Taxable value of land
We calculate land tax on the total taxable value of all your freehold land at midnight 30 June.
The ‘taxable value’ for a financial year is the lesser of the:
- Land Valuation Act 2010 value (statutory land value) of the land on 30 June
- averaged value of the land on 30 June.
Learn more about the annual land valuations.
We determine the taxable value of each parcel of land separately and then combine the value of all your land to determine the total taxable value.
Your land tax assessment will include information on each of these values and how your liability was calculated.
How we calculate taxable value
Each year, we apply the relevant land tax rate to the total taxable value of all land you own on 30 June to determine if you have a land tax liability. When determining all the land you own, we include all land owned solely and any interest (or share) in land owned with others.
You may own land in the name of various entities—for example, as an individual, the trustee of a trust (e.g. your self-managed superannuation fund), or in the name of a company you own. Where the value of the land each entity owns reaches the relevant threshold, an assessment notice will be issued.
You may be eligible for a land tax exemption—for example, if the land is used as your home. If an exemption is applied, the taxable value of that land is excluded. This may reduce how much land tax you have to pay or even decrease the taxable value of your land beneath the threshold, which means you would no longer be liable.
If you own a unit (apartment, townhouse, etc) you may be liable for land tax. Land value for all properties, including units, is shown on the annual council rates notice for each property.
If your assessment notice includes land you do not own or is missing land you owned at 30 June, we will need to reassess your liability. You can contact us, or submit an enquiry in QRO Online.
Ben owns an interest in 4 properties on 30 June 2023—a house in Brisbane and 3 investment units throughout Queensland. This table shows the interest he owns in each property, the taxable value of the land and the proportional value of his interest.
| Property |
Value of land—whole site |
Percentage of land owned (interest) |
Proportional value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane house |
$650,000 |
100% |
$650,000 |
| Investment unit #1 |
$1,900,000 |
20% |
$380,000 |
| Investment unit #2 |
$7,000,000 |
2% |
$140,000 |
| Investment unit #3 |
$900,000 |
11% |
$99,000 |
|
$10,450,000 |
$1,269,000 |
The total taxable value of the land on which Ben’s properties sit is $10,450,000, but the total taxable value of the land Ben owns as at midnight on 30 June 2023 is $1,269,000 so he may be liable for a land tax assessment.
The land on which Ben’s Brisbane house sits is valued at $650,000, and because this is his home, he applies (and is approved) for a land tax exemption for that amount.
The total value of the remaining land Ben owns is $619,000, so he will receive an assessment for land tax and it will be calculated on $619,000.
Stacy Yang owns land in Queensland in her own name and in her capacity as the trustee of the SY Family Trust. She is also the director and sole shareholder of a company, SY Systems Pty Ltd, that owns land in Queensland.
On 30 June 2023, these are the total taxable values for each land owner:
- Stacy Yang—$450,000
- Stacy Yang as trustee of the SY Family Trust—$635,000
- SY Systems Pty Ltd—$772,000.
For 2023–24, land tax assessments will be sent to the SY Family Trust and to SY Systems Pty Ltd, because the total taxable value of their land is over the $350,000 threshold for companies and trusts. However, Stacy will not receive an assessment for land owned in her own name because the total taxable value is below the $600,000 threshold for individuals.
Statutory land value
This is the value of the land determined by the Valuer-General, and is included in your annual land valuation notice.
We cannot change values issued by the Valuer-General.
Find out more about statutory land valuations, including your rights to object.
Averaged value
The averaged value of land is:
- the average of the statutory land value for the current and previous 2 financial years
- or
- the current year’s statutory land value multiplied by the averaging factor for the year (where the previous 2 statutory land values are not available).
A parcel of land had these values over the past 3 years:
- $800,000 at 30 June 2023
- $850,000 at 30 June 2022
- $775,000 at 30 June 2021.
This is how the averaged value was calculated:
($800,000 + $850,000 + $775,000) ÷ 3 = $808,333
In this case, because the statutory land value for 30 June 2023 is lower than the averaged value, the taxable value is $800,000.
Averaging factor
This table shows the averaging factor for each year since 2018.
| Year | Averaging factor |
|---|---|
| 30 June 2023 | 0.88 |
| 30 June 2022 | 0.87 |
| 30 June 2021 | 0.98 |
| 30 June 2020 | 0.96 |
| 30 June 2019 | 0.95 |
| 30 June 2018 | 0.96 |
John acquired a parcel of land in May 2023 that had been subdivided from a larger parcel in April. The land value on 30 June 2023 was $640,000.
Because there were no statutory land values for this parcel in previous years, the averaging factor was used to determine the averaged value. The averaging factor for 30 June 2023 is 0.88.
This is how the averaged value is calculated:
$640,000 × 0.88 = $563,200
In this example, because the average land value for 30 June 2023 is lower than the statutory value, the taxable value is $563,200.
Maryanne owned 2 adjacent lots of land that were valued as one parcel. At 30 June 2022, this parcel was valued at $800,000. The following August, Maryanne sold 1 lot. Each lot was valued at $600,000 on 30 June 2023.
Because there were no separate statutory land values for these lots in previous years, the averaging factor was used to determine the averaged value. The averaging factor for 30 June 2023 is 0.88.
This is how the averaged value for each lot is calculated:
$600,000 × 0.88 = $528,000
In this example, because the average land value for 30 June 2023 is lower than the statutory value, the taxable value is $528,000.