About the Home Buyer Concession Scheme
For conveyance duty (stamp duty) concession information that applies before this time, read Home Buyer Concession Scheme (for transaction dates before 1 July 2019).
The ACT Government’s Home Buyer Concession Scheme (HBC) helps you buy a home or residential land by reducing the conveyance duty (stamp duty) on the property. The ACT Revenue Office is responsible for running this scheme.
All ACT residential properties are eligible for this scheme, including:
- new homes
- established homes
- vacant residential land.
It is the buyer's responsibility to assess for eligibility to claim the HBC. If you are unsure, we recommend you seek independent financial or legal advice.
The ACT Revenue Office conducts compliance checks on eligibility for claimed concessions. We administer these taxes in accordance with the law (disallowable instruments) for the HBC. Penalty tax and/or interest may apply if you claim the HBC but do not meet all the requirements.
Find out more about your obligations and responsibilities when claiming the HBC.
Eligibility
To be eligible to claim this conveyance duty (stamp duty) concession, you and all buyers must meet the following:
- You are an individual 18 years old or over.
- Your (and your domestic partner’s) income must be less than or equal to a certain amount.
- You (and your domestic partner) need to meet prior property requirements.
- You must live in the home as your principal place of residence continuously for a minimum of one year. You need to start to reside in the home within one year of your settlement date (or issue of the certificate of occupancy for vacant land).
If you would like to claim the HBC, here’s how you need to meet all 4 of the requirements.
1. You are an individual 18 years old or over
To claim the HBC, you and any other buyers of the home or land are individuals who are 18 years old or over. This means you cannot claim the HBC when buying through a legal arrangement such as a company or a trust.
The Commissioner has the discretion to allow someone under 18 years old to be eligible, if it is fair and reasonable under the circumstances. Contact us if you would like to know more about this.
2. Your income must be under a certain amount
To claim the HBC, the total income of all buyers (and their domestic partners) must be less than, or equal to, one of the income thresholds (limits) explained in the following section.
The threshold that applies is determined by the transaction date.
Transaction date
The transaction date is the date the agreement to purchase the home or land is made. This usually happens on the date when you sign and exchange contracts for your new property. Your transaction date is used to assess your eligibility for the HBC.
The relevant income is for the full financial year before the transaction date of when you buy your home or land.
The income threshold will also depend on how many dependent children the buyers and their domestic partners have.
Domestic partner income
Your domestic partner's income must be included, even if they won't be the owner of the property. A domestic partner includes your:
- spouse (legally married)
- de facto partner (not married, but in a relationship)
- civil union partner (legally recognised relationship).
Buyers who have separated from their domestic partner (spouse) or are experiencing family violence may be exempt from this requirement. If you are in this situation, check the income exemptions section.
Income thresholds
For transaction dates from 1 July 2024, income refers to assessed taxable income or, if there is no assessed taxable income, gross income.
Your assessed taxable income will be located on the notice of assessment issued by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for the financial year. Generally, your taxable income is your income minus deductions.
| Number of dependent children | Total income threshold |
|---|---|
| 0 | $250,000 |
| 1 | $254,600 |
| 2 | $259,200 |
| 3 | $263,800 |
| 4 | $268,400 |
| 5 or more | $273,000 |
For transaction dates from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2024, the income threshold applies to gross income. This is your total income from all sources and does not include any deductions.
Your gross income is the sum of all earnings, including earnings other than employment income such as:
- interest
- fringe benefits
- foreign income
- payouts.
Self-employed income
The income for a self-employed person is your business’s trading profit, not the business’s turnover. A person is self-employed if they are a sole trader, not if they are a director, shareholder, and/or employee of their company.
| Number of dependent children | Total gross income threshold |
|---|---|
| 0 | $170,000 |
| 1 | $173,330 |
| 2 | $176,660 |
| 3 | $179,990 |
| 4 | $183,320 |
| 5 or more | $186,650 |
For transaction dates from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2022, the income threshold applies to gross income. This is your total income from all sources and does not include any deductions.
Your gross income is the sum of all earnings, including earnings other than employment income such as:
- interest
- fringe benefits
- foreign income
- payouts.
Self-employed income
The income for a self-employed person is your business’s trading profit, not the business’s turnover. A person is self-employed if they are a sole trader, not if they are a director, shareholder, and/or employee of their company.
| Number of dependent children | Total gross income threshold |
|---|---|
| 0 | $160,000 |
| 1 | $163,330 |
| 2 | $166,660 |
| 3 | $169,990 |
| 4 | $173,320 |
| 5 or more | $176,650 |
Income exemptions
An income exemption exists for a transaction that has a transaction date from 27 May 2025. If any buyers have separated from, but are still legally married to, their spouse, the spouse’s income may be exempted from the HBC requirements if:
- There has been a dissolution, annulment or irretrievable breakdown of the domestic relationship.
- The buyer is not living (cohabiting) with that spouse and there is no likelihood of cohabitation being resumed.
To find out more about the evidence you will need to claim, go to 3. Home buyer concession with separation from a domestic partner (spouse) exemption.
For transaction dates from 1 July 2024, if you or your child has experienced family violence from a domestic partner, their income may be exempted:
- if you have evidence through a family violence order, or an injunction marked with a date before your transaction date, or
- for transaction dates from 1 July 2025, if you can provide a declaration from a competent person as evidence.
Additionally, the domestic partner associated with the family violence cannot occupy or reside in the property during your residence period. To find out more about the evidence you will need to claim, go to 4. Home buyer concession with the family violence exemption.
3. You (and your domestic partner) need to meet prior property ownership requirements
From 1 July 2024
To claim the HBC, all buyers, including your domestic partners (if any), must not have owned or held an interest (legal or equitable) in any other property in the last 5 years. This is 5 years before the transaction date of buying your new house or residential land.
If you have owned property anywhere else in the ACT, Australia, or overseas, within 5 years before the transaction date, you can’t claim the HBC. There are limited exemptions to this requirement.
Before 1 July 2024
To claim the HBC, all buyers, including your domestic partners (if any), must not have owned or held an interest (legal or equitable) in any other property in the last 2 years. This is 2 years before the transaction date of buying your new house or residential land.
If you have owned property anywhere else in the ACT, Australia, or overseas, within 2 years before the transaction date, you can’t claim the HBC. There are limited exemptions to this requirement.
Understanding legal or equitable interest in property
An interest in property can be legal, equitable or both. Here are some examples of the different interests:
- a legal interest in property is when you are registered on the Land Titles registry as the owner of the property
- an equitable interest in property is when you are the beneficiary of a fixed trust that holds an interest in the property.
Property exemptions
You may be exempt from the prior property requirements if one of the following situations apply. Read through the requirements of each exemption by opening the following sections.
If you or your domestic partner acquired an interest in property as an executor or trustee (but not a beneficiary) under a will, then this interest in property can be exempted from the property ownership requirements.
To find out more, go to 1. Home Buyer Concession.
If you or your domestic partner are required to transfer or sell (relinquish) your interest in property by any of the following orders or agreements, then this property may be exempt from the property ownership requirement:
- an order of the court
- a written financial agreement under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cwlth)
- a domestic relationship agreement under the Domestic Relationships Act 1994.
For an order or agreement, it must instruct you to transfer or sell (relinquish) your interest in any prior property that you may own. It is also important the following requirements are met for this exemption to apply:
- for an order of a court:
- it must be sealed (signed and stamped) before the transaction date of your new property purchase
- it must be sealed before you transfer or sell (relinquish) any prior interests in property and sign and exchange contracts for the sale of your former home
- for an agreement, it must be signed by both parties before:
- the transaction date of your new property purchase
- you transfer or sell (relinquish) any prior interests in property and exchange contracts for the sale of your former home.
To meet these exemption requirements, you need to follow the correct timeline of events.
Jane wanted to buy a new home after she separated from her ex-partner, Milly.
Here’s the steps she took:
- Jane and Milly had court orders that were signed and sealed by the court on 17 July 2024.
- The court orders instructed that Jane and Milly proceed with the sale of their previous home.
- Jane and Milly entered a contract to sell their home on 15 August 2024. Settlement of the sale occurred 2 weeks later.
- Jane exchanged contracts to purchase a new home on 16 October 2024. This settled a month later. She plans to claim the HBC to assist her with payment of conveyance duty (stamp duty).
In this situation, the house Jane previously owned with Milly will not be seen as her having owned prior property. This is because she has met the requirements of the property exemption, as the court orders required the property to be sold and they were signed and sealed before:
- the marital home was sold
- the new home was purchased.
John is legally separated from his ex-partner, Sue. They are in the process of getting court orders to separate their assets.
In the meantime, John went ahead and bought a new home on his own. Here’s the steps he took:
- John and Sue entered a contract to sell their marital home on 9 July 2024, they settled a couple of weeks later.
- John exchanged contracts to buy his new home on 12 August 2024. This settled a month later.
- John and Sue’s court orders were signed and sealed by the court on 17 August 2024, instructing them to share the proceeds of sale for the marital home.
In this situation, John hasn’t met the requirements of the property exemption for HBC, as the court orders were signed and sealed after:
- the marital home was sold
- the new home was purchased.
To find out more, go to 2. Home buyer concession with property exemptions through court orders, finance and domestic relationship agreements.
An exemption for a spouse's property interests exists for a transaction that has a transaction date from 27 May 2025. If any buyers have separated from, but are still legally married to, their spouse, the spouse’s property interests may be exempted from the HBC requirements if:
- There has been a dissolution, annulment or irretrievable breakdown of the domestic relationship.
- The buyer is not living (cohabiting) with their spouse and there is no likelihood of cohabitation being resumed.
Donald wants to buy a new home since separating from his ex-partner, Barry. They are still legally married but have separated.
Donald and Barry no longer live together, and they have no intention of doing so again.
Donald has never owned a property, but Barry owns a property in NSW.
Ordinarily, as Donald and Barry are still married, Barry’s property ownership would exclude Donald’s eligibility for the HBC. In this situation, however, Donald can have his ex-partner’s property ownership exempted from the property requirement. This is because he was not an owner, himself, and has met the requirements of the separation exemption.
Simon is looking to buy a new home since separating from his ex-partner, Mary. They are still legally married but have separated.
Simon and Mary do not live together anymore, and they have no plans to do so in the future.
They jointly own a home in NSW. There are no court orders or agreements to sell or transfer (relinquish) this property.
In this situation the domestic partner (spouse) exemptions will not apply because:
- Simon and Mary jointly own the NSW home, it is not solely owned by Mary
- there are no court orders or agreements requiring Simon to sell or transfer (relinquish) his interest in the property.
To find out more about the evidence you will need to claim, go to 3. Home buyer concession with separation from a domestic partner (spouse) exemption.
For transaction dates from 1 July 2024, if you or your child has experienced family violence from a domestic partner, you can still have held other property in the last 5 years:
- if you have evidence through a family violence order, or an injunction marked with a date before your transaction date, or
- for transaction dates from 1 July 2025, if you can provide a declaration from a competent person as evidence.
Additionally, if a domestic partner is associated with the family violence they cannot occupy or reside in the property during your residence period. Read more about how to claim, go to 4. Home buyer concession with the family violence exemption.
4. You must live in the home continuously for a minimum of one year
The HBC residence requirement states that once you buy your home, at least one buyer must live in it continuously for a minimum of one year.
This means you must start living in your new home as your principal place of residence within one year of either:
- the settlement date (for a new or established home), or
- the date that a certificate of occupancy and use (COU) has been issued (for vacant land).
Principal place of residence
Principal place of residence (PPR) is where a person mainly lives. A person can occupy more than one place of residence at a time, however, only one residence may be a person’s PPR. Find out more about principal place of residence (272 KB)
When claiming the HBC, you are agreeing to meet this residence requirement in advance. If you do not meet the residence requirement, you will be liable to pay full conveyance duty (stamp duty) in relation to the transaction. Penalty tax or interest may also apply if the requirements are not met. Read more about your obligations and responsibilities.
Residence exemption
If you are experiencing unforeseen circumstances and cannot meet the residence requirement, find out more in the following.
The Commissioner for ACT Revenue can reduce the residence period, in full or in part, or extend the time before you must start living in the property, but only if:
- There has been an unforeseen circumstance such as a health-related issue.
- You make a request no later than 18 months after:
- the settlement date (for an eligible home), or
- the date you receive the COU once construction of the new home is finished (for vacant land).
If you have any concerns about meeting your residence requirement, you should contact us as early as possible.
Check if you may be eligible for the Home Buyer Concession Scheme
Use this eligibility checker to find out if you may be eligible to claim the home buyer concession.
Check if you may be eligible for the Home Buyer Concession SchemeFind out how much duty concession you can get
To find out how much concession on conveyance duty (stamp duty) you would get, choose from one of the following periods of time. Use the transaction date of when you purchased your property to find which yearly period applies.
You can also use our tool to calculate your conveyance duty (stamp duty).
Concession amount for transaction dates from 1 July 2025
From 1 July 2025, the maximum amount of conveyance duty (stamp duty) concession you can receive when claiming a concession is $35,238. The limit for property value is set at $1,020,000 or less. If you pay higher than this amount for your property, duty starts to apply.
| Property value | Duty to pay after concession |
|---|---|
| $1,020,000 or less | $0 |
| Between $1,020,000 and $1,455,000 | $6.40 for every $100, or part of $100, by which the dutiable value exceeds $1,020,000 |
| $1,455,000 or more | a flat rate of $4.54 per $100 applied to the total dutiable value, less an amount of $35,238 |
Concession amounts before 1 July 2025
Concession amount for transaction dates from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025
For transaction dates from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025, the maximum amount of conveyance duty (stamp duty) concession you can receive when claiming a concession is $34,270.
| Property value | Duty payable |
|---|---|
| $1,000,000 or less | $0 |
| Between $1,000,000 and $1,455,000 | $6.40 for every $100, or part of $100, by which the dutiable value exceeds $1,000,000 |
| $1,455,000 or more | a flat rate of $4.54 per $100 applied to the total dutiable value, less an amount of $34,270 |
Concession amount for transaction dates from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024
For transaction dates from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024, the maximum amount of conveyance duty (stamp duty) concession you can receive when claiming a concession is $34,504.
| Property value | Duty payable |
|---|---|
| $1,000,000 or less | $0 |
| Between $1,000,000 and $1,455,000 | $6.40 for every $100, or part of $100, by which the dutiable value exceeds $1,000,000 |
| $1,455,000 or more | a flat rate of $4.54 per $100 applied to the total dutiable value, less an amount of $34,504 |
Concession amount for transaction dates from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023
For transaction dates from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023, the maximum amount of conveyance duty (stamp duty) concession you can receive when claiming a concession is $34,790.
| Property value | Duty payable |
|---|---|
| $1,000,000 or less | $0 |
| Between $1,000,000 and $1,455,000 | $6.40 for every $100, or part of $100, by which the dutiable value exceeds $1,000,000 |
| $1,455,000 or more | a flat rate of $4.54 per $100 applied to the total dutiable value, less an amount of $34,790 |
Concession amount for transaction dates from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022
For transaction dates from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022, the maximum amount of conveyance duty (stamp duty) concession you can receive when claiming a concession is $35,910.
| Property value | Duty payable |
|---|---|
| $1,000,000 or less | $0 |
| Between $1,000,000 and $1,455,000 | $6.40 for every $100, or part of $100, by which the dutiable value exceeds $1,000,000 |
| $1,455,000 or more | a flat rate of $4.54 per $100 applied to the total dutiable value, less an amount of $35,910 |
Concession amount for transaction dates from 16 December 2019 to 30 June 2021
| Property type | Duty payable |
|---|---|
| Home | $0 |
| Vacant land | $0 |
Concession amount for transaction dates from 1 July 2019 to 16 December 2019
| Property type | Duty payable |
|---|---|
| Home | $0 |
| Vacant land | $0 |
Your obligations and responsibilities
All concession and exemption applications through the ACT Revenue Office are self-assessed. You are obligated to make sure you can meet (or will meet) all the requirements before claiming for the HBC. This may include seeking independent financial or legal advice.
The notice of assessment you receive from us will be based on the information you provide. The ACT Revenue Office will not confirm whether that information is correct at that time.
The ACT Revenue Office performs compliance checks on eligibility for claimed concessions. If it is determined that you have not met all the requirements, a reassessment may be issued. Penalty tax and/or interest may apply. The default rate for penalty tax is 25 per cent, though the imposed rate can vary depending on your conduct.
It is important that you remember to meet all the requirements, this is both before and after you receive your notice of assessment, including:
- checking your income for the previous financial year was under the threshold
- meeting the residence requirement (eligibility requirement 4) to live in your new home continuously for one year. If you have purchased vacant land, you must reside on it within one year from the date you receive the certificate of occupancy.
If you have any concerns about meeting your requirements, you should contact us as early as possible.
You need to keep copies of your supporting documents for at least 5 years after the transaction date of buying your property. Due to the nature of the requirements, compliance checks may occur 2 years, or more after the assessment.
Next step
If you meet (or will meet) all 4 of the HBC requirements, you can take the next step and claim the home buyer concession.
Contact us
Duties Operations Team:
- Phone: (02) 6207 0028, option 3
- Email: duties@act.gov.au
Related information
- Find out about the disallowable instruments for administering the HBC
- Find out more about conveyance duty