← All Tools | australianpropertyexperts.com.au
All calculators →

Australian Stamp Duty Calculator 2026-27

Calculate stamp duty (transfer duty) for all Australian states and territories. Compare rates, see bracket breakdowns, and check first home buyer concessions.

All 8 statesFHB concessionsBracket breakdownsForeign surcharges

Property Details

$
$50K $5M
Foreign Purchaser
Adds surcharge for non-resident buyers (NSW 9%, VIC 8%, QLD 8%, TAS 8%, SA 7%, WA 7%; nil in ACT/NT)
Stamp Duty
$0
NSW · Individual Investor
Effective Rate
0%
State
NSW

Need help understanding your property purchase costs? We help investors across Australia buy smarter.

Book a Free Discovery Call →

This calculator provides estimates for general informational purposes only. Stamp duty calculations are based on standard rates for the 2026-27 financial year and may vary based on individual circumstances, exemptions, foreign buyer surcharges, and current legislation. First home buyer concessions have eligibility criteria including residency requirements, property value caps, and prior ownership history. Always confirm costs with your solicitor or conveyancer before proceeding. This is not financial or legal advice.

Stamp Duty
$0

How Is Stamp Duty Calculated in Australia?

Stamp duty, or transfer duty as some states call it, is a state tax you pay when you buy property. Every state writes its own rates, and they all use progressive brackets in the same way income tax does. Your purchase price gets sliced across those brackets, and each slice is charged higher than the one below it.

Take a $600,000 house in NSW. The first $18,000 is charged at 1.25%, the next $20,000 at 1.5%, and the price keeps stepping up through five brackets until it runs out. Add the slices together and that is your duty. It also explains why your effective rate, the total divided by the price, always comes in below the top rate you were charged.

The Northern Territory is the odd one out. Below $525,000 it uses a formula rather than brackets. Everywhere else runs tiers, somewhere between five and nine of them.

Stamp Duty Rates by State 2026-27

How each state does it this financial year, with the same $600,000 purchase run through all eight so the numbers are comparable.

  • NSW - Seven brackets, 1.25% up to 7%. A $600,000 property costs $21,187. The 5.5% rate does not start until $1,290,000, and premium duty of 7% only bites above $3,870,000, so most investment purchases never see either.
  • VIC - The dearest state in the country. Five brackets, with 6% running all the way from $130,000 to $960,000. A $600,000 property costs $31,070.
  • QLD - Five brackets, 1.5% to 5.75%, and among the lowest-duty states for a typical investment purchase. A $600,000 property costs $20,025.
  • SA - Nine brackets, 1% to 5.5%, the most finely sliced system in the country. A $600,000 property costs $26,830.
  • WA - Five brackets, 1.9% to 5.15%. Middle of the pack. A $600,000 property costs $22,515.
  • TAS - Seven brackets, from a $50 minimum up to 4.5%. The first home duty exemption ended on 30 June 2026. A $600,000 property costs $22,498.
  • ACT - Lowest of the eight for an investor, where a $600,000 property costs $15,720. Seven brackets from 1.2% to 6.4% at investor rates, flattening to 4.54% above $1,455,000. It also runs the most generous first home scheme in the country, exempt to $1,020,000.
  • NT - A quadratic formula below $525,000, then flat rates of 4.95% to 5.95% above it. A $600,000 property costs $29,700.
First Home Buyer Stamp Duty Exemptions

Every state bar South Australia, which dropped its established-home exemption, still gives first home buyers something. The shape is usually the same: nothing to pay below a threshold, then a taper above it until the concession runs out.

  • NSW - Full exemption up to $800,000, tapering to $1,000,000
  • VIC - Full exemption up to $600,000, tapering to $750,000
  • QLD - Full exemption up to $700,000, tapering to $800,000
  • WA - Full exemption up to $500,000, tapering to $700,000
  • TAS - Established-home exemption ended 30 June 2026
  • ACT - Full exemption up to $1,020,000 (income-tested)

Eligibility requirements vary by state but generally include being an Australian citizen or permanent resident, not having previously owned property in Australia, and intending to live in the property as your principal place of residence. Companies, trusts, and SMSFs are not eligible for first home buyer concessions.

Is Stamp Duty Tax Deductible for Investment Property?

Not as an annual expense, no. You cannot put it against your rental income the way you would a management fee or the interest.

It is not lost, though. Stamp duty goes into the cost base of the property for capital gains tax, so when you eventually sell, the duty you paid at the start comes off the taxable gain at the end. You get the benefit once, years later, rather than every year.

For a detailed breakdown of how this works in practice, see our guide: Stamp Duty by State for Investment Property 2026-27.

How Much Is Stamp Duty on a $600,000 Property?

Between $15,720 and $31,070, depending on which state you buy in. That is more than $15,000 of difference on the same purchase price, paid before you own anything.

  • NSW - $21,187 on a $600,000 purchase
  • VIC - $31,070 on a $600,000 purchase
  • QLD - $20,025 on a $600,000 purchase
  • SA - $26,830 on a $600,000 purchase
  • WA - $22,515 on a $600,000 purchase
  • TAS - $22,498 on a $600,000 purchase
  • ACT - $15,720 on a $600,000 purchase
  • NT - $29,700 on a $600,000 purchase

These are the figures for an individual buying an investment property with no first home concession. Buying through a company, trust or SMSF can change the duty and may add a surcharge. Set your own price and state in the calculator above.

Who Pays Stamp Duty, the Buyer or the Seller?

The buyer. Revenue NSW puts it plainly: transfer duty is paid by the purchaser or transferee, and sellers and transferors do not pay it. Victoria works the same way. In Queensland both parties are technically liable, but the purchaser is the one who pays.

Your conveyancer or solicitor normally makes the payment for you. The obligation still sits with you, so if it is paid late, the interest is yours.

When Is Stamp Duty Payable?

Earlier than most buyers expect, and in some states well before settlement.

  • NSW - the earlier of settlement, or three months from the day you sign the contract. A long settlement does not buy you more time. Sign on 1 March with a 1 September settlement and the duty is still due by 1 June.
  • VIC - before the transfer can be registered, which in practice means at settlement. Penalty tax and interest apply if it is not paid within 30 days of settlement.
  • QLD - documents are lodged within 30 days of the liability date, usually the contract date. A self-assessor then pays within 14 days of lodging.

The other states and territories set their own deadlines. Your conveyancer will confirm the exact date for your contract.

Stamp Duty in Australia, State by State

The same $700,000 investment property costs about $24,500 in stamp duty in Queensland and about $37,000 in Victoria. Nothing about the property changes. Only the border does.

Stamp duty is the biggest single cost you pay before you own anything, and every state writes its own brackets, its own concessions and its own surcharges. That is why interstate investors work out the duty before they pick a market, not after.

This calculator carries the current 2026-27 brackets for all eight jurisdictions, with the First Home Owner concessions, the foreign purchaser surcharges, and a bracket-by-bracket breakdown of where the money goes.

How Stamp Duty Is Calculated

The brackets work like income tax. The purchase price is sliced into bands and each band is charged at its own rate, climbing as the price does. In NSW the first slice is charged at 1.25%, the band from $387,000 to $1,290,000 at 4.5%, then 5.5% above that, and 7% premium duty past $3,870,000. Every other state and territory has its own thresholds and its own concessions, and none of them line up. Set a price and a state above and the calculator does the bracket arithmetic for you, which beats the rule of thumb most people carry in their head.

First Home Owner Concessions

Nearly every state waives some duty for a first home buyer, in full below a threshold and then tapering above it. NSW is free to $800,000 and tapers to $1M. Victoria is free to $600,000 and tapers to $750,000. Queensland goes to $700,000.

One thing catches people out. The concession is for owner-occupiers who are Australian citizens or permanent residents. Buying an investment property does not qualify, even if it is the first property you have ever owned.

Foreign Purchaser Surcharge

Most states bolt a foreign purchaser surcharge on top of the standard duty for non-residents, and it lands between 7% and 9%. NSW is the steepest at 9%, so a $700,000 investment property there attracts an extra $63,000 before you touch the ordinary duty. Tasmania charges 8%; only the ACT and the NT charge nothing.

Australian citizens and permanent residents are exempt. Trusts and companies are the trap, because a trust with a foreign beneficiary can be caught by the surcharge even when everyone involved lives here. Get the deed read before you sign anything.

Why Stamp Duty Drives Market Selection

Buy at $700,000 in Victoria instead of Queensland and you are roughly $12,500 worse off before settlement day. Do that five times and the gap is most of another deposit, sitting in a revenue office instead of in a property.

Which is why the duty is worth checking alongside the land tax and the tenancy rules in each state before you decide where to buy, rather than falling in love with a suburb and finding out afterwards.

Pair the stamp duty calculator with the total upfront cost calculator for the full settlement bill. For ongoing tax see the land tax calculator. Full toolset on the calculator hub.