Written by James Hurwood
Reviewed by Stephen Zeller
Last updated 08/01/2024
Don't quite understand stamp duty? You might want to watch this explainer from Selling Houses Australia host, Andrew Winter.
Stamp duty will likely be one of your biggest upfront homebuying costs, if not the biggest of them all. This makes it important to understand stamp duty and how much you’re likely to pay on your QLD property purchase. To help you with this, our General Manager of Money, Stephen Zeller has the following tips:
Don’t forget the QLD Home Concession! You could pay considerably less in stamp duty on your QLD property purchase if you plan on using it as a primary place of residence rather than as an investment property.
Stamp duty can often be overlooked when totalling up homebuying costs, so make sure to do your research and figure out how much stamp duty you’ll likely have to pay when deciding how much you’ll need to save up.
Our expert Home Loan Specialists are ready to help you with any questions you have on how much stamp duty you may need to pay for your home purchase in QLD. You can reach out to them via phone call or email to discuss your scenario and what stamp duty costs and other government fees may be applicable.
The purchase price of your home (also known as the dutiable value, as opposed to the market value) will affect what stamp duty rate is applied. The current stamp duty rates in Queensland are listed below.
| Property price | Stamp duty rate |
| $0 – $5,000 | No stamp duty |
| $5,001 – $75,000 | $1.50 for each whole or part $100 over $5,000 |
| $75,001 – $540,000 | $1,050 plus $3.50 for each whole or part $100 over $75,000 |
| $540,001 – $1,000,000 | $17,325 plus $4.50 for each whole or part $100 over $540,000 |
| $1,000,001+ | $38,025 plus $5.75 for each whole or part $100 over $1,000,000 |
| Notes: Accurate as of April 2023. Source: Queensland Government.¹ | |
For example, you might buy a house for $550,150. That means your payable stamp duty would initially be $17,325, then plus $4.50 for each $100 over $540,000. To figure out how much stamp duty you’d pay all up, we need to do some calculations.
Step 1. Figure out how many blocks of $100 there are between $540,000 and the purchase price of $550,150.
There’s a $10,150 difference between the two figures; $100 goes into that 101 times, and the additional $50 is treated as a whole $100 as well. This means there are 102 blocks of $100 we need to use to calculate stamp duty.
Step 2. Multiply 102 by 4.50 to calculate the second part of your stamp duty
102 x $4.50 = $459
Step 3. Add the two components of your stamp duty together
$459 + $17,325 = $17,784
This means that on top of the purchase price of $550,150, you’d pay $17,784 in stamp duty. However, it’s important to note that your house-buying costs don’t end there; you’ll generally still have to pay for things including (but not limited to):
Stamp duty in QLD is calculated based on the sale price of the property, and while other factors may influence how much stamp duty you end up paying, you won’t pay more or less because of your property type (e.g. an apartment or a townhouse). Of course, some types of houses may be more valuable than others and therefore sell for a higher price and incur a higher rate of duty.
It’s also worth noting that you won’t pay a different set of rates based on whether you’re buying a new home or an established home.
Stamp duty is typically due within 30 days of signing documents but before the sale is settled; the Queensland Government recommends having your documents stamped well before settlement if you’re buying property with the help of a home loan.²
Banks and lenders will generally have you sign these documents early on, so you can potentially include stamp duty in the amount you borrow for a mortgage if desired.
There are three types of stamp duty concessions in Queensland that can either reduce the amount you must pay or eliminate it altogether (depending on the purchase value of the property). These are:
The concessions for stamp duty often require you to live in the property for 12 months and not sell or lease all or part of the property within that time. If you move out or put the home on the market, for example, you might lose the concession and be required to pay additional stamp duty. If the situation changes, you can apply for a transfer duty reassessment and pay any outstanding stamp duty from then. Any outstanding stamp duty may accrue interest and incur penalties.
While certain states have stamp duty concessions or exemptions for pensioners, there are no specific stamp duty concessions for pensioners or seniors in QLD. However, you may still be able to apply for the three concessions listed above if you meet the criteria, as none of them have age restrictions.
You may also want to consider speaking to a specialist lender for seniors, many of which exist and are dedicated to helping elderly Australians find the right home loans for their needs.
Although you’ll pay the same stamp duty rates regardless of the purpose of the property (e.g. investment or owner occupied), if you’re proposing to move into the property, you may be eligible for an owner-occupied concession in QLD. This in turn would reduce your stamp duty payable when purchasing a residential property.
However, it’s worth noting that most stamp duty concessions and exemptions around Australia are typically only available to those looking to buy a home, rather than an investment property. So, depending on your buying circumstances, you may find yourself paying more in stamp duty on an investment property than if you’d bought a residential property for yourself to live in.
Foreign buyers (whether they’re a resident, company or trust) that purchase residential land in QLD must pay however much regular stamp duty is payable on the transaction, plus a 7% additional foreign acquirer duty (AFAD).⁶
If you buy a home in Queensland from another state (like New South Wales), you’ll still have to pay the applicable QLD stamp duty. You will, however, also be able to claim the QLD concessions so long as you meet the relevant eligibility criteria.
If you’ve owned another property in Australia that was your primary residence, you won’t be eligible for the first home concession or first home vacant land concession. You may still be eligible to claim QLD’s home concession if you plan to move into the property within 12 months and it will be your principal place of residence.
The stamp duty rates charged on the sale of commercial properties are the same as the rates charged on the sale of residential properties.
Stephen has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry and holds a Certificate IV in Finance and Mortgage Broking. He’s also a member of both the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) and the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA).
Stephen leads our team of Home Loan Specialists, and reviews and contributes to Compare the Market’s banking-relating content to ensure it’s as helpful and empowering as possible for our readers.
1 Queensland Revenue Office. Transfer duty rates. 2023.
2 Queensland Revenue Office. When transfer duty applies. 2023.
3 Queensland Revenue Office. Home concession. 2023.
4 Queensland Revenue Office. First home concession. 2023.
5 Queensland Revenue Office. First home vacant land concession. 2023.
6 Queensland Revenue Office. Additional foreign acquirer duty (AFAD). 2023.
