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Queensland Government - Queensland Revenue Office
Queensland Government - Queensland Revenue Office
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    You can claim a first home concession for transfer duty when acquiring your first residence if you meet certain requirements.

    The first home concession only applies to a home valued under $550,000 and can save you up to $15,925. The home concession may still apply for a home valued over $550,000.

    You do not have to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident to claim a concession, but you must meet the eligibility criteria. Additional foreign acquirer duty may apply if you are a foreign person.

    If you are a transfer duty self assessor, you can:

    Eligibility

    To be eligible for a first home concession when you buy or acquire a home, you must:

    • 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 (we explain below when we may waive this requirement)
    • move into it with your personal belongings and live there on a daily basis within 1 year of settlement (this time cannot be extended)
    • not dispose (sell, transfer, lease or otherwise grant exclusive possession) of all or part of the property before you move in
    • be paying market value if the residence is valued between $500,001 and $549,999.

    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, all of whom are under a legal disability
    • the residence will be the home of all the beneficiaries.

    You do not have to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident to claim a concession. However, additional foreign acquirer duty may apply if you are a foreign person.

    To keep the benefit of the first home concession in full after you move in, you must not dispose of all or part of the property (including granny flats) within 1 year. A partial concession may apply if you dispose within 1 year.

    Use our home concession eligibility tester to find out if you are eligible to claim the home concession or first home concession.

    For more information, read the public ruling on occupancy requirements for homes and first homes (DA085.1).

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    If the home is valued at $500,000 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 public ruling 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

    ​Home value ​Duty payable ​Calculation
    ​$450,000 ​$0.00 ​No duty payable because the value of the residence is under $500,000.
    ​$530,000 ​$6,300.00 ​The home concession reduces the duty to $9,800. As the first home is valued between $530,000 and $534,999.99, a further concession of $3,500 applies.
    ​$600,000 ​$12,850.00 ​Only the home concession applies because the value of the residence is over $550,000.

    How to claim

    Complete the following forms and include them with your contract, and valuation (if required), when lodging them for stamping:

    For help completing the Title Queensland forms, read part 1 (transfer) of the Land Title Practice manual and the guide to Form 24.

    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 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 just need to lodge the 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, 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 (Form D2.4) (also available as a PDF) if you:

    • don’t move into the residence within 1 year of settlement
    • dispose (sell, transfer, lease or otherwise grant exclusive possession) of the residence before moving in, or within 1 year of moving in (this includes renting out a granny flat on the property)
    • demolish the existing home without first living there.

    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 new home, you may also be eligible to claim the 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 this could disqualify you from retaining a transfer duty concession.

    Learn the differences between the residency requirements of the first home concessions and first home owner grant.

    Last updated: 16 March 2023