First home concession
When you buy your first home, you might get a concession to reduce the transfer (stamp) duty. There are obligations to meet after you claim the 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.
Additional foreign acquirer duty (AFAD) may apply if you are a foreign person for transactions entered into from 1 October 2016.
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
- for transactions entered into on or after 1 August 2026—be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or specified foreign retiree (This doesn’t apply for transactions entered into before 1 August 2026.)
- have never claimed the first home vacant land concession
- have never held an interest
in another residence anywhere in Australia or overseas
- be at least 18 years of age
- move into the home 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
are trustees of a trust (other than a discretionary or unit trust).
- The beneficiaries:
- are individuals
- are all under a legal disability
- for transactions entered into on or after 1 August 2026—were all Australian citizens, permanent residents or specified foreign retirees when the transaction was entered into.
- The residence will be the home of all the beneficiaries.
Fiona (an Australian citizen) and Mark (who is not an Australian citizen, permanent resident or specified foreign retiree) buy an established residence to live in as their first home.
Fiona is acquiring a 75% interest and meets the eligibility to claim a first home concession.
Mark is acquiring a 25% interest and doesn’t meet the eligibility criteria. His interest will be calculated for full transfer duty and AFAD will also be applied.
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.
Mixed-use property
If the property is to be used for both residential and non-residential purposes (e.g. running a business or a second residence that you won’t live in), the concession will only apply to the part of the property used as your home.
See the practice direction on the transfer duty concession for homes and first homes—residential purposes (DA087.1).
Use the transfer duty calculator to see what you might pay when the transaction includes non-residential property.
Danni purchases a property that contains 2 separate houses. A large 4-bedroom house sits at the front of the property and a smaller, detached 2-bedroom house has been built towards the rear. She plans to live in the larger house and move her father into the smaller one.
Provided Danni meets all the eligibility criteria, the concession will only apply to the larger house that she will live in.
You might also qualify for other government help for home buyers.
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
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 on or after 10 September 2024 and you continue to live in the property. Where the lease arrangement starts before this date, 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.
Note: You may also wish to consider potential implications with other authorities—such as your obligations as a landlord with the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA)—or what it means for your income and other federal taxes with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or for your coverage with your insurance provider.
Cassie buys a house and claims the first home concession. Before moving in, she decides to sell the property to a developer.
Because Cassie sold all or part of the property before moving in, she has not met the requirements of the concession. She must notify us so a duty reassessment can be made.
Chenea buys a unit and claims the first home concession. Six months after moving in, she decides to sell the property.
Because Chenea sold all or part of the property within 1 year after moving in, she has not met the requirements of the concession. She must notify us so a duty reassessment can be made. She may be eligible for a partial concession.
Dimitri buys a townhouse and claims the first home concession. Before moving in, he decides to rent the property to a group of students.
Because Dimitri rented all or part of the property before moving in, he has not met the requirements of the concession. He must notify us so a duty reassessment can be made.
Emma buys a unit and claims the first home concession. She moves in shortly after settlement.
Emma then decides to rent a room to a friend. Although she rented part of the property after moving in, because she continues to live there, Emma is entitled to keep the concession. She does not need to notify us of this lease arrangement.
However, if Emma’s lease arrangement started before 10 September 2024, she must notify us for a duty reassessment because the requirements of the concession would not have been met.
Jon buys a townhouse and claims the first home concession. He moves in shortly after settlement and lives there for 6 months, then moves out.
Shortly after moving out, he rents all of the property to a family.
Because Jon rented all of the property within 1 year of moving in, he has not met the requirements of the concession. He must notify us so a duty reassessment can be made. He may be eligible for a partial concession.
Read the public rulings on home concessions:
- disposal and partial renting between 10 September 2024 and 5 December 2024 (DA000.18)
- occupancy requirements (DA085.1).
Read the practice direction where not all taxpayers comply with the conditions (DA000.1).
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.
An architect purchases an old house on a block of land. The old house will be removed so that a new house can be built. For convenience, the architect stays in the house over a weekend while he removes some fittings. He plans to continue living in a leased apartment while the new house is built.
The architect is unable to claim the first home concession as he didn’t make the house his principal place of residence before demolishing it.
A couple buys a house, moves in and lives there after enrolling their child in a local day care centre. They update their electoral roll, driver licence and myGov details. After living there continuously for 3 months, they decide to rebuild. They move out and arrange for the house to be demolished.
They have resided in the property and made it their principal place of residence. Provided they do not sell, transfer, lease or otherwise grant exclusive possession within the first year of occupying the property, they are able to retain the full benefit of the concession even though the original house was demolished.
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.
For agreements entered into on or after 9 June 2024, 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 practice direction 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
This table shows the duty payable for an agreement entered into from 1 August 2026 and where all transferees meet the eligibility criteria.
For agreements entered into before 1 August 2026, use the transfer duty estimator or previous rates.
| Home value | Duty payable | Calculation |
|---|---|---|
| $650,000 | $0.00 | No duty payable because the value of the residence is under $700,000. |
| $730,000 | $6,555.00 | The home concession reduces the duty to $18,700. As the first home is valued between $730,000 and $739,999.99, a further concession of $12,145 applies. |
| $850,000 | $24,100 | Only the home concession applies because the value of the residence is over $800,000. |
How to claim
Submit the following documentation and forms when lodging them for stamping:
- Document lodgement form (Form TR1)
- your contract
- a valuation (if required)
- covering letter with any additional information or details you want to provide
- Claim a home, first home or first home (new home) transfer duty concession (Form D2.1)
- Identity details annexure for each non-Australian transferee for transactions entered into before 1 August 2026
- 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 (property information).
If you 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 will need to lodge the concession 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, if the concession is granted, we will reassess your duty at the concessional rate and refund the balance of your original payment.
Obligations after you claim
You must notify us by completing a notice for reassessment—home, first home, first home (new home) or first home vacant land concessions (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
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)
- demolish the existing home without first living there.
Read more about common reasons for a reassessment of transfer duty.
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.
First home owner grant
If you’re a first home owner buying a brand-new home, you may also be eligible for a first home owner grant.
You’re allowed to claim both the grant and a transfer duty concession, but each has its own eligibility requirements. The grant allows you to rent out a room or granny flat while using it as your residence; but, depending on when you enter the lease arrangement, this could disqualify you from retaining a transfer duty concession.