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Alternate finance transactions

From 1 July 2024, new exemptions apply under the Duties Act 1999, division 2.5.2A in respect of alternate finance transactions for the purchase of ACT land.

Duty is not payable in relation to certain transactions as part of a financing scheme for the purchase of land by an individual.

  • Secondary transfers are exempt from duty when:
    • land is transferred to a financial institution and an individual as co-owners (including joint tenants or tenants in common) and then leased for a fixed period and transferred to the individual after that period (concession code 064A); and
    • where land is transferred to a financial institution is then transferred back to the individual under a contract of sale (concession code 064B).
  • Where land is transferred to a financial institution then leased for a fixed period and transferred to an individual via an option agreement at the end of the period, concession code 064C is used for an exemption for the agreement and the second transfer.
  • Where land is transferred to an individual who then makes a declaration of trust in favour of the financial institution who leases the beneficial interest in the land to the individual for a fixed period before transferring to the individual at the end of the period, both the declaration and second transfer of the beneficial interest are exempt from duty (concession code 064D).

There are further duty exemptions for certain circumstances related to the above transactions:

  • Concession code 064E is used where duty is not payable in the event the individual changes their financial institution. (Note, under Chapter 2 of the Duties Act, a mortgage is not dutiable property and hence a change in mortgagee is not a dutiable event.)
  • Concession code 064F is used where duty is not payable if an individual dies before the completion of financial arrangements, and an interest in the land is transferred in conformity with a trust contained in the will, because of a right of survivorship or transfers to the public trustee and guardian, or an executor or administrator.