Exemption or ex gratia relief from the land tax foreign surcharge
Find out when a foreign company or trustee of a foreign trust may not be liable to pay the 3% surcharge.
A surcharge of 3% applies in addition to land tax on land owned by foreign companies and trustees of foreign trusts (foreign entities).
Depending on the liability date, you can apply for either an exemption or ex gratia relief from the land tax foreign surcharge (LTFS).
Exemption
For land tax liabilities arising on or after 30 June 2026, an exemption from LTFS may apply for foreign entities that:
- undertake commercial activities that make a significant contribution to the Queensland economy and community, or are significant contributors—see the public ruling on the LTFS exemption for landholders undertaking commercial activities that make a significant contribution (LTA000.6)
- are large developers of residential property—see the public ruling on the exemption from AFAD and LTFS for residential land developers (GEN012).
A foreign entity that essentially holds land passively—such as a landlord or property investor—is generally not considered to be undertaking activities that make a significant contribution. Also, the LTFS exemption for large developers is only available while development activities are being undertaken. Once the development is complete, the entity will generally be considered to hold the developed land as a passive investor and the land will no longer qualify for the LTFS exemption.
If a foreign entity is exempt from additional foreign acquirer duty (AFAD) under Public Ruling GEN012 and is awaiting planning approval for development activities proposed for the land, then—for the purposes of determining eligibility for the LTFS exemption—the land will be taken to be used for development or redevelopment activity for 2 financial years starting from 1 July immediately following the date the foreign entity became the owner of the land.
To be eligible for the exemption under the public rulings (LTA000.6 or GEN012), a number of other conditions must be met—including that the size and scale of the commercial activities conducted by the entity (or the relevant corporate group of which the entity is a group entity) is proportionate to the taxable land for which exemption is sought.
The exemption only applies to the foreign surcharge component of the land tax liability.
There are 2 types of exemption approval:
- pre-approval
- exemption approval.
Pre-approval
You can apply to confirm whether you meet certain entity requirements outlined under the public rulings.
- You do not need to have applied for pre-approval to apply for the exemption.
- If you apply for pre-approval, you still need to apply for final approval for the exemption once liability for land tax for the land arises.
- Receiving pre-approval will streamline the exemption application process for you. For example, if you have pre-approval, when applying for the LTFS exemption you may only need to provide information and evidence to establish that development requirements or significant contribution on the land will be met (including whether the size and scale of the commercial activities are proportionate to the taxable land).
- Pre-approval continues unless a notifiable event occurs. This means that once you have pre-approval, you will not have to re-apply for pre-approval unless your circumstances change. If your circumstances change after you receive pre-approval, you may need to notify us.
To receive pre-approval for large developers for a financial year, an entity must either:
- be approved for the AFAD or LTFS exemption for large developers (or AFAD or LTFS ex gratia relief)
or
- be an eligible subsidiary or an eligible parent of a group entity in a corporate group that has been approved for the LTFS exemption for large developers when a liability for land tax arises.
To receive pre-approval for significant contribution for a financial year, an entity must either:
- be approved for the LTFS exemption for significant contributions (or LTFS ex gratia relief)
or
- be an eligible subsidiary or an eligible parent of a group entity in a corporate group that has been approved for the LTFS exemption for significant contributions when a liability for land tax arises.
Complete an application for exemption from LTFS (Form LT30 or Form LT31) for each financial year that you are seeking an exemption. Refer to the:
- evidence that you must supply with your application as a
- form’s guide to ‘completing the application’. This guide has a table that outlines the parts of the form that you must complete for pre-approval and the information you must supply with your application.
Generally, details about you and any previous LTFS or AFAD exemption or LTFS or AFAD ex gratia relief you have received is sufficient. Other information that will help includes:
- details about a group entity’s previous approval for the LTFS exemption
- information on how you satisfy regulatory requirements outlined under the rulings.
Exemption
An exemption approval includes where a foreign entity has previously obtained pre-approval.
- You will need to apply for the LTFS exemption when liability for the land tax arises, even if you have pre-approval.
- A streamlined process may be used to consider your exemption application where pre-approval has been given (e.g. if you have pre-approval, when applying for the LTFS exemption you may only need to provide information and evidence to establish that the significant contribution or development requirements for the land will be met).
- We may also consider whether any FIRB requirements have been met. If our information is insufficient, we may contact you to verify.
- If approved, you must send us a statutory declaration to confirm that you continue to meet the conditions for the exemption at the beginning of each financial year.
- If your circumstances change after you receive the exemption, you may need to notify us and repay the amount for which you received an exemption. See more about notifiable events.
Read the public rulings on the exemption from LTFS for more information:
Complete an application for exemption from LTFS (Form LT30 for large developers or Form LT31 for significant contributors). Refer to the:
- evidence that you must supply with your application as a
- form’s guide to ‘completing the application’. This guide includes a table that outlines the parts of the form that you must complete and the information you must supply with your application.
Generally, if you have:
- received pre-approval, you will have fewer sections to complete
- not received pre-approval and are not entitled to apply for pre-approval as part of this application, you need to complete all parts of the form and provide supporting information.
You’ll need to provide:
- completed Form LT30 or Form LT31 for each financial year that you are seeking an exemption
- any supporting documents that may help with your application, particularly regarding significant contributions or development activities on the residential land.
We may also consider whether any FIRB requirements have been met. Generally, we will use the information we already have; however, you can supply any evidence to confirm that you have satisfied this requirement.
Lodging your documents
Send the application form and supporting documents to LTFSrelief@treasury.qld.gov.au.
It’s important that you provide all required information with the application to avoid unnecessary delays.
See the evidence that you must supply with your application:
- evidence for large developer exemption applications
- evidence for significant contributor exemption applications.
We may request additional information; however, where possible, we will use information we already have.
If you are applying for an exemption from both LTFS and AFAD under Public Ruling GEN012, we can consider both applications at the same time. You may use the same supporting documentation for both applications.
We will send you an email confirming our decision.
Processing timeframes
The processing times for determining eligibility for the LTFS exemption are:
- pre-approval—30 working days from the date we receive all necessary information, which we may request from you after you lodge your initial application
- exemption approval—60 working days from the date we receive all necessary information, which we may request from you after you lodge your initial application.
Urgent assessments
We process matters in order of date received.
If your application has become time sensitive, contact the QRO officer who is looking after your case (if known) or email LTFSrelief@treasury.qld.gov.au to request urgent attention.
Even though we cannot guarantee an urgent assessment, we will try to prioritise these matters where possible. This can depend on the number of applications awaiting determination.
Approved applications
Land tax will continue to apply even if you are granted an exemption from LTFS.
If your application is approved before the due date on your land tax assessment notice, the approved exemption amount will not need to be paid. Any outstanding amount will be confirmed in the decision email that we send you.
If you have already paid the LTFS component of your land tax liability, the approved exemption amount will be refunded.
Once the exemption has been granted, you must provide a statutory declaration at the beginning of each financial year confirming that the entity continues to satisfy the conditions under the public rulings (GEN012 or LTA006), including confirming that no notifiable events have occurred. We may also request supporting information and documents.
If your circumstances change after you have received the exemption, you may need to notify us and potentially repay the amount for which you received an exemption. See notifiable events for more information.
Notifiable event
If you have been pre-approved or approved for the LTFS exemption, you have an obligation to notify us if certain events occur. These are known as ‘notifiable events’ and include things like ceasing to meet the eligibility requirements for the exemption or otherwise experiencing a material change in circumstances that may affect your eligibility. For a full list of possible notifiable events, refer to these public rulings:
Where a notifiable event occurs, you must advise us of this within 28 days after the event happens.
Corporate group tracing
Some of the requirements in the rulings can be taken to be met if they are satisfied by an eligible parent or subsidiary of the applicant; that is, such requirements can be satisfied either directly by an applicant (i.e. the entity), or indirectly by an eligible parent or subsidiary of the applicant or a combination of such entities. This is referred to as ‘corporate group tracing’.
For information on corporate group tracing, refer to:
Ex gratia relief
For land tax liabilities arising before 30 June 2026, we may consider ex gratia relief from the land tax foreign surcharge (LTFS) for foreign companies and trustees of foreign trusts (foreign entities) that make a significant contribution to the Queensland economy and community.
A foreign entity that essentially holds land passively as a landlord or property investor is not considered to be undertaking activities that make a significant contribution.
The relief only applies to the foreign surcharge component of the land tax liability. If approved, you must send us a statutory declaration to confirm that you continue to meet the conditions for relief each financial year.
There are 2 types of ex gratia relief you can apply for, depending on your circumstances.
- In principle pre-approval—before a liability for land tax has arisen (at midnight 30 June), you can apply for an indication of whether ex gratia relief will be granted. For example, you may apply for in principle pre-approval before entering into a transaction to acquire land.
Relief can only be granted once a liability has arisen, so you will still need to apply for ex gratia approval even if you have received in principle pre-approval. - Ex gratia approval—after a liability for land tax has arisen (at midnight 30 June), you can apply for ex gratia approval. You do not need to have applied for in principle pre-approval first.
Read the public ruling on ex gratia relief from the land tax foreign surcharge (LTA000.4) for more information.
To apply for ex gratia relief from LTFS, lodge a completed application for ex gratia relief from LTFS (Form LT25) with your supporting documents for one of the following:
- in principle pre-approval
- completed statutory declaration (included in the application)
- supporting information and documents required by the application
- ex gratia approval
- copy of the in principle pre-approval documentation (if applicable)
- completed statutory declaration (included in the application)
- supporting information and documents required by the application.
Lodging your documents
Send the completed form and supporting documents to LTFSrelief@treasury.qld.gov.au.
To avoid unnecessary delays, it is important that you provide all required information with the application.
If you are also applying for ex gratia relief from AFAD, we can consider both applications at the same time. You may use the same supporting documentation for both applications.
We will send you an email confirming our decision.
Processing timeframes
The processing times for determining eligibility to LTFS ex gratia relief are:
- original application (in principle pre-approval or final ex gratia approval)—60 working days from the date we receive all necessary information, which we may request from you after you lodge your initial application
- renewal application—30 working days from the date we receive all necessary information, which we may request from you after you lodge your initial application.
Urgent assessments
We action matters in order of date received.
If your application has become time sensitive, contact the QRO officer who is looking after your case (if known) or email LTFSrelief@treasury.qld.gov.au to request urgent attention.
Even though we cannot guarantee an urgent assessment, we will try to prioritise these matters where possible. This can depend on the number of lodgements awaiting assessment.
Approved applications
The land tax rates that apply to Australian company and trustee land owners will continue to apply, even if you are granted relief from the foreign surcharge.
If your application is approved before the due date on your land tax assessment notice, the approved relief amount will not need to be paid. Any outstanding amount will be confirmed in our decision email to you.
If you have already paid the foreign surcharge component of your land tax liability, the approved relief amount will be refunded.
Once relief has been granted, you must provide a statutory declaration each financial year confirming that the entity continues to satisfy the conditions under public ruling LTA000.4. We may also request supporting information and documents.
You must submit a new application if your circumstances change after you have been approved, even if you continue to satisfy the conditions.
Unsuccessful applications
If your application for ex gratia relief is not approved, you must pay your land tax liability (including the foreign surcharge) by the due date on the assessment notice. Failure to pay by the due date may result in interest and/or penalties.
Changes of circumstance
If ex gratia relief is approved, you must notify us within 28 days of the following:
- you no longer comply with or satisfy the conditions for relief
- there has been a material change in the circumstances that existed when the approval was given.
Failure to notify is a breach of the ex gratia conditions and you may be required to pay the foreign surcharge amount.