Surrender of leases toolkit

The surrender of a lease over land in Queensland is a dutiable transaction and must be assessed for transfer duty. Whether any amount is payable is dependent on the dutiable value of the lease, which relies mainly on any amounts being paid for the surrender.

An exemption under section 147 of the Duties Act 2001 applies to the surrender of a lease of land in Queensland if:

• there is no premium, fine or other consideration paid or payable for the surrender
  or
• any premium, fine or other consideration paid or payable for the surrender is paid by the lessor.

If you believe this exemption applies to a transaction and you are a registered self assessor, you must self assess it.

When the exemption does not apply, you must assess transfer duty on the value of any premium, fine or consideration paid or payable for the surrender.

Assessing a surrender of lease

Here are some tips to help you self assess these types of transactions in QRO Online.

How to lodge online

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

For a surrender of lease

• Select the relevant Transaction class from the drop-down list (e.g. Transfer of non-residential land).
• Select Surrender of land in Qld/site area as the Type of dutiable transaction.
• Select Land in Queensland as the Type of dutiable property.
• The transferor is the lessee or tenant.
• The transferee is the lessor or landlord.

For a surrender of lease that is exempt from transfer duty under s.147

• Select Transfer of non-residential land as the Transaction class.
• Select Surrender of land in Qld/site area as the Type of dutiable transaction.
• Select Land in Queensland as the Type of dutiable property.
• The transferor is the lessee or tenant.
• The transferee is the lessor or landlord.
• 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).
• Select s.147 exemption surrender of lease from the Exemption type drop-down list.

Records you need to keep

For this type of transaction, you must keep a completed dutiable transaction statement (Form D2.2).

Find out more about your record-keeping obligations.

Also consider…

• Read the data entry standards for QRO Online.
• Get help with QRO Online.
• Read endorsing examples if you are unsure how to stamp the documents.
• Find out about approved transactions for self assessors.
• Learn about other transfer duty exemptions.