Stamp duty (officially transfer duty) is the state tax you pay when property changes hands — and for most first home buyers it's the largest cost after the deposit. The good news: every state and territory offers first home buyers an exemption below a threshold and a concession that phases out above it. This cheat sheet collects those thresholds in one place.
General information only. Thresholds are indicative for FY2025–26 and change frequently. These figures mirror our stamp duty calculator; always confirm the current rules with your state revenue office before acting.
How the concession works
Most jurisdictions use a simple phase-out: pay no duty at or below the full-exemption price, and a sliding concession between that price and a zero point, where you pay the full standard rate. So a home priced just inside the threshold can attract zero duty, while one a little above it gets a partial discount rather than a cliff.
Two conditions apply almost everywhere:
- You must be buying as an owner-occupier (you'll live in it), not an investor.
- It must genuinely be your first home (you haven't owned property in Australia before).
First home buyer thresholds by state
| State / territory | Full exemption up to | Concession phases out at | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | NSW | $800,000 | $1,000,000 | First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme (FHBAS). | | VIC | $600,000 | $750,000 | Principal place of residence. | | QLD | $700,000 | $800,000 | First-home concession. | | WA (metro) | $430,000 | $530,000 | FHOG-linked; higher cap applies in regional WA. | | SA | No value cap | — | Full exemption on new homes / vacant land only; established homes pay full duty. | | TAS | $750,000 (50% off) | — | 50% concession on established first homes up to the cap. | | ACT | Income-tested | — | Home Buyer Concession Scheme — nil duty if household income is within the threshold (~$170k). | | NT | No duty concession | — | Support is via grants, not duty relief. |
What it means in practice
- NSW is the most generous on price: an eligible first home up to $800,000 pays nothing, with the concession running out at $1.0m.
- VIC and QLD fully exempt up to $600,000 and $700,000 respectively, then phase out over the next $150k–$100k.
- WA has lower caps but adds a higher threshold for regional buyers.
- SA ties the exemption to new homes or land rather than a price cap — established homes miss out.
- TAS gives a 50% discount (not a full exemption) on established homes.
- ACT flips the model to an income test instead of a price cap.
- NT offers no duty concession — first home support comes through grants.
Don't forget the grants
Stamp-duty relief stacks with cash grants. Most states still run a First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) — typically for newly built homes — and the federal First Home Guarantee lets you buy with a 5% deposit and no LMI. See the First Home Buyer Hub for the full picture and our first home buyer guide for the buying process end to end.
Work out your number
Thresholds tell you whether you'll pay duty; the stamp duty calculator tells you how much — it applies your state's exact concession for your price and property type, and shows the duty before and after the discount.