Transfer duty concessions and exemptions

Concessions and exemptions are available to reduce the amount of transfer duty (sometimes called stamp duty) you need to pay when buying a home.

Transfer duty applies when you transfer land in Queensland—this typically happens when a person signs a contract to buy a home or when their name is added to the title of land.

When buying a home, you will need to have transfer duty assessed on your contract or transfer before you become the legal owner.

Concessions for homes

You may be eligible for a concession when buying your home. For transfer duty, a concession is a lower rate of duty than what would apply if you were buying non-residential land or an investment property.

In some cases, you may not have to pay any duty because the benefit of the concession is equal to or greater than the duty you would otherwise pay. This will depend on the value of the property you are buying.

For example, you will not pay any transfer duty if you are eligible to claim a first home concession and the value of the home is less than $500,000.

To be eligible, there are certain requirements you will need to meet when claiming the concession and for a certain period after you occupy the home.

These are the types of concessions for homes that you can claim and what benefit they provide.

• Home concession—a lower rate of duty (when buying another home after your first home)
• First home concession—the lower home concession rate of duty plus a further rebate that may result in you paying no duty (when you have never owned a home before)
• First home vacant land concession—the normal rate of duty plus a further rebate that may result in you paying no duty (when buying land to build your first home)

The first home concessions are separate benefits to the first home owner grant and regional home building boost grant—so you can claim one or more, depending on whether you meet the relevant requirements. Learn more about the differences between the first home concessions and first home owner grant.

Exemptions for homes

Different to a concession, an exemption means you don’t pay any duty, regardless of the value of the property you are buying or acquiring (in some cases, you may have a share in land transferred to you as a gift, but transfer duty still needs to be assessed).

For each exemption, certain requirements will need to be met. You may also need to submit supporting documents for your exemption claim.

When dealing with home purchases or transfers, an exemption may apply when you:

• transfer a share of ownership in your home to your spouse
• change tenure
• buy a manufactured (mobile) home.

Different exemptions can apply to transfers of property between divorcing or separating spouses.

Find out more about home or property owner exemptions for transfer duty.

More information

• Learn about when transfer duty applies.
• Use our transfer duty estimator to find out how much duty you may have to pay when buying a home.
• Get information about other concessions and exemptions for transfer duty.
• Find out about lodging and paying transfer duty.