First home (new home) concession

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 to transactions entered into before 1 August 2026.)
• 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 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
• provide a vendor statement
  Vendor statement

  This is a statement from the seller that must show the name and title of the person authorised to sign it.

  If the vendor is a company or trust, the statement should be on their letterhead.

  For newly-built homes, it must state that the home has not been previously occupied or sold as a place of residence.

  For renovated homes, it must confirm:

  • the home has not been previously occupied or sold as a place of residence since the renovations
  • the type and extent of renovations
  • the sale of the home is a taxable supply under the GST Act and was in the course of the seller’s business.

  A vendor statement completed by a financial institution or any other party not mentioned above will not be accepted.

  as evidence
  Evidence of new home

  For a new home, this would be a vendor statement from the seller confirming the home has not been previously occupied or sold as a place of residence. This is not required for residential off-the-plan purchases.

  For a substantially renovated home, this would be

  • a vendor statement from the seller confirming:
    • the sale of the home was a taxable supply under the GST Act and was sold in the course of the seller’s business
    • the home has not been sold or occupied as a place of residence since the renovations
    • the type and extent of the renovations
  • a tax invoice that shows the GST component of the home purchase price (as evidence that the sale is a taxable supply).

  See also the definitions for off-the-plan purchase and vendor statement.

  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
  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
  • are all 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.

  • 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.

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.

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.

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
  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. You should also consider potential implications with other authorities—such as the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) or the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)—or what it means for your coverage with your insurance provider.

  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.

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, 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.

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:

1. Work out how much duty would be payable on the whole property.
2. Work out how much duty would be payable on the residential land (including the home).
3. Deduct the amount payable on the residential land (step 2) from the amount calculated in step 1.

This is your duty payable amount.