Stamp duty in Queensland

In Queensland the tax on buying a home is transfer duty, which most people still call stamp duty. The Queensland Revenue Office collects it, and after the price itself it is the largest single cost of the purchase. The table below is computed from Queensland's rate bands.

How duty is worked out in Queensland

Duty is a sliding scale on the whole price. Under $5,000 there is none. From $540,000 to $1,000,000 duty is $17,325 plus $4.50 for each $100, or part of $100, over $540,000, and above $1,000,000 it is $38,025 plus $5.75 for each $100 over $1,000,000. The two bands below $540,000 chain exactly to that published $17,325. The bands are not indexed each year: the current rates apply to transactions dated on or after 21 September 2012, and earlier rates sit in the office's previous-rates PDF, linked from its transfer duty rates page.

The office's transfer duty estimator gives a quick figure from the property value and the buyer type. Its fuller transfer duty calculator handles two or more buyers with mixed concession claims, and an eligibility tester covers the home concessions.

Queensland also has a home concession for any eligible buyer who will live in the home, even one who has owned a home before. The concession rate applies to the first $350,000 of the price and the general rates to the balance; the office puts the saving at up to $7,175. The buyer must move in with their belongings and live there daily within 1 year of settlement. Because this library is for buyers of a home to live in, the standard column in the table below uses the home concession rate; an investor pays the general rate.

First home buyers

Three first-home concessions sit on top of it, each conditional on the eligibility tests below.

Established homes. For contracts dated 9 June 2024 or later, an eligible first home buyer of a home up to $700,000 in value pays no duty. Above $700,000 the concession phases out, and it ends at $800,000. The concession steps down in $10,000 bands, to $1,735 for a home from $790,000 to under $800,000, on the office's concession rates page. Above $800,000 an eligible first home buyer still pays the home concession rate.

New homes. For contracts dated 1 May 2025 or later, the first home (new home) concession reduces duty to nil, with no value cap. A home is new if it has not been previously occupied or sold as a place of residence, which covers a home bought off the plan, or if it is a substantially renovated home. The buyer cannot sell or transfer any part of the property before moving in, and a sale within 1 year after moving in may reduce the concession.

Vacant land. For contracts from 1 May 2025, an eligible first home buyer pays no duty on residential vacant land at any value. Duty still applies to any non-residential portion, and the land must have no building, or part of one, on it. The buyer must build and move in within 2 years of settlement; the deadline cannot be extended, and duty is reassessed if it is missed.

Eligibility. The buyer must never have held an interest in a residence anywhere in the world, solely or jointly, mortgaged or not. They must move in with their belongings and live there daily within 1 year of settlement, a period that cannot be extended. The contract date is the date of signing, not settlement. For contracts from 1 August 2026 the buyer must also be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or specified foreign retiree; earlier contracts are unaffected. The claim is made when the transfer is assessed for duty. The buyer must be at least 18, and a minor has to apply first so the office can decide whether to make an exception.

Duty at a glance

Transfer duty rules, rate bands and thresholds as published by the Queensland Revenue Office for contracts from 9 June 2024, 1 May 2025 and 1 August 2026, read 13 and 16 September 2026. First-home-buyer figures assume you meet the relevant eligibility conditions, which the tables here do not verify: you (and any co-buyer) are an individual who has not previously owned property in Australia, you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident, you intend to move in and live there for the required period, and you meet any state price, contract-date, residency or income tests that apply. Confirm eligibility with the relevant state revenue office before relying on these figures. Where a concession phases out between two thresholds the table approximates it as a straight line; the revenue office calculator applies the statutory formula.

The standard column is the home concession rate, the rate any eligible buyer who will live in the home pays; an investor pays the general rate, which is higher by up to $7,175. The first-home established column is nil through the $700,000 row and matches the standard column at $800,000, because the concession steps down between those rows; a price in between falls on that taper. The new-home column is nil at every price, and the effective rate climbs as more of the price falls into the higher bands.

Other concessions and surcharges

This page describes no pensioner or off-the-plan concession beyond the four above. From 1 August 2026 the residency condition applies to every one of them, the general home concession included. Queensland charges additional foreign acquirer duty on top of transfer duty for foreign buyers; its rate is not stated here.

What the figure leaves out

Registering the transfer and any mortgage carries its own fees, conveyancing and searches are a separate cost, and a building and pest inspection is paid for before the contract goes unconditional. Land tax is an annual charge, not a purchase cost.

Checking the figure

The transfer duty estimator is the authority for any single property.