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What's New
22 August 2008
Duties (Landholders) Amendment Act 2008
The Duties (Landholders) Amendment Act 2008, commencing 1 September 2008, amends the Duties Act 1999 to tighten the current landholding provisions in Chapter 3 of the Duties Act 1999. A summary of the major changes provides further details.
2 July 2008
Public Education Information Session
The ACT Revenue Office will be providing FREE information sessions on Home Buyer Assistance in the ACT. The presentation will provide a general overview of both existing and new home buyer assistance programs - Home Buyer Concession Scheme, First Home Owner Grant, Deferred Duty, Pensioner Duty Concession Scheme and Land Rent. The information sessions will be provided at two venues (Belconnen & Manuka) on Tuesday 29th July 2008. Disability access and free parking is available at both venues. Telephone 6205 0346 or 6207 5865 by 23 July 2008 to register.
1 July 2008
Home Buyer Concession Scheme
From 1 July 2008, the Home Buyer Concession Scheme property value thresholds increased. The value at which the concession ceases is $412,000 for eligible homes, and $227,000 for eligible vacant land. Further information is available from the Home Buyer Concession page.
Pensioner Duty Concession Scheme
This scheme will operate for a period of three years from 1 July 2008. The Pensioner Duty Concession Scheme is to assist older Canberran who wish to move to more appropriate housing without the potential impact of having to pay full duty. Further detail is available from the Pensioner Duty Concession Scheme page.
Deferred Duty Scheme
Deferred Duty Payment is a scheme to allow the deferral of duty on the purchase of certain property purchases. The applicant must be eligible under either the First Home Owner Grant or under the Home Buyer Concession Scheme and the total property value must be below a specified value. The minimum amount of duty deferral is $1,000. Further information is available from the Deferred Duty Scheme page.
Republished Revenue Circulars
On 1 July 2008, all revenue circulars and practice notes published by the Commissioner for ACT Revenue were withdrawn. Current revenue circulars have been republished on 1 July 2008 and will be republished progressively thereafter with minor amendments. Minor amendments include updating, renumbering, reformatting and editorial changes. Further detail is available from the Circulars page.
14 May 2008
Land Rent Scheme - Proposed from 1 July 2008
The Land Rent Scheme will allow households to rent land from the ACT Government rather than purchase land for building a home. The scheme will be available for single dwelling residential blocks sold by the Land Development Agency. Initially, access to the scheme will be restricted to moderate income households. Further information is provided in the Land Rent Notice.
6 May 2008
Update - Affordable House and Land Packages
Affordable House and Land Packages are available through land release programs. The duty payable on such purchases is calculated on the land value only. Purchasers of these packages are able to apply for an extension of time to pay the duty (up to a maximum period of 2 years). Further information is provided in the Affordable House and Land Packages Notice.
6 May 2008
Update - Deferred Duty Payment
Deferred Duty Payment is a scheme to allow the deferral of duty on the purchase of certain property purchases. The applicant must be eligible under either the First Home Owner Grant or under the Home Buyer Concession Scheme and the total property value must be below a specified value. The minimum amount of duty deferral is $1,000. Further information is provided in the Deferred Duty Payment Notice.
6 May 2008 - Budget 2008-2009
Payroll Tax - Threshold Change
On 1 July 2008, the annual threshold for payroll tax will increase to $1,500,000. This means that the monthly threshold will also increase to $125,000. The payroll tax rate will remain the same at the flat rate of 6.85% for wages that exceed the threshold.
Home Buyer Concession Scheme Changes
On 6 May 2008, the income threshold for the Home Buyer Concession Scheme will increase to $120,000 for households with no dependant children. The income threshold will increase by $3,330 per dependant child up to an income threshold of $136,650 for households with 5 or more dependant children.
Moratorium on Duty on Pensioners' Accommodation
On 1 July 2008, the Government is introducing a three year Moratorium on the payment of the full rate of Duty on Pensioners' Accommodation. It is intended to assist eligible pensioners that have decided to change their accommodation for various reasons. The scheme is targeted at elderly Canberra residents for whom duty on the transfer of a property may represent a significant impediment when deciding to move to more appropriate housing that is commensurate with their needs. Further information is provided in the Pensioner Duty Concession Scheme Notice.
Minor Tax Reforms - Removal of Duty on some Trusts
On 1 July 2008, as part of the Government's budget tax reform measures, duty on instruments that relate to the establishment of and variation to some trust documents will be abolished. This measure will not affect duty on trust instruments over dutiable property, which will continue to be liable to duty.
2 May 2008
Public Education Information Session
The ACT Revenue Office will be providing FREE information sessions on Understanding Land Tax in the ACT. The presentation is particularly suited to real estate agents, landlords and tax accountants. The information sessions will be provided at two venues (Belconnen & Manuka) on Wednesday 28th May 2008. Disability access and free parking is available at both venues. Telephone 6205 0346 or 6207 5865 by 22 May 2008 to register.
30 April 2008
Payroll Tax Amendment Act 2008
This Act, due to commence 1 July 2008, introduces several measures that bring the administration of ACT payroll tax into closer alignment with other jurisdictions. The Payroll Tax Harmonisation Notice provides further details.
28 March 2008
Utilities Network Facilities Tax
DI2008-37 
sets the rate for the year ending 31 March 2008. The annual return form for the year ending 31 March 2008 
(31Kb) is required to be lodged and paid by 30 May 2008.
19 March 2008
First Home Owner Grant access for shared equity applicant
A First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) applicant may now access the grant where they have entered into an approved shared equity finance arrangement. The First Home Owner Grant Regulation 2008 Explanatory Statement provides further information.
18 February 2008
Temporary shutdown of website and online payment service on 1 & 29 March 2008
This website and the processing of Revenue Office online payments at the Canberra Connect website http://www.canberraconnect.act.gov.au/ will be unavailable on Saturday 1 and Saturday 29 March 2008. This is due to temporary shutdowns of our data centres for occupational, health and safety reasons.
The ACT Revenue Office apologises for any inconvenience this may cause.
See Previous News for older items
Obtaining copies of ACT laws
Legislation is available at the ACT Legislation Register .
