Transfer duty, commonly called stamp duty, is one of the larger costs in a New South Wales property purchase, including in Randwick. Not every buyer pays the same amount, and some transfers are exempt. Revenue NSW lists exemptions and concessions for first home buyers, deceased estates, spouses and de facto partners, marriage or relationship break-ups, primary production land transfers between family members, charitable organisations, and corporate reconstructions and consolidations (for transactions from 1 February 2024). Exemptions and concessions are not automatic and are claimed through a solicitor or conveyancer.
How transfer duty is calculated
Transfer duty is charged on the dutiable value, which is the higher of the purchase price and the market value. Rates are adjusted each year in line with the Consumer Price Index, and the rate year is set by the contract date, or by the transfer date where there is no contract. For 2026-27 the rates are $1.25 per $100 up to $18,000 (minimum $20); $225 plus $1.50 per $100 over $18,000 up to $38,000; $525 plus $1.75 per $100 over $38,000 up to $103,000; $1,662 plus $3.50 per $100 over $103,000 up to $387,000; $11,602 plus $4.50 per $100 over $387,000 up to $1,290,000; and $52,237 plus $5.50 per $100 over $1,290,000. Premium duty applies to residential property over $3,870,000, at $194,137 plus $7.00 per $100 over $3,870,000. Duty is payable within three months of signing the contract, or by settlement if that is earlier.
First home buyer duty relief
Under the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme, for contracts exchanged on or after 1 July 2023, eligible first home buyers pay no transfer duty on a new or existing home valued at $800,000 or less. A reduced rate applies to homes valued above $800,000 and below $1,000,000, and no exemption or concession applies at $1,000,000 or more. For vacant land, no duty is payable at $350,000 or less, and a reduced rate applies above $350,000 and below $450,000.
For an $850,000 home, general transfer duty for 2026-27 is $32,437. The NSW Government publishes reduced rate duty of $9,796.75 at that value, a saving of $22,640.25. Other published reduced rate figures for homes include $19,593.50 at $900,000, $29,390.25 at $950,000 and $37,227.65 at $990,000.
First home buyer eligibility and residence requirement
Buyers must be individuals aged 18 or over, although the age requirement can be waived on application. Neither the buyer nor their spouse or partner may have ever owned or co-owned residential property in Australia, or ever received an exemption or concession under the scheme. For the scheme, a spouse is someone the buyer is legally married to or living with in a de facto relationship. At least one buyer must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident. The transfer must be for the whole property. Buyers purchasing with others who are not eligible can still apply if the eligible buyers acquire at least half the property, but not where the ineligible buyer is a spouse. Being eligible for the scheme does not exempt a foreign person from surcharge purchaser duty.
For contracts exchanged on or after 1 July 2023, the buyer, or one of the other eligible first home buyers, must move into the property within 12 months after settlement (within 12 months of completion for a newly built home) and live there as their principal place of residence for at least 12 continuous months. A six-month occupation period applied only to contracts exchanged from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2023.
New homes, the first home owner grant and off-the-plan duty deferral
The New South Wales first home owner grant is $10,000 for newly built, off-the-plan or substantially renovated homes and is not available for established homes. A new home or a home substantially renovated by the seller must have a purchase price of $600,000 or less. For vacant land plus a comprehensive home building contract and variations, or for an owner-builder, the total value must be $750,000 or less. At least one applicant must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, each applicant must be 18 or over, and temporary residents are not eligible. There is no means test, and one grant is payable per transaction. For contracts from 1 July 2023, the applicant must occupy the home as their principal place of residence within 12 months of completion or purchase and for at least 12 continuous months. Applications are lodged within 12 months of settlement or completion.
A buyer purchasing off the plan to live in the home may defer transfer duty for up to 12 months. Duty is then due at the earliest of 15 months after signing the contract, settlement, or assignment of any part of the contract. Each purchaser must be an Australian citizen, a permanent visa holder, a Partner (provisional) visa holder (subclass 309 or 820) or a New Zealand citizen holding a special category visa (subclass 444) who has been in Australia for at least 200 days in the 12 months before exchange. The deferral is not available if any purchaser is a foreign person, for purchases on behalf of trusts or corporations, or for vacant land where the contract does not include a residence to be built. For contracts exchanged on or after 1 July 2023, at least one purchaser must move in within 12 months after settlement and live there for at least 12 continuous months.
Surcharge purchaser duty for foreign persons
Surcharge purchaser duty applies under Chapter 2A of the Duties Act 1997 (NSW) when a foreign person acquires residential property. The current rate is 9% of the dutiable value. The rate was 8% for transactions from 1 July 2017 to 31 December 2024. The duty is a flat rate, is not adjusted for the Consumer Price Index, and is paid in addition to transfer duty. It remains payable where a transaction is exempt from transfer duty. Where a foreign person buys with others, the duty is calculated on the share of the property acquired by the foreign person.
A person is generally a foreign person unless they are an Australian citizen, ordinarily resident (a permanent resident in Australia for at least 200 days in the preceding year), an exempt permanent resident, or a holder of a Retirement visa (subclass 405 or 410) who meets the residence requirements. Holders of Partner (provisional) visas (subclass 309 or 820) may be ordinarily resident or exempt permanent residents. A New Zealand citizen holding a special category visa (subclass 444) who meets the 200-day test is not a foreign person.
Surcharge purchaser duty can be waived or refunded in some circumstances. Exemptions apply for eligible build-to-rent developments and certain Australian-based developers, and refunds are available in some circumstances, including where foreign status changed so the buyer was no longer a foreign person at the date of transfer, or where the share acquired by a foreign person was reduced. Exemptions and refunds are not automatic, and a solicitor or conveyancer must lodge an application.
Foreign persons, including temporary residents, are generally banned from buying established dwellings from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029, with limited exceptions. They can apply for foreign investment approval to buy new dwellings or vacant land. For a new $1,200,000 apartment bought by a foreign person, transfer duty for 2026-27 is $48,187 and surcharge purchaser duty at 9% is $108,000, a total of $156,187. These figures are calculated from the published rates.
Transfers between spouses and de facto partners
Transfers between spouses and de facto partners are not generally exempt from transfer duty. The exemption applies only where all of the following apply. The property is transferred by a spouse or de facto partner and is a residential dwelling used as the couple's principal place of residence, or vacant land intended as the site of it. Each partner owns equal shares afterwards, as joint tenants or tenants in common, and any other owners' shares are unchanged. The property is used solely for residential purposes for the full exemption, and mixed-use properties may receive a concession on the residential portion only. De facto partners must have lived together for at least two continuous years before the transfer. Surcharge purchaser duty remains payable by a foreign person.
This exemption does not cover one partner buying out the other. A buyout is exempt only where it follows a relationship breakdown and meets the requirements below.
Exemption after a marriage or relationship break-up
Transfers following the irretrievable breakdown of a marriage, de facto relationship or domestic relationship are exempt where the property is matrimonial or relationship property and the transfer is part of the property settlement. The transferee must be either party, a child of either party, a trustee for a child (excluding discretionary trusts) or a trustee in bankruptcy of either party. The transfer must be effected by Family Court or Federal Circuit Court orders, a binding financial agreement, an agreement dividing property because of the separation, or a registered arbitration award. For de facto relationships, agreements of this kind apply to transactions entered into on or after 19 May 2022. The exemption applies however the property is divided, so one party buying out the other is covered, and regardless of how long a de facto relationship lasted. A transfer to a third party is not covered.
Changing between joint tenants and tenants in common
Under Commissioner's Practice Note CPN 025, a change in the holding of property from joint tenants to tenants in common in equal shares, or from tenants in common in equal shares to joint tenants, is excluded from duty only where no consideration is paid and the shares are equal.
How concessions and exemptions are claimed
For the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme, after exchanging contracts the buyer lodges the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme Application (form ODA 066B for contracts exchanged on or after 1 July 2023) and a Purchaser/Transferee Declaration for individuals, with certified proof of identity documents, through their solicitor or conveyancer. The forms are interactive and use declaration tick boxes in place of a statutory declaration. For the spouse and de facto partner exemption, Revenue NSW requires the exemption form, a Purchaser/Transferee Declaration, proof of identity and evidence of the relationship, such as a marriage certificate or, for de facto partners, documents showing at least two years of living together. For a relationship break-up, the evidence is a court order, binding financial agreement, agreement dividing property or registered arbitration award. Exemptions and surcharge purchaser duty refunds require an application lodged by a solicitor or conveyancer.
