First home (new home) concession
When you buy your first home—and it’s a new home—you might be eligible for a full transfer (stamp) duty concession. There are obligations to meet after you claim the concession.
This is a full concession that reduces the duty to nil.
For this concession:
- your contract (or arrangement) must be dated 1 May 2025 or later (the ‘contract date’ means the date you sign the contract, not the date of settlement)
- there is no value cap for the home and residential land attributed to the home. Duty will be imposed on additional land that doesn’t form part of the residence or isn’t used for residential purposes.
You do not have to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident to claim the 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 (new home) concession
- view a list of all self-assessed transactions, concessions and exemptions, and their related toolkits.
New homes
A new home is one that:
- has not been previously occupied or sold as a place of residence
or - is a substantially renovated home.
A substantially renovated home is where:
- the sale or lease of the home under the transaction is, under the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (Cwlth), a taxable supply as a sale or supply of new residential premises as defined under section 40-75(1)(b) of that Act
- the home, as renovated, has not been previously occupied or sold as a place of residence.
Eligibility
- be legally acquiring the property as an individual
- 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 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
- provide a vendor statement as evidence
that the home is a new home or substantially renovated home.
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, all of whom are under a legal disability
- the residence will be the home of all the beneficiaries.
Two or more acquirers
Provided you qualify, you can claim a first home (new home) concession on your interest (or share), whether or not other acquirers also qualify for one of the home concessions. 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 (new 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 (new home) concession, there are certain requirements you must meet 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.
Cassie buys a new house and claims the first home (new home) concession. Before moving in, she decides to sell the property.
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 off the plan and claims the first home (new 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 for the period she occupied the home.
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 brand-new unit and claims the first home (new home) concession. She pays no transfer duty. Emma moves in shortly after settlement.
Emma decides to rent a room to a friend on 15 May 2025. Because she rented part of the property after moving in and she continues to live there, Emma is entitled to keep the concession. She does not need to notify us of this lease arrangement.
Jon buys a new townhouse and claims the first home (new 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 for the period he occupied the home.
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).
Non-residential land
If the land you are purchasing includes any non-residential land (e.g. farming or commercial land), you need to provide a valuation of the residential land portion (which includes the residence). The residential land portion will receive the benefit of the concession, and duty will be payable on the non-residential land portion.
Read the practice direction on the residential purposes for the transfer duty concession for homes and first homes (DA087.1).
Demolishing the home
The first home (new home) concession is not available if you buy and demolish an existing home and then construct and occupy a new home on the land.
This is because the arrangement you would have entered into was to buy an existing home, not a new home.
If you live in the home before demolishing it and building a new home, you might be eligible for a first home concession instead.
Substantially renovated home
The first home (new home) concession is available for a substantially renovated home if the property meets these requirements:
- The sale or lease of the home under the transaction is, under the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (Cwlth), a taxable supply as a sale or supply of new residential premises as defined under section 40-75(1)(b) of that Act.
- The home, as renovated, has not been previously occupied or sold as a place of residence.
Matteo and Juan purchase an existing home that requires significant renovations to bring it up to a livable standard. They plan to renovate the property themselves and apply for the first home (new home) concession.
Juan and Matteo are not eligible for the first home (new home) concession because they have purchased an existing residence, which doesn’t meet the requirements for a substantially renovated home even though it is a first home for each of them.
They may, however, be eligible for the first home concession instead, which is for first homes other than new homes.
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 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.
To calculate the duty payable for the property:
- Work out how much duty would be payable on the whole property.
- Work out how much duty would be payable on the residential land (including the home).
- Deduct the amount payable on the residential land (step 2) from the amount calculated in step 1.
This is your duty payable amount
Home value: $1,230,000
The property does not have any additional non-residential land. The first home (new home) concession applies.
Duty payable: $0
- No duty is payable because there is no cap on the home value amount and the property does not have any additional non-residential land.
- The type of home is a new home.
- The buyers are first home buyers and meet the eligibility requirements.
Dutiable value of the whole property: $1,750,000
Value of residential land (home): $1,000,000
Value of non-residential land: $750,000
Duty payable: $43,125
- Calculate the duty payable for:
- whole property ($1,750,000) = $81,150
- residential land (home, $1,000,000) = $38,025.
- The first home (new home) concession is $38,025.
- Subtract the concession amount ($38,025) from the duty payable on the whole property ($81,150).
- Total duty payable for the additional non-residential land is $43,125.
Transfer duty is initially calculated on the total dutiable value of the property, which is a higher rate than if duty on the home and additional land were calculated separately.
How to claim
- Claim a home, first home or first home (new home) transfer duty concession (Form D2.1)—available from 1 May
- 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 (property information).
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 (new 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 this 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 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 (new 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 Form D2.1 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—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
- change the proportion of non-residential and residential land that you claimed the concession on.
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.
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.