Newly Unit Titled Duty Exemption
The ACT Government’s Newly Unit Titled Duty Exemption removes the conveyance duty (stamp duty) you pay when you buy a newly built and ready to occupy residential unit directly from a developer. The ACT Revenue Office is responsible for running this exemption.
Residential units that have been newly unit titled will be eligible for this scheme, including:
- new apartments
- new townhouses.
‘Newly unit titled’ means the property has been subdivided to create a separate title for the common property and each unit.
It is the buyer's responsibility to assess for eligibility to claim the exemption. If you are unsure, we recommend you seek independent financial or legal advice.
The ACT Revenue Office conducts compliance checks on eligibility for claimed exemptions. We administer these taxes in accordance with the law (disallowable instruments) for the exemption. Penalty tax and/or interest may apply if you claim the exemption but do not meet all the requirements.
Find out more about your obligations and responsibilities when claiming the exemption.
Eligibility
To be eligible to claim this conveyance duty (stamp duty) exemption, you and all buyers must meet the following:
- You purchase the residential unit on or after 1 July 2026.
- You are an individual 18 years old or over.
- You purchase the newly built and ready to occupy residential unit directly from the developer.
- You purchase the residential unit within 2 years of the registration of the unit plan.
- You will be the first occupant of the property.
- You must own and 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.
If you would like to claim the exemption, here’s how you need to meet all 6 of the requirements.
1. You purchase the unit from 1 July 2026
You must enter into an agreement to purchase the residential unit with a transaction date from 1 July 2026.
The transaction date is the date the agreement to purchase the residential unit is made. This usually happens on the date when you sign and exchange contracts for the unit.
2. You are an individual 18 years old or over
To claim the exemption, you and any other buyers of the residential unit are individuals who are 18 years old or over.
This means you cannot claim the exemption if you are buying the property:
- through a legal arrangement such as a company
- as an individual to hold on trust as a trustee
- as a partner in a partnership. ‘Partnership’ means persons conducting business together – not a domestic partnership.
- as an agent of a company, trustee or partnership.
You cannot purchase the property with a buyer who is not an individual such as a company.
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.
3. You purchase the newly built and ready to occupy residential unit directly from the developer
You must purchase the residential unit directly from the developer of the property. The developer will be the person who registered the units plan for the residential unit.
You will not be eligible for the exemption if you purchase the residential unit from an individual or company who is not the developer.
The construction of the unit must be complete, and the certificate of occupancy must be granted. This means a person is allowed to live in the unit.
You cannot purchase the property under an off the plan contract. Buying off the plan is when you sign a contract to buy a unit in a units plan before the units plan has been registered.
4. You purchase the residential unit within 2 years of the registration of the units plan
You must purchase the residential unit within 2 years of the registration of the units plan. The registration of the units plan is when the property becomes unit titled.
Your conveyancer or solicitor will be able to tell you when the units plan has been registered. They can do this by checking if the relevant documents are included in your contract of sale, or by conducting a title search.
5. You will be the first occupant of the property
You must be the first person to occupy the residential unit.
Before your purchase the residential unit must not have been:
- occupied temporarily
- used as a place of residence
- rented
- lived or stayed in temporarily or unlawfully
- rented for short-term rental accommodation.
Your conveyancer or solicitor may be able to get a statement from the developer to determine whether the property has ever been occupied or if you will be the first occupant.
6. You must own and live in the home as your principal place of residence continuously for a minimum of one year
The exemption residence requirement states that once you buy your home, at least one buyer must own and 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 the settlement date.
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 69.5 KB.
When claiming the exemption, 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. Find out more about unforeseen circumstances.
- You make a request no later than 18 months after the settlement date (for an eligible home)
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 Newly Unit Titled Duty Exemption
Use this eligibility checker to find out if you may be eligible to claim the Newly Unit Titled Duty Exemption.
Check if you may be eligible for the Newly Unit Titled Duty Exemption
How to claim
Before claiming the exemption, check you meet all the requirements explained on this page. It is your responsibility to provide an accurate self-assessment of your situation.
To make a claim for the exemption you need to complete the online Buyer Verification Declaration form, use the code 408.
Claim the Newly Unit Titled Duty Exemption
Once you have checked you meet all the exemption requirements, you can make a claim.
Claim the exemption on your Buyer Verification Declaration
Next steps
Your exemption claim does not go through an assessment process. We will issue you with a notice of assessment for duty, based on your self-assessed claim. This will have the conveyance duty exemption applied.
You do not have to take any further action unless your circumstances change, then you need to notify us.
After you’ve received your assessment, we may contact you to verify your eligibility for the exemption. For example, we may require you to give us copies of any documents that support your eligibility. We may also ask you to prove you have met your residence requirements at the home. Due to this, you need to keep copies of your supporting documents for at least 5 years after the transaction date of buying your property or land.
Late applications
If you do not claim for the exemption using the Buyer Verification Declaration form before you register your transfer, you can submit a late application. This must be done within 12 months of the date you lodged your transfer of the eligible property with ACT Land Titles.
When we receive your application, we may contact you to verify your eligibility for the concession. We will then advise you of the outcome of your application.
Apply for a concession, exemption or correction of duty after registration of title
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 exemption. 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:
- meeting the residence requirement (eligibility requirement 6) to own and live in your new home continuously for one year.
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.