QLD Stamp Duty Calculator
Calculate transfer duty on your Queensland property purchase. Updated with 2026–27 rates.
| Effective Rate | — |
| Total Purchase Cost | — |
How Stamp Duty Works in Queensland
Queensland transfer duty is a state government tax on property transactions. It is calculated on the higher of the purchase price or the unencumbered value of the property, and it is a cash cost at settlement.
The rate schedule is only half the story. The same Queensland house has three different duty answers depending on who is buying it:
- The general rate — investors, holiday-home buyers, and anyone else who is not moving in.
- The home concession — any owner-occupier, first home or not.
- The first home concession — nil duty to $700,000, phasing out to nil concession at $800,000.
The gap between the first two is the one buyers most often miss. On any purchase from $350,000 up it is exactly $7,175, and it is available to people who have owned a home before.
Current QLD Transfer Duty Rates (2026–27)
- $0 – $5,000: Nil
- $5,001 – $75,000: $1.50 per $100 over $5,000
- $75,001 – $540,000: $1,050 + $3.50 per $100 over $75,000
- $540,001 – $1,000,000: $17,325 + $4.50 per $100 over $540,000
- Over $1,000,000: $38,025 + $5.75 per $100 over $1,000,000
The home concession — for any owner-occupier
The home concession charges a cheaper rate on the first $350,000 of value; the general rates apply to the balance. The Queensland Revenue Office is explicit that it is not a first-home-buyer scheme: "you can claim the home concession even when you have owned a home before."
- Up to $350,000: $1.00 per $100
- $350,001 – $540,000: $3,500 + $3.50 per $100 over $350,000
- $540,001 – $1,000,000: $10,150 + $4.50 per $100 over $540,000
- Over $1,000,000: $30,850 + $5.75 per $100 over $1,000,000
Because the discount only ever touches the first $350,000, the saving stops growing once the price passes that mark. From there it is a flat $7,175 — the same on a $400,000 unit as on a $4 million house.
The conditions are about occupancy, not ownership history. You must move into the home with your personal belongings and live there on a daily basis within 1 year of settlement, and QRO states this time cannot be extended. Before you move in you cannot lease or rent any part of the property. After you move in you may rent out part of it while you continue to live there, provided the lease starts on or after 10 September 2024 — but you cannot lease or grant exclusive possession of all of it within 1 year of moving in. From 1 August 2026 you also need to be an Australian citizen, a permanent resident, or a specified foreign retiree.
A worked example
An $800,000 Brisbane house, bought by an owner-occupier who moves in. At home concession rates it sits in the $540,001–$1,000,000 band: $10,150 + 4.5% of $260,000 = $21,850. That is 2.73% of the price, or $821,850 all up.
The same house bought as an investment or a holiday home is charged at the general rate: $17,325 + 4.5% of $260,000 = $29,025. The difference is $7,175 — the most the home concession is ever worth.
Duty is normally settled in cash rather than borrowed, so it is worth modelling what the deposit looks like once it is paid: the mortgage repayment calculator and the LMI calculator both take the reduced figure.
The first home concession
For agreements entered into on or after 9 June 2024, a first home buyer pays no duty on an established home valued at $700,000 or under. The concession phases out to nil at $800,000, and the maximum saving is $24,525.
The phase-out is not a smooth taper. Duty is worked out at home concession rates first, then a fixed concession amount is subtracted depending on which $10,000 band the price falls into — $17,350 up to $709,999.99, $15,615 from $710,000, and so on down to $1,735 in the $790,000s, then nil at $800,000. Because the bands step rather than slide, duty jumps at each $10,000 boundary.
Above $800,000 the first home concession is exhausted, but the home concession is not. A first home buyer at that price pays the ordinary owner-occupier figure of $21,850, not the general-rate $29,025. Eligibility, grants and deadlines interact across all of these; the first home buyer calculator covers the wider package.
First home, new home — and vacant land
This is the most consequential recent change and the one least reflected in older guidance. For contracts dated 1 May 2025 or later, a first home buyer of a new home pays no transfer duty at all, and QRO states there is no value cap for the home and residential land attributed to the home. A $1.2 million new build attracts nil duty, where the same-priced established house would cost a first home buyer $42,350.
A "new home" is one not previously occupied or sold as a place of residence, or a substantially renovated home meeting the GST Act criteria. You must be a genuine first home buyer, 18 or over, acquiring the home as an individual, paying market value, and you must move in within 1 year of settlement.
A parallel first home vacant land concession works the same way — contracts from 1 May 2025, no value cap — except that you must build and occupy within 2 years, and that deadline cannot be extended.
What the same house costs three different buyers
| Price | General rate | Home concession (owner-occupier) | First home buyer (established) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $400,000 | $12,425 | $5,250 | $0 |
| $500,000 | $15,925 | $8,750 | $0 |
| $600,000 | $20,025 | $12,850 | $0 |
| $700,000 | $24,525 | $17,350 | $0 |
| $750,000 | $26,775 | $19,600 | $10,925 |
| $800,000 | $29,025 | $21,850 | $21,850 |
| $900,000 | $33,525 | $26,350 | $26,350 |
| $1,000,000 | $38,025 | $30,850 | $30,850 |
| $1,200,000 | $49,525 | $42,350 | $42,350 |
The first home phase-out, band by band
Duty payable by an eligible first home buyer on an established home, at each band floor. The concession runs out at $800,000.
| Price | Duty payable | Price | Duty payable |
|---|---|---|---|
| $700,000 | $0 | $760,000 | $13,110 |
| $710,000 | $2,185 | $770,000 | $15,295 |
| $720,000 | $4,370 | $780,000 | $17,480 |
| $730,000 | $6,555 | $790,000 | $19,665 |
| $740,000 | $8,740 | $800,000 | $21,850 |
| $750,000 | $10,925 |
Foreign buyers: AFAD
A foreign person acquiring residential land in Queensland pays Additional Foreign Acquirer Duty on top of transfer duty. The current rate is 8%. On an $800,000 purchase that is a further $64,000, taking a general-rate bill of $29,025 to $93,025. It applies to foreign individuals, foreign corporations and trustees of foreign trusts; the foreign buyer surcharge calculator has the state-by-state picture.
First Home Owner Grant
Separately from duty, the Queensland First Home Owner Grant pays $30,000 for contracts signed on or after 20 November 2023, on a new home valued under $750,000 including land. QRO publishes no end date for it. The condition is again occupancy: move in within 1 year of settlement and live there continuously for 6 months.
When you actually pay
Duty runs from the liability date, which for a standard contract is the date the contract is entered into — not settlement. The transaction must be lodged within 30 days of that date. In practice most Queensland conveyancers are registered self-assessors: they lodge online within 30 days, with duty payable within 14 days after. Late lodgement or late payment attracts penalty tax and interest. On a long settlement the deadline can fall well before the money moves, which is worth confirming with your solicitor early rather than late.
Sources
- QRO — Transfer duty rates
- QRO — Concession rates
- QRO — Home concession
- QRO — First home concession
- QRO — First home (new home) concession
- QRO — Additional foreign acquirer duty
- QRO — First Home Owner Grant eligibility
- QRO — Lodging and paying transfer duty