How much is stamp duty in NSW?

New South Wales charges general transfer duty on a marginal scale. $11,602 plus $4.50 per $100 above $387,000, rising to $52,237 plus $5.50 per $100 above $1,290,000. On an $850,000 purchase that is about $32,437. Eligible first home buyers pay nothing at or below $800,000, with a sliding concession to $1,000,000.

Which state has the cheapest stamp duty?

It depends on the price point, because the scales cross. At $850,000 Queensland is the cheapest of the large states at about $31,275 while Victoria is the most expensive at around $46,070. The comparison table on this page shows every jurisdiction at your price, which is the only reliable way to answer the question.

Do first home buyers pay stamp duty?

Often not, below a threshold. New South Wales exempts purchases to $800,000, Victoria to $600,000, Queensland to $700,000 and Western Australia to $500,000 in Perth and Peel, each with a concession band above. South Australia takes a different approach, exempting new homes at any price but offering nothing on established ones. Eligibility rules are strict and include never having owned residential property in Australia.

When do I have to pay stamp duty?

Generally at settlement or within thirty days of it, depending on the state. Your conveyancer usually arranges payment as part of settlement. It is a cash cost, not something most lenders will finance, although a small number allow it to be capitalised if the loan-to-value ratio permits. Late payment attracts interest and penalties.

Can I add stamp duty to my home loan?

Usually no. Lenders size the loan against the property's value, and duty is not part of that value, so most require it as cash from your own funds. Where a lender does allow it, the loan-to-value ratio rises, which often triggers lenders mortgage insurance and costs more again. Treat duty as part of the deposit you need to save.

Is stamp duty tax deductible?

Not as an immediate deduction on residential property. For an investment property it forms part of the cost base for capital gains tax, so it reduces the taxable gain when you eventually sell. In the ACT, where duty is being replaced by land tax, the treatment differs. On an owner-occupied home there is no tax benefit at all.

Stamp Duty Calculator

Australia· 2026-27

Estimates transfer duty on a property purchase in any Australian state or territory, applying first home buyer concessions where they exist. On an $850,000 purchase, duty ranges from about $31,275 in Queensland to $46,070 in Victoria.

Results

Worked example. Edit the values and press Calculate

Stamp duty payable

$8,109

First home concession saves $24,328.

To pay no first home duty
Price at or below $800,000
That is $50,000 below this price. Any relief ends at $1,000,000.
Each extra $10,000 of price adds
$1,757
Extra duty if you pay $10,000 more. Worth knowing before a final bid.
Duty without concession
$32,437
Concession applied
$24,328
Duty as a share of price
0.95%
Transfer and registration fees (est.)
$180
Conveyancing and searches (est.)
$2,200
Total upfront government and legal costs
$10,489
First home concession rule
No duty at or below $800,000; a sliding concession applies to $1,000,000. Vacant land is exempt to $350,000.

Why use this calculator

Stamp duty is usually the largest single cost of buying a home after the deposit, and it cannot be borrowed in most cases. It has to be cash at settlement. Buyers routinely budget for a deposit, discover duty late, and find themselves twenty or thirty thousand dollars short with a contract already signed.

This calculator prices it before you start looking, and because duty is set by each state rather than nationally, it also shows what the identical purchase would cost across every border. For anyone weighing a move interstate, or buying just above or below a first home threshold, that comparison changes decisions.

How to use it

Choose the state or territory where the property is located, not where you live. Duty follows the property.
Enter the contract price, or the market value if it is higher, because revenue offices assess on the greater of the two.
Select your buyer type: first home buyers receive substantial concessions in most states, owner-occupiers sometimes receive a smaller one, and investors pay the general rate.
Property type matters in several jurisdictions, most sharply in South Australia where first home relief applies only to new homes.
The comparison table shows the same purchase across every jurisdiction.

What each result means

Stamp duty payable: The estimated duty for your circumstances, after any first home concession. It is payable at or shortly after settlement, in cash.
To pay no first home duty: The highest price at which an eligible first home buyer in your state pays no duty at all, and how far your price is above it. Between that figure and the upper limit, a partial concession applies.
Each extra $10,000 of price adds: The extra duty you would pay if the purchase price rose by $10,000. Inside a first home phase-out band this can be far more than the general rate, because the concession shrinks as the price climbs.
Duty without concession: What the same purchase would cost at the general rate. The gap is what first home buyer status is worth to you.
Concession applied: The saving from the concession. In several states this disappears entirely a dollar above the threshold, which is worth knowing before you bid.
Duty as a share of price: Duty as a percentage of the purchase price. A quick way to compare the burden between states and price points.
Transfer and registration fees (est.): The land titles office fee to register the transfer. Small, fixed, and unavoidable.
Conveyancing and searches (est.): A typical allowance for a conveyancer or solicitor plus title, council and planning searches. Quotes vary by state and complexity.
Total upfront government and legal costs: What you need in cash at settlement beyond the deposit. Building and pest inspections, loan fees and moving costs sit on top of this.
First home concession rule: The rule applied in the state you selected, so you can check your purchase against it before relying on the number.

The formula

Each state applies a progressive scale of marginal bands: a fixed amount at the bottom of the band plus a rate on the excess above it. New South Wales, for example, charges $11,602 plus $4.50 per $100 over $387,000 up to $1,290,000. Victoria applies a flat 5.5% of the whole value between $960,000 and $2,000,000 rather than a marginal rate, and the Northern Territory uses a quadratic formula below $525,000. First home concessions are applied as a full exemption below one threshold, phasing to the full rate at a higher one.

How this number is used in practice

The thresholds create hard cliffs that reshape buyer behaviour. In New South Wales a first home buyer pays nothing at $800,000 and thousands at $800,001, so properties priced a little above a threshold attract fewer eligible buyers and sometimes sell for less. If you are close, negotiating under the line can be worth far more than the price difference.

Duty is why transaction costs dominate short holding periods. Paying $35,000 of duty on a purchase means the property has to appreciate by roughly that much, plus agent commission on the way out, before you break even. On typical growth rates that is two to four years, which is the real argument against buying for a short stay.

Concessions are narrower than the headlines suggest. Most require you to live in the property for a continuous period soon after settlement, to have never owned residential property anywhere in Australia, and to meet residency requirements. Buying with a partner who has previously owned a home can disqualify the whole purchase in some states.

Worked examples

$850,000 established home in NSW, first home buyer
Duty of about $8,109 after the sliding concession, against $32,437 at the general rate.
$650,000 established home in Victoria, investor
Duty of about $34,070 at the general rate, with no concession available to investors.
$690,000 first home in Queensland
No duty payable. Queensland exempts eligible first home buyers at or below $700,000, saving the full general amount.

When people use it

Budgeting the cash you need at settlement, not just the deposit
Checking whether a purchase price sits above or below a first home threshold
Comparing the cost of buying in different states before an interstate move
Working out what a first home concession is actually worth to you
Estimating total upfront costs before committing to a price at auction

Tips

Stamp duty is generally payable in cash within thirty days of settlement and cannot be added to most loans. Budget for it separately from the deposit.
Thresholds are cliffs, not slopes, in several states. Negotiating a price just under one can save more than the negotiation itself.
Concessions almost always require you to move in within a set period and stay for a continuous term. Investors who claim them face reassessment plus interest.
Buying with someone who has owned property before can void first home relief for the whole purchase, not just their share.
Foreign purchasers pay substantial surcharge duty on top of the general rate in most states, sometimes another seven or eight per cent.
Off-the-plan concessions exist in several jurisdictions and are assessed differently again. Confirm with the revenue office before signing.

What it assumes, and where it stops being accurate

Residential property bought by an Australian citizen or permanent resident is assumed. Foreign purchaser surcharges are not included.
First home concessions are applied as a linear phase-out between the exempt and full-rate thresholds; each state's exact formula differs slightly.
Eligibility criteria, prior ownership, residence requirements, income tests in the ACT, are not tested by the calculator.
Vacant land, rural, commercial and off-the-plan concessions are outside scope.
Conveyancing and search estimates are typical allowances, not quotes. Complex titles cost more.
State scales are indexed or amended on their own schedules; the revenue office calculator is always authoritative.

Terms used on this page

Transfer duty: The state tax on transferring property ownership, commonly called stamp duty.
Dutiable value: The amount duty is assessed on. Usually the contract price or the market value, whichever is higher.
Concession: A partial reduction in duty, as opposed to an exemption, which removes it entirely.
Surcharge duty: Additional duty charged to foreign purchasers on top of the general rate in most states.
Cost base: The total cost of acquiring an asset, including duty, used to work out a capital gain on sale.

Questions people ask

How much is stamp duty in NSW?: New South Wales charges general transfer duty on a marginal scale. $11,602 plus $4.50 per $100 above $387,000, rising to $52,237 plus $5.50 per $100 above $1,290,000. On an $850,000 purchase that is about $32,437. Eligible first home buyers pay nothing at or below $800,000, with a sliding concession to $1,000,000.
Which state has the cheapest stamp duty?: It depends on the price point, because the scales cross. At $850,000 Queensland is the cheapest of the large states at about $31,275 while Victoria is the most expensive at around $46,070. The comparison table on this page shows every jurisdiction at your price, which is the only reliable way to answer the question.
Do first home buyers pay stamp duty?: Often not, below a threshold. New South Wales exempts purchases to $800,000, Victoria to $600,000, Queensland to $700,000 and Western Australia to $500,000 in Perth and Peel, each with a concession band above. South Australia takes a different approach, exempting new homes at any price but offering nothing on established ones. Eligibility rules are strict and include never having owned residential property in Australia.
When do I have to pay stamp duty?: Generally at settlement or within thirty days of it, depending on the state. Your conveyancer usually arranges payment as part of settlement. It is a cash cost, not something most lenders will finance, although a small number allow it to be capitalised if the loan-to-value ratio permits. Late payment attracts interest and penalties.
Can I add stamp duty to my home loan?: Usually no. Lenders size the loan against the property's value, and duty is not part of that value, so most require it as cash from your own funds. Where a lender does allow it, the loan-to-value ratio rises, which often triggers lenders mortgage insurance and costs more again. Treat duty as part of the deposit you need to save.
Is stamp duty tax deductible?: Not as an immediate deduction on residential property. For an investment property it forms part of the cost base for capital gains tax, so it reduces the taxable gain when you eventually sell. In the ACT, where duty is being replaced by land tax, the treatment differs. On an owner-occupied home there is no tax benefit at all.

Use this with

Stamp Duty Calculator answers one part of the question. These pick up where it stops: First Home Buyer Calculator, Mortgage Calculator, Home Affordability Calculator and Property Rental Yield Calculator.

Where these figures come from

Australia· 2026-27Last reviewed 2026-09·How we build and check calculators

Figures and rules on this page follow Australian law and ATO guidance.

Revenue NSW: calculate transfer duty. New South Wales duty rates
State Revenue Office Victoria: land transfer duty. Victoria duty rates
Queensland Revenue Office: transfer duty rates. Queensland duty rates
RevenueWA: transfer duty. Western Australia duty rates
Revenue NSW: general transfer duty rate table. Verified scale for 2026-27

Stamp Duty Calculator produces an estimate for general information. It is not financial, tax, medical, legal or engineering advice. read the full disclaimer. Spotted a wrong number? Report it and it gets fixed. The form picks up this calculator and the inputs you used.