1 January 2012 - 30 June 2012

Home buyer concession

Description

The Home Buyer Concession Scheme (HBCS) is an ACT Government initiative administered by the ACT Revenue Office to assist persons in purchasing a residential home or residential vacant land by charging duty at a concessional rate.

The lodgment for duty of interdependent land and building contracts will continue to be assessed as off the plan agreements.  For further information see Off the plan agreements, assessment of duty [RTF, 1.4Mb], [PDF, 20Kb]. 

The HBCS applies to property where the transaction date, which is the date of grant, transfer, or agreement for transfer (whichever is first) occurs between 1 January 2012 and 30 June 2012.  This is the date of first execution of an agreement or transfer, not the settlement date.  For further details see: 

• Application Form and Guide [RTF, 400Kb], [PDF, 401Kb]  
• Circular DAA004.7 [RTF, 289Kb], [PDF, 178Kb]  
• Determination of definitions and income test thresholds - DI2011-316 (external site)
• Determination of property value thresholds - DI2011-315 (external site)

A successful application under the HBCS must comply with the following criteria:

Limited time to lodge an 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].

Application processing time

The current standard for processing applications is 10 working days from the provision of all required documentation.  If you lodge an application, please wait 10 working days before checking on the status of your application.

Current and previous property ownership

Applicants (and their domestic partners) must not hold or have held in the previous two years, an interest in any other land except where special circumstances apply.  These special circumstances are detailed in the Determination DI2011-316 (external site).

Property value threshold amount

The upper and lower value thresholds (from which the concessional rate of duty is calculated) for a residential home (eligible property) and residential land (eligible vacant block) are updated every six months (usually 1 January and 1 July) to ensure that they remain current.

Eligible Property (Residential Home)

Eligible Vacant Block (Land)

The lower threshold for a residential home is the highest sale price in the lowest 20% of all sale prices for the two quarters between April 2011 and September 2011.  The upper threshold for residential property is the median price value for the same two quarters.  The land value threshold amounts for the calculation of concessional duty for an eligible vacant block reflect the same percentage changes as calculated from sales data for eligible residential property. 

Income threshold amount

To be eligible for a duty concession, the income test must be satisfied.  The combined total income of all applicants and their domestic partner/s over the 1 year period prior to the date of the grant, transfer or agreement for transfer (whichever is first) must be less than or equal to the relevant income threshold as follows:

Residency requirements

At least one applicant must occupy the home for a continuous period of at least six months, beginning within 1 year of settlement or completion of construction.

The Commissioner for ACT Revenue may extend the time for an applicant to meet the residency requirements, approve a shorter residency period, or exempt an applicant from the residency requirements.  The Commissioner’s discretion is:

• limited to situations where the applicant is unable to reside in the property because of a compulsory or unforeseen circumstance (e.g. work or health related issues);  and
• exercisable only where a written request to exercise the power is lodged with the Commissioner within 18 months of -
• • in relation to an eligible property - the date of the completion of the transfer of the subject property; or
  • in relation to an eligible vacant block - the date of the certificate of occupancy following completion of construction of the residence on the subject property.

Age of applicants

Applicants for the HBCS must be at least 18 years of age.  The circumstances in which a concession may be paid to applicants who are under 18 years of age are limited.

Making an application

For transactions between 1 January 2012 and 30 June 2012 use the Home Buyer Concession Application Form [RTF, 400Kb], [PDF, 401Kb] 

Information about the eligibility criteria applicable to grants, transfers or agreements for other time periods is available at Home buyer concession.

Relevant links

• Record keeping
• Calculator - Home buyer concession duty

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