Deferred duty

Description

Eligible persons who purchase an eligible property can elect to defer payment of the duty arising from the purchase under Part 2.6A of the Duties Act 1999 (the Act).

A Deferred Duty Application (external site) is assessed under the Act, relevant Disallowable Instruments, and the Taxation Administration Act 1999.

An eligible person is a person who is eligible for:

• the First Home Owner Grant;  or
• the Home Buyer Concession Scheme applicable at the time of the grant of the lease, agreement for transfer or the transfer (whichever is first).

An eligible property is a property priced at or below the relevant Home Buyer Concession Scheme property threshold.

Timeframe for lodging a Deferred Duty application

The application period is limited.  All applications must be received by the Commissioner for ACT Revenue at the ACT Revenue Office by the date the duty must be paid, that is within:

• 90 days of the grant, transfer or agreement (whichever is first);  or
• 14 days of the occurrence of one of the events mentioned in Section 16A (1) of the Duties Act 1999, for an Off the Plan agreement.  

To enable applications to be processed efficiently, all documents must be lodged with the Commissioner for ACT Revenue at the ACT Revenue Office at least 10 working days before approval is required.  Incomplete applications may be returned to you.  All applications accepted over the counter or mailed are subject to the same application time limits.

A late return (application) will only be considered if an applicant can show that it was unduly onerous to lodge it within the statutory or required application period.  The Commissioner's discretion will only be exercised where the applicant can provide sufficient documentary evidence of the delay, and the applicant and the property are otherwise eligible for the scheme.

Information on circumstances that may be considered to be unduly onerous by the Commissioner for ACT Revenue, and those that will not be considered unduly onerous are detailed in Circular DAA012.1 [RTF, 179Kb], [PDF, 91Kb]. 

Eligibility for deferred duty

To be eligible for the deferred duty scheme:

• all applicants named in the grant, transfer or agreement for transfer of the subject property and, in some cases, their non applicant domestic partner, must satisfy all the eligibility criteria for either the relevant Home Buyer Concession Scheme or the First Home Owner Grant;  and
• the property (including vacant land) must be priced at or below the upper property threshold under the relevant Home Buyer Concession Scheme;  and
• the duty deferred must be $1,000 or greater; view Determination 2007-248 (external site).

An eligible homebuyer who has a duty amount reduced under the Home Buyer Concession Scheme can, so long as the remaining duty liability is at least $1,000, elect to defer the payment of that duty amount under the Deferred Duty Scheme.

Compliance with residency requirements required

Approved applicants for deferred duty MUST satisfy the residency requirements imposed under the Home Buyer Concession Scheme or the First Home Owner Grant Scheme, as the case requires.

Interest charges apply

Interest will accrue on the deferred amount of duty from the date the duty is payable until it is paid in full.  The amount of interest and method of calculation is determined under the Taxation Administration Act 1999 as the market rate component defined in section 26 (2) of that Act.  Simple interest accrues on the principal balance of the deferred duty (i.e. not on any accrued interest) and is calculated daily.

Conditions for payment of deferred duty and interest

No payment is required for the first 5 years after the date of the transaction but a voluntary payment towards the deferred amount can be made at any time.

Deferred duty must be paid in full within the next successive 5 years so that the total duty and interest payable is repaid no later than 10 years after the date of the transaction.  All approvals of deferred payment of duty are subject to the homebuyer entering into an arrangement based on these terms.

A person with a deferred duty arrangement must pay the duty and any accrued interest before the title to the property can be transferred to a new owner.

Deferred Duty applications

Applicants for deferred duty should seek independent financial advice prior to lodging an application.

Approved applicants will be advised in writing.  Approval is conditional upon the person entering into a deferral arrangement about the payment of duty and interest as set out above.

If an application is not approved, duty is payable either within 90 days of the date of the agreement for transfer or the longer period allowed for an Off the Plan purchase.

Previous page Home buyer concession.........Next page Land rent

Exchange of information

To assist in the identification and assessment of ACT taxes and grants we exchange information with other Revenue Offices and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). 

The exchange of information with other Revenue Offices is in accordance with part 9 of the Taxation Administration Act 1999 (ACT) and similar legislation in the States and the Northern Territory.  The exchange of information with the ATO is in accordance with subsection 355-65 (5) Schedule 1 of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth).