NSW Stamp Duty: Rates, Thresholds, and First-Home Buyer Help

Stamp duty in New South Wales is properly called transfer duty, and it is paid by the buyer on the higher of the purchase price or the market value of the property. The general rates form a sliding scale that rises with value and is indexed to consumer prices each 1 July. On top of that scale sits the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme, which exempts eligible first-home buyers entirely up to a threshold and reduces duty above it. The two systems interact, and the interaction is where buyers lose money: a price a little above a threshold can cost far more than a little extra duty. All figures here are in Australian dollars, for contracts from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, and should be confirmed with Revenue NSW for your contract date.

The general rate scale for 2026-27

For contracts signed from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, the general transfer duty scale is: $1.25 for every $100 up to $18,000; $225 plus $1.50 per $100 over $18,000 up to $38,000; $525 plus $1.75 per $100 over $38,000 up to $103,000; $1,662 plus $3.50 per $100 over $103,000 up to $387,000; $11,602 plus $4.50 per $100 over $387,000 up to $1,290,000; and $52,237 plus $5.50 per $100 over $1,290,000. Premium duty adds $7 per $100 on the excess above $3,870,000 for high-value residential property.

A worked example: a home at $800,000 falls in the $387,001 to $1,290,000 band, so duty is $11,602 plus 4.50% of $413,000, which is $11,602 plus $18,585, totalling $30,187. A home at $900,000 gives $11,602 plus 4.50% of $513,000, which is $11,602 plus $23,085, totalling $34,687. The calculator on this site runs the scale for any value, and the Revenue NSW calculator is the authoritative check for a real purchase.

First Home Buyers Assistance: the thresholds that matter

Under the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme, an eligible first-home buyer pays no transfer duty on a new or existing home valued at $800,000 or less, a concessional, reduced amount on a home above $800,000 and below $1,000,000, and full duty at $1,000,000 or more. For vacant land intended as a first home, the thresholds are $350,000 for a full exemption and $450,000 for the concession ceiling. These scheme thresholds are not indexed annually the way the general scale is, so they stay fixed until the government changes them.

The concession in the $800,000 to $1,000,000 band is a sliding scale: the saving shrinks as the price approaches $1,000,000. At $800,000 the saving is the full $30,187 of duty. At $900,000 the saving is about $15,094, leaving a concessional duty of roughly $19,594 against the full $34,687. At exactly $1,000,000 the saving is nothing. That taper is the reason a $900,000 purchase can be worse value than an $800,000 one by more than the $100,000 price difference suggests, once duty is counted.

Eligibility: who counts as a first-home buyer

Eligibility turns on prior ownership, residence, and citizenship or residency status, and on the property being your first home in the relevant sense: a person who owned an interest in a home before, even long ago or overseas in some circumstances, may not qualify, and a purchase with a partner who previously owned property can disqualify the whole purchase. First-home buyers must also move into the home within 12 months of settlement and live there continuously for 12 months.

Check eligibility before exchanging contracts, not after, because duty is assessed on the contract date and the scheme thresholds that apply are those in force then. A conveyancer or Revenue NSW can confirm a specific case; this guide states the scheme shape, not a ruling on any buyer.

Budgeting the whole settlement, not just the duty

Duty is the largest single settlement cost for most buyers, but it is not the only one. Budget also for conveyancing, lender fees, building and pest inspections, insurance from exchange, council and water adjustments, and, for a new home, the first-home owner grant where it applies, which is a separate payment from the duty scheme and has its own eligibility rules. Lenders generally require duty to be paid from your own funds or from the loan structure they approve, and duty is due by the earlier of settlement or three months after the contract date.

The practical planning rule: price your search with duty included. A home listed at $820,000 is not $20,000 more than a home at $800,000 for an eligible first-home buyer; it is $20,000 more plus the concessional duty on the $820,000 purchase, while the $800,000 home carries no duty at all. Run both prices through the calculator before offering, and the true gap will show itself.

Frequently asked questions