value is higher than what you paid, duty is charged on the higher figure.
- Which describes you?
- Whether this is your first home. It counts property you have owned anywhere in Australia, not just in this state, and both partners are tested.
- What kind of property is it?
- Established, a new build, or vacant land. The concession limits differ for each, and vacant land is the lowest.
- What's your residency status?
- Citizen or permanent resident, or neither. A foreign purchaser surcharge is charged on top and no concession reduces it.
What duty is charged on
Transfer duty is charged on the dutiable value of the property — normally the price paid, or the market value if that is higher. It is not charged on the loan, and it is payable before the transfer can be registered, which in practice means at settlement.
The scale each state uses
Every state uses a sliding scale: a fixed amount at the floor of each band, plus a rate on the part of the value above that floor. These are the same numbers the calculator computes with, for 2026–27.
New South Wales
| Dutiable value | Duty at the floor | Rate above it |
|---|---|---|
| $0 – $18,000 | $0 | 1.25% |
| $18,000 – $38,000 | $225 | 1.50% |
| $38,000 – $103,000 | $525 | 1.75% |
| $103,000 – $387,000 | $1,662 | 3.50% |
| $387,000 – $1,290,000 | $11,602 | 4.50% |
| $1,290,000 – $3,870,000 | $52,237 | 5.50% |
| $3,870,000 and above | $194,137 | 7.00% |
Revenue NSW — How to calculate transfer duty au.duty.nsw.transfer · read 26 Aug 2026
Victoria
| Dutiable value | Duty at the floor | Rate above it |
|---|---|---|
| $0 – $25,000 | $0 | 1.40% |
| $25,000 – $130,000 | $350 | 2.40% |
| $130,000 – $960,000 | $2,870 | 6.00% |
| $960,000 – $2,000,000 | — | 5.50% of the whole value |
| $2,000,000 and above | $110,000 | 6.50% |
SRO Victoria — Land transfer duty, non-principal place of residence (current rates) au.duty.vic.transfer · read 26 Aug 2026
Queensland
| Dutiable value | Duty at the floor | Rate above it |
|---|---|---|
| $0 – $5,000 | $0 | 0.00% |
| $5,000 – $75,000 | $0 | 1.50% |
| $75,000 – $540,000 | $1,050 | 3.50% |
| $540,000 – $1,000,000 | $17,325 | 4.50% |
| $1,000,000 and above | $38,025 | 5.75% |
Queensland Revenue Office — Transfer duty rates au.duty.qld.transfer · read 26 Aug 2026
Western Australia
| Dutiable value | Duty at the floor | Rate above it |
|---|---|---|
| $0 – $120,000 | $0 | 1.90% |
| $120,000 – $150,000 | $2,280 | 2.85% |
| $150,000 – $360,000 | $3,135 | 3.80% |
| $360,000 – $725,000 | $11,115 | 4.75% |
| $725,000 and above | $28,453 | 5.15% |
RevenueWA — transfer duty assessment au.duty.wa.transfer · read 29 Aug 2026
South Australia
| Dutiable value | Duty at the floor | Rate above it |
|---|---|---|
| $0 – $12,000 | $0 | 1.00% |
| $12,000 – $30,000 | $120 | 2.00% |
| $30,000 – $50,000 | $480 | 3.00% |
| $50,000 – $100,000 | $1,080 | 3.50% |
| $100,000 – $200,000 | $2,830 | 4.00% |
| $200,000 – $250,000 | $6,830 | 4.25% |
| $250,000 – $300,000 | $8,955 | 4.75% |
| $300,000 – $500,000 | $11,330 | 5.00% |
| $500,000 and above | $21,330 | 5.50% |
RevenueSA — rate of stamp duty au.duty.sa.transfer · read 30 Aug 2026
Tasmania
| Dutiable value | Duty at the floor | Rate above it |
|---|---|---|
| $0 – $3,000 | $50 | 0.00% |
| $3,000 – $25,000 | $50 | 1.75% |
| $25,000 – $75,000 | $435 | 2.25% |
| $75,000 – $200,000 | $1,560 | 3.50% |
| $200,000 – $375,000 | $5,935 | 4.00% |
| $375,000 – $725,000 | $12,935 | 4.25% |
| $725,000 and above | $27,810 | 4.50% |
State Revenue Office Tasmania — rates of duty au.duty.tas.transfer · read 29 Aug 2026
Australian Capital Territory
| Dutiable value | Duty at the floor | Rate above it |
|---|---|---|
| $0 – $200,000 | $0 | 1.20% |
| $200,000 – $300,000 | $2,400 | 2.20% |
| $300,000 – $500,000 | $4,600 | 3.40% |
| $500,000 – $750,000 | $11,400 | 4.32% |
| $750,000 – $1,000,000 | $22,200 | 5.90% |
| $1,000,000 – $1,455,000 | $36,950 | 6.40% |
| $1,455,000 and above | — | 4.54% of the whole value |
Taxation Administration (Amounts Payable—Duty) Determination 2026 (DI2026-155) au.duty.act.transfer · read 30 Aug 2026
Northern Territory
| Dutiable value | Duty at the floor | Rate above it |
|---|---|---|
| $0 – $525,000 | $0 | 0.00% |
| $525,000 – $3,000,000 | — | 4.95% of the whole value |
| $3,000,000 – $5,000,000 | — | 5.75% of the whole value |
| $5,000,000 and above | — | 5.95% of the whole value |
Stamp Duty Act 1978 (NT), Schedule 1 clause 1(2) au.duty.nt.transfer · read 30 Aug 2026
"Or part of $100" is an instruction, not a flourish
It is worth a few dollars, and it applies to every answer, which is why a calculator that ignores it is wrong every single time. Victoria is the exception of the three: its scale is stated in whole dollars and there is nothing to round. Six of the eight offices nationally use the "or part of $100" wording.
The working above shows the rounded figure as its own line whenever it changes the answer, because a derivation that skips a step is not a derivation.
Victoria's third band is not marginal
Every other band on every other table works the other way, so this row is read wrongly more often than any other number on this page. Reading it as marginal understates the duty by tens of thousands of dollars.
Concessions, not rates, are the difference
A first-home buyer may pay nothing at a price where another buyer pays five figures, and the thresholds differ by state and by whether the property is established, new, or vacant land. The scales are closer between states than the totals suggest; it is the relief that separates them. Here is what a first-home buyer actually pays on an established home, at prices either side of where each state's relief runs out.
| Contract price | New South Wales | Victoria | Queensland | Western Australia | South Australia | Tasmania | Australian Capital Territory | Northern Territory |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $600,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $26,830 | $22,498 | $0 | $29,700 |
| $650,000 | $0 | $11,357 | $0 | $8,075 | $29,580 | $24,623 | $0 | $32,175 |
| $700,000 | $0 | $24,713 | $0 | $16,150 | $32,330 | $26,748 | $0 | $34,650 |
| $750,000 | $0 | $40,070 | $13,387 | $24,225 | $35,080 | $28,935 | $0 | $37,125 |
| $800,000 | $0 | $43,070 | $29,025 | $32,300 | $37,830 | $31,185 | $0 | $39,600 |
| $900,000 | $17,343 | $49,070 | $33,525 | $37,466 | $43,330 | $35,685 | $0 | $44,550 |
Relief on an established home stops being worth anything at $1,000,000 in New South Wales, $750,000 in Victoria, $800,000 in Queensland and $801,000 in Western Australia. Above those prices a first-home buyer and anyone else pay the same figure, which is why a threshold crossed by a few thousand dollars can cost more than the few thousand.
There is no such threshold in the Australian Capital Territory: the relief there has no value cap, so a first home buyer pays nothing at any price.
And in South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory there is no threshold because there is no relief to lose — a first home buyer of an established home pays exactly what anyone else pays, at every price.
Revenue NSW — How to calculate transfer duty au.duty.nsw.transfer · read 26 Aug 2026
SRO Victoria — Land transfer duty, non-principal place of residence (current rates) au.duty.vic.transfer · read 26 Aug 2026
Queensland Revenue Office — Transfer duty rates au.duty.qld.transfer · read 26 Aug 2026
RevenueWA — transfer duty assessment au.duty.wa.transfer · read 29 Aug 2026
RevenueSA — rate of stamp duty au.duty.sa.transfer · read 30 Aug 2026
State Revenue Office Tasmania — rates of duty au.duty.tas.transfer · read 29 Aug 2026
Taxation Administration (Amounts Payable—Duty) Determination 2026 (DI2026-155) au.duty.act.transfer · read 30 Aug 2026
Stamp Duty Act 1978 (NT), Schedule 1 clause 1(2) au.duty.nt.transfer · read 30 Aug 2026
SRO Victoria — Principal place of residence duty concession au.duty.vic.ppr · read 26 Aug 2026
The fees almost everyone leaves out
Duty is not the only thing due at settlement, and registration fees are where the assumption that they are small and fixed falls apart. Only New South Wales actually charges a flat fee: $365 on any purchase, at any price. The other two charge on the price.
Victoria charges $104.30 plus $2.34 for every whole $1,000, up to a maximum of $3,614. On a $750,000 home that is $1,989 of registration fees. The maximum is reached at $1.5 million, so above that the fee stops growing however expensive the house is.
Queensland charges $248.04 plus $46.56 for each $10,000 above $180,000, and unlike Victoria it never caps. On the same $750,000 home that is $3,150 — and on a $2 million purchase it is $8,970, by which point the registration fee is larger than some states' entire first home concession.
They are certain, they are payable at settlement, and a total without them is always under what you actually pay. All eight jurisdictions are set out side by side on the stamp duty comparison page.
What this does not compute
Foreign purchaser additional duty, a further 8% in each of these states. Land tax, which is annual rather than due at settlement. Legal fees, inspections and lender charges, which are not government charges at all.