Government Incentives and Stamp Duty Discounts

Government Incentives and Stamp Duty Discounts

First Home buyer duty exemption, concession or reduction 

When you buy your first home on or after 1 July 2017, you may be eligible for an exemption or concession from stamp duty.

The First Home buyer duty exemption or concession may be available if:

  • You enter into a Contract of sale to buy your first home on or after 1 July 2017;
  • You must live in your property as your principal place of residence for a continuous period of 12 months, commencing within 12 months of settlement;
  • Your home has a dutiable value of:

                                o $600,000 or less to receive the first home buyer duty exemption;

                                o $600,000 to $750,000 to receive the first home buyer duty concession. 

Stamp duty is calculated on a sliding scale with the closer the purchase price is to the $600,001 the greater the concession.

Any property purchase over the price of $750,000.00 no stamp duty concession is applicable regardless of whether it is your first home.

First Home Owner Grant 

A $10,000 First Home Owner Grant is available when you buy or build your first new home. This increases to $20,000 if your home is in Regional Victoria and is valid for Contracts signed between 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2021.

Your first home can be a house, townhouse, apartment, unit or similar but it must be valued at $750,000 or less, be the first sale of the property as residential premises and the home must be less than five years old to receive this grant.

You must occupy the property as your principal place of residence (PPR) for a continuous period of 12 months commencing within 12 months of settlement or construction.

You must be an Australia citizen or permanent resident.

25% – 50% discount on Stamp Duty


The Victorian Government is offering a land transfer (stamp) duty waiver for purchases of Victorian residential property with a dutiable value of up to $1 million.

For new residential properties – 50% stamp duty waiver;

For existing residential properties – 25% stamp duty waiver;

For vacant residential land – 25% stamp duty waiver.

To be eligible for this waiver:

  • Your purchase must be for residential property whether or not you use it as your principal place of residence;
  • Have a dutiable value of $1million or less;
  • The contract must be signed on or after 25 November 2020 and before 1 July 2021 and the arrangement must be a bona fide purchase for adequate consideration (not a gift).

Home Builder Grant

The Australian Government is offering a $15,000 Home Builder grant to eligible recipients. The key dates for this grant are:

  • 1 January 2021 – 31 March 2021 – enter into a contract to build or renovate between these dates to be eligible for the $15,000 grant with building to commence within 6 months from entering into the building contract.
  • 14 April 2021 – all applications, irrespective of when the building or renovation or contract was signed, must be submitted with the HomeBuilder application portal by this date.

While all applications must be submitted by 14 April 2021, it does not mean that all supporting documents must be uploaded by then. You can continue uploading supporting documents as they become available, beyond 14 April 2021. Eligibility criteria apply to qualify for this grant.

If you are buying or selling a property and have any questions about your eligibility for these grants, please contact our helpful team today!

Start your journey today – connect with our team for a personalised consultation.

This is general information only. Please contact the team at Tonkin Legal for expert legal advice that takes your unique personal situation into account prior to making any decisions based on this article.

Shelley Martin

Shelley Martin

Author

Shelley is a member of the Conveyancing Team.

Suzanna Toleski

Suzanna Toleski

Author

Suzanna is a qualified Conveyancer and is a member of the Conveyancing Team.