First home concession

The first home concession only applies to a home valued under $800,000 and can save you up to $24,525. The home concession may still apply for a home valued over $800,000.

The threshold for the concession changed on 9 June 2024. See the current and previous threshold and rates.

You do not have to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident to claim a concession, but you must meet the eligibility criteria. Additional foreign acquirer duty may apply if you are a foreign person.

There are no additional concessions or exemptions for seniors card or pensioner concession card holders.

If you are a transfer duty self assessor, you can:

• refer to the residential land concession toolkit for help with the first home concession
• view a list of all self-assessed transactions, concessions and exemptions, and their related toolkits.

Eligibility

• be legally acquiring the property as an individual
• have never claimed the first home vacant land concession
• have never held an interest
  Interest in a residence

  Typically, you have held an interest (or share) if you have ever owned a house, apartment, unit or other residence anywhere in the world.

  It doesn’t matter if you owned the residence solely or jointly (with others in equal or unequal shares), or there was a mortgage over it.

  You are not considered to have held an interest if you:

  • held the property as trustee for somebody else
  • leased a property and paid a bond and rent only
  • lent money and had it secured by way of mortgage, charge, etc.

  Other proprietary interests might also exclude you from claiming the first home concession or first home vacant land concession.

  You may wish to seek independent legal advice.

  in another residence anywhere in Australia or overseas
• be at least 18 years of age
• move into it with your personal belongings and live there on a daily basis within 1 year of settlement (this time cannot be extended)
• meet certain requirements after you claim the concession
• be paying market value if the residence is valued between $700,001 and $799,999.

Companies are not eligible to claim a concession, except when they are acting as a corporate trustee.

Trustees are not eligible for the concessions unless all the following apply:

• the transferees
  Transferee

  A party that is acquiring (e.g. buying) dutiable property is a transferee

   are trustees of a trust (other than a discretionary or unit trust)
• the beneficiaries are individuals, all of whom are under a legal disability
  Legal disability

  The lack of capability to perform an act that includes the ability to manage or administer financial affairs as determined by a court.

  If a person has a legal disability, a guardian usually oversees their financial affairs.

• the residence will be the home of all the beneficiaries.

You do not have to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident to claim a concession. However, additional foreign acquirer duty may apply if you are a foreign person.

Use our home concession eligibility tester to find out if you are eligible to claim the home concession or first home concession.

Two or more acquirers

Provided you qualify, you can claim a first home concession on your interest (or share), whether or not other acquirers also qualify for a first home concession or home concession. Not every person acquiring the property needs to qualify for a concession or apply for the same concession.

In some cases, people will have eligibility for different concessions or no eligibility. For example, a couple can buy their home and one person can claim a first home concession and the other a home concession. In these circumstances, all the various interests and any concessions that apply are used to calculate the total duty payable.

The calculations can be complex, so use the transfer duty calculator to see what you might pay when there are mixed concession claims.

Requirements

If you have claimed the first home concession, there are certain requirements in order to keep it.

Selling or transferring the property

• Before you move in: You are not able to sell or transfer all or part of the property before you move in.
• After you move in: A partial concession may apply if you sell or transfer all or part the property within 1 year after you move in.

Leasing, renting or granting exclusive possession of the property

• Before you move in: You are not able to lease, rent or otherwise grant exclusive possession
  Exclusive possession

  Generally, the right to exclude all others, including the owner, from all or part of a property.

  Whether exclusive possession has been granted depends on the:

  • terms of the written agreement, where there is one
  • facts and circumstances of the arrangement, where there is no written agreement.

  Exclusive possession may also be granted by law.

  For example, the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 applies to certain renting arrangements.

  You should seek professional advice before arranging to rent out all or any part of your home or granny flat.

  See the Residential Tenancies Authority for more information on leasing arrangements and obligations.

  of all or part of the property before you move in.
• After you move in:
  • You are able to lease, rent or otherwise grant exclusive possession of part of the property, providing that the lease arrangement starts between 10 September 2024 and 30 June 2025 and you continue to live in the property. Where the lease arrangement starts outside this period, you may lose the concession.
  • You are not able to lease, rent or otherwise grant exclusive possession of all of the property within 1 year after you move into the property.

For more information, read these public rulings:

• Concessions for homes and first homes—occupancy requirements (DA085.1)
• Concessions for homes and AFAD exemption for specified foreign retirees—disposal and partial renting (DA000.18).

Existing tenants or previous owners

Any existing tenants must move out when their lease expires or within 6 months of settlement, whichever is the earlier, for you to stay eligible for the concession. Previous owners who continue to stay in the property must also move out within 6 months.

Demolishing the home

The first home concession will not apply if you demolish the existing home without first living there, even if you construct and occupy a new home within a year.

How much you will pay

You can use the transfer duty estimator or rates for home concessions to find out how much duty you may have to pay when you buy your home.

The first home concession is calculated at the home concession rate minus the first home concession amount.

If the home is valued at $700,000 or under, the first home concession amount will match the home concession rate, resulting in no duty payable.

The concession doesn’t apply to any part of the land that’s used for non-residential purposes. Read the public ruling on the residential purposes for the transfer duty concession for homes and first homes (DA087.1).

If there’s a non-residential part of the land, use the transfer duty calculator to check the amount you will pay.

Calculation examples

How to claim

Complete the following forms and include them with your contract, and valuation (if required), when lodging them for stamping:

• Claim for home or first home transfer duty concession (Form D2.1)
• Identity details annexure for each non-Australian transferor and transferee
• Form 1 Transfer and Form 24 from Titles Queensland.

For help completing the Title Queensland forms, read part 1 (transfer) of the Land Title Practice manual and the guide to Form 24.

When lodging documents, make sure you include a covering letter with your name, address and details of what you have lodged. If you also give us an email address or mobile number, we will confirm when we’ve received your documents.

Find out more about lodging and stamping your documents.

18 years of age requirement

To claim a first home concession as a minor, you need to apply to us first so we can determine if we should make an exception to the age requirement.

Minors can only claim a first home concession if we are satisfied that the transaction is not part of a scheme to avoid transfer duty.

We will consider the following factors on a case-by-case basis:

• your age
• the way in which the first home purchase agreement is structured
• the reason for the purchase
• the living arrangements for you and your family
• the family arrangements generally
• whether the funds to purchase the home were independently sourced.

If you are not eligible for the first home concession, you may still be eligible to claim a home concession that has no age restrictions and does not require pre-approval.

Claiming after the transfer

If you’re unsure that you meet the concession requirements, you can pay duty at the full rate when your documents are assessed and then claim the concession later if you have met, or will meet, the requirements. You just need to lodge the forms and documents with us.

You can also do this if you didn’t claim a concession when you acquired the home because you weren’t going to occupy it, but then you decide to move in.

In either case, we will reassess your duty at the concessional rate and refund the balance of your original payment. Find out about applying for a reassessment.

Obligations after you claim

You must notify us by completing a notice for reassessment (Form D2.4) (also available as a PDF) if you:

• don’t move into the residence within 1 year of settlement
• sell or transfer all or part of the property before moving in, or within 1 year of moving in
• lease or otherwise grant exclusive possession
  Exclusive possession

  Generally, the right to exclude all others, including the owner, from all or part of a property.

  Whether exclusive possession has been granted depends on the:

  • terms of the written agreement, where there is one
  • facts and circumstances of the arrangement, where there is no written agreement.

  Exclusive possession may also be granted by law.

  For example, the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 applies to certain renting arrangements.

  You should seek professional advice before arranging to rent out all or any part of your home or granny flat.

  See the Residential Tenancies Authority for more information on leasing arrangements and obligations.

  of all the property before moving in, or within 1 year of moving in
• lease or otherwise grant exclusive possession of part of the property within 1 year of moving in (if the lease arrangement started before 10 September 2024 or after 30 June 2025)
• demolish the existing home without first living there.

Read more about common reasons for reassessment to find out about a reassessment of your transfer duty concession and what documents you need to lodge.

After a reassessment, you may have to pay a transfer duty liability. You may also have to pay unpaid tax interest and penalty tax, depending on your circumstances.