If you’re buying real estate in Western Australia (WA), you’ll be saddled with a long list of related costs, and the largest of the lot will potentially be stamp duty.
Also known as land transfer duty, stamp duty is a tax imposed by state and territory governments on the transfer of a property’s title from one party to another. So, if you buy a new or established home, you’ll likely have to pay stamp duty to transfer its title into your name (unless you’re eligible for a concession or exemption).
Stamp duty is charged on a sliding scale, so the rates at which it’s charged vary between the different states and territories. This can make it hard to ballpark how much stamp duty you’d pay on a given property – but we’re here to help with that, with the aid of our stamp duty calculator.
The table below displays the general rates of duty and transfer fees imposed on property transfers in Western Australia.¹ These rates are based on the dutiable value of the property, which either refers to the property’s purchase price or its total value (in situations where it has not been conventionally sold or the property is worth more than what was paid for it).
| Dutiable value of the property | Stamp duty payable |
| $0-$120,000 | $1.90 per every whole or part $100 |
| $120,001-$150,000 | $2,280, plus $2.85 per every whole or part $100 above $120,000 |
| $150,001-$360,000 | $3,185, plus $3.80 per every whole or part $100 above $150,000 |
| $360,001-$725,000 | $11,115, plus $4.75 per every whole or part $100 above $360,000 |
| $725,001+ | $28,453, plus $5.15 per every whole or part $100 above $725,000 |
So, say you buy a home in WA for $400,000. All else being equal, you’d pay $11,115 and then $4.75 for every $100 or part of $100 between $360,000 and $400,000.
The difference between $360,000 and $400,000 is $40,000, which divided by $100 gives you 400. Multiple 400 by $4.75 and we get $1,900; adding this to the original $11,115 gives you a total of $13,015 payable in stamp duty on your property purchase.
However, it’s important to note that your house-buying costs don’t end there. You may also have to pay for things like:
In WA, you’re required to pay stamp duty within one month of a duties assessment notice being issued. You must make sure you’ve paid all required duties in order to receive a certificate of duty and avoid incurring late payment penalty tax.
First home buyers ostensibly have to pay stamp duty in WA. However, they may be eligible for the state’s first home owner rate (FHOR), which is a concessional rate of duty.²
In order to be eligible for the FHOR, you must first be eligible for WA’s first home owner grant (FHOG).
For the full list eligibility requirements, visit the WA Government’s website.
If you’ve satisfied the FHOG’s eligibility requirements, the only further eligibility requirement you’ll need to meet in order to receive the FHOR regards the value of the property in question.
There are two different sets of thresholds: one for home and land transactions, and one for vacant land transactions. If the transaction’s value falls under the first threshold, you’ll be eligible for a full exemption; if the transaction’s value falls under the second threshold but above the first one, you’ll be eligible for the concessional rate.
Below are the relevant price caps and thresholds for WA’s FHOR for each property type.
| Home and land | Vacant land | ||
| Value of the transaction | Payable stamp duty | Value of the transaction | Payable stamp duty |
| $0-430,000 | $0 (full exemption) | $0-300,000 | $0 (full exemption) |
| $430,001-530,000 | $19.19 for every whole or part $100 in excess of $430,000 | $300,001-400,000 | $13.01 for every whole or part $100 in excess of $300,000 |
You may be eligible for a full stamp duty exemption in WA if you are:⁴
Visit the WA Government’s website for a full list of potential exemptions and their eligibility criteria.
As of 1 January 2019, any foreign persons purchasing residential property in WA must pay the relevant stamp duty as well as an additional duty of 7%.⁵
In WA, stamp duty may be paid to the state’s revenue office either by credit card, BPay, by post or by cheque.⁶ However, if you’ve engaged a solicitor or conveyancer to help you navigate the homebuying process, they will generally handle the payment of any duty you’ve incurred.
As we’ve mentioned, stamp duty differs between the states and territories, and a dutiable transaction would incur different amounts of stamp duty depending on the state or territory in which it was made.
That’s why we’ve created stamp duty guides for different states and territories around the country, including:
1 WA.gov.au. Transfer duty assessment. 2022.
2 WA.gov.au. Duties Fact Sheet – First Home Owner Rate. 2022.
3 WA.gov.au. First Home Owner Grant Fact Sheet. 2022.
4 WA.gov.au. Apply for a transfer duty exemption. 2022.
5 WA.gov.au. Foreign Transfer Duty Fact Sheet. 2022.
6 WA.gov.au. Pay duty. 2022.
