Correcting a clerical error exemption (s.152) toolkit

Topics on this page

This toolkit brings together everything you need to know about self assessing an exemption for a transaction that corrects a clerical error in a previous transaction. Section 152 of the Duties Act 2001 provides for this exemption.

Clerical errors are accidental misdescriptions of:

a party to the transaction
the property details
the interest a party holds in the property.

The exemption may be claimed on a dutiable transaction to correct a clerical error if:

no additional consideration is paid or payable
and
the beneficial interests in the property change only to the extent necessary to correct the error.

If you believe the exemption will apply to a transaction you are dealing with, as a registered self assessor you must assess and lodge it through QRO Online.

In cases where a transaction is not appropriate to achieve a particular legal result, this is not a clerical error. As such, the exemption will not apply to a transaction made to correct a previous transaction because of any of the following circumstances:

there has been subsequent advice about the structure of the previous transaction
there is a financial benefit from altering the previous transaction
a party has changed their mind about completing the previous transaction
there is an intention to change the legal result of the previous transaction.

If correcting the error involves a third dutiable transaction—in addition to the original transaction and the section 152 exempt transaction—it may be eligible for an exemption under section 152A. These transactions must be sent to us for Commissioner assessment.

Assessing a clerical error exemption

Use our interactive tool to determine if your transaction is exempt under section 152.

How to lodge online

You must complete all mandatory fields under each tab in QRO Online. Mandatory fields are marked with a red asterisk. There are some specific data entry requirements.

Answer Yes to the question: Is the consideration for this transaction less than the unencumbered value of the property included in this transaction?
Enter the unencumbered value of 100% interest in property if known; if unknown, enter $0.00 (nil).
Answer Yes to the question: Is an exemption being claimed?
Select s.152 exemption to correct clerical error in previous trans. from the Exemption type drop-down list.
Answer No to the question: Does this transaction form part of an arrangement that includes other dutiable transactions (Section 30)?

Non-Australian entity

When a transaction includes real property, each transferor and transferee must declare whether they are a non-Australian entity.

A non-Australian transferor or transferee must complete an identity details annexure.

For transferors, an email is automatically generated through QRO Online when the transaction is lodged, asking the transferor to complete an online identity details annexure. Contact us for help if you cannot obtain the transferor’s email address.

Transferees must complete an identity details annexure and you must enter these details in QRO Online.

Records you need to keep

For this type of transaction, you must keep:

copies of the original and correcting transactions
completed statutory declarations from each party to the transaction
evidence to substantiate that a clerical error was made
a completed dutiable transaction statement (Form D2.2)
an identity details annexure for each non-Australian transferee, if the transaction involves real property.

Read more about your record-keeping requirements.

Public rulings

You may find the following public rulings useful when self assessing transactions correcting a clerical error:

Also consider…

See the data entry standards for QRO Online.
Learn about reassessments for cancelled agreements and transfers.
Use the transfer duty rates or transfer duty calculator to work out a duty liability.
Get help with QRO Online.
View the list of approved transactions for self assessors.

Last updated: 10 November 2023