Land tax applies to ACT properties that are not your principal place of residence. This includes both rented properties and those which are vacant, properties owned as a trustee, and rented dwellings on the same property as your home (such as a granny flat). There are limited exemptions .
When purchasing a residential property you will be required to complete the Buyer Verification Declaration form with Access Canberra.
You will be asked if you plan to live in the property as your principal place of residence, and if so, you will also be asked when you will start living there.
We will receive this information from the Land Titles Office once the property title has been registered in your name.
If you are not going to live in the property as your principal place of residence you will be liable to pay land tax from the first day of the first quarter that you own the property following settlement. If you are going to live in the property as your principal place of residence you will have three calendar months from settlement to begin living at the property. If you begin living at the property after three months, you will be liable for land tax on the first day of the quarter following settlement, until you occupy the property as your principal place of residence.
Complete and submit the Land tax notification form.
If you become liable for land tax, including the foreign ownership surcharge, you have 30 days to notify us of your change in circumstances. This includes if you stop living at your principal place of residence.
A person’s principal place of residence is the home that they primarily occupy, on an ongoing and permanent basis, as their usual home.
No. Only one of the owners has to occupy the home as their principal place of residence for it to be exempt from land tax.
People in a domestic partnership (marriage, civil union or de facto relationship) that own multiple properties can only claim the principal place of residence exemption on one property, unless they have legally separated.
If a property is an owner’s principal place of residence, it can be vacant for extended periods of time, for example if an owner goes on holiday for six months. An owner must notify the ACT Revenue Office however if their circumstances change and the property is no longer their principal place of residence, as land tax will apply.
If the property is your principal place of residence, you only need to pay land tax if the secondary dwelling is rented. If it is not rented, you do not pay land tax.
If the property is not your principal place of residence, you need to pay land tax whether the dwellings are rented or vacant.
You can find full details of which properties are exempt from land tax on our Exemptions page.
The builder’s exemption has been replaced by the 'unfit for occupation' exemption.
You can claim a self-assessed exemption by completing the Land tax notification form.
For a land tax exemption which needs to be considered by our office, complete and submit the Land tax notification form.
For more information on exemptions, visit the Exemptions page.
The Certificate shows the amount of rates, land tax and other charges outstanding on the property. Any outstanding monies owing following transfer of a property and settlement will become the responsibility of the new owner/s.