First home buyer ACT: no stamp duty, no grant, and the 5-year test

What do first home buyers get in the ACT?

ACT first home buyers can use up to four kinds of help: the territory's Home Buyer Concession Scheme on stamp duty, and three federal schemes, the 5% Deposit Scheme, Help to Buy and the First Home Super Saver Scheme. Each has its own rules, and a buyer can qualify for one without the others.

The ACT's own help is a tax you don't pay, not money you receive. The concession removes conveyance duty, the ACT's name for stamp duty, for an eligible buyer [1]. The 5% Deposit Scheme lets you buy with a smaller deposit without paying lenders mortgage insurance (LMI), the insurance a lender charges you for when you borrow more than 80% of the price [2]. Help to Buy has the government put money in beside you [3]. The super saver lets you build part of your deposit inside your super [4].

What this means for you: in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria the headline is a grant for new homes. In the ACT the headline is the duty, and it's open to established homes too.

Is there a first home owner grant in the ACT?

The ACT doesn't run a first home owner grant the way the states do. Its help for home buyers is the Home Buyer Concession Scheme, which removes conveyance duty rather than paying cash [1]. If you searched for the FHOG in the ACT, this is the scheme that takes its place in practice.

Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria pay their grants on new homes only, so a buyer of an established home there gets no grant at all. The ACT's concession covers new homes, established homes and vacant residential land alike [1]. See how Queensland and New South Wales compare.

Do first home buyers pay stamp duty in the ACT?

Not if they're eligible for the Home Buyer Concession Scheme. An eligible buyer is exempt from conveyance duty, the ACT's name for stamp duty, at any price, with no income test [1]. It applies to homes and to vacant residential land [1].

The scheme isn't only for first home buyers. It asks a different question: whether any buyer has owned or held an interest in another property in the last 5 years [1]. A buyer who has never owned property passes it, and so can someone who sold a home more than 5 years ago.

If you don't qualify, normal conveyance duty applies. We don't print the ACT's normal rates on this page; the ACT Revenue Office publishes them, and our stamp duty calculator page compares the states.

How does the ACT Home Buyer Concession Scheme work?

The Home Buyer Concession Scheme works by exemption: if you meet its tests, the conveyance duty on your purchase is nil [1]. There's no cheque and no rebate later. The bill simply isn't there.

The ACT Revenue Office runs an eligibility checker and a claim page for it [1]. You claim the concession through the ACT Revenue Office as part of the purchase, and your conveyancer or solicitor can help you with the paperwork.

What this means for you: because the help is a missing bill rather than money in your account, it can't pay your deposit. What it does is leave more of your savings for the deposit itself, which matters for the 5% Deposit Scheme's ceiling (see below).

Is there a price cap or income limit on the ACT stamp duty exemption?

No. The ACT has removed both the property value limit and the income threshold from the Home Buyer Concession Scheme [1]. If you're eligible, the duty is nil at any price and on any income.

Older pages and some AI answers still quote the old limits. Under the earlier rules the full concession applied only to a property valued at $1,020,000 or less, and assessed taxable income had to be under a threshold that ran from $250,000 with no dependent children to $273,000 with five or more [1]. Those limits no longer apply.

Do you have to be a first home buyer for the ACT concession?

No, you don't have to be a first home buyer for the ACT's Home Buyer Concession Scheme. The test is that no buyer, and no buyer's domestic partner, has owned or held an interest, legal or equitable, in any other property in the last 5 years [1].

The look-back used to be 2 years and is now 5 [1]. The ACT Revenue Office lists some limited exemptions to the test on its own site [1]; we check whether any of them fits your history rather than assume one does.

Every buyer on the contract has to pass, so one partner's past purchase can rule out the couple.

I've owned a home before. Can I still get the ACT concession?

Yes, if you and anyone buying with you haven't owned or held an interest in any other property in the last 5 years [1]. Someone who sold a place six years ago can qualify. Someone who still holds a share in an investment property can't, even if they've never lived in it, because holding an interest counts, not just living there [1].

That makes the ACT unusual. Many first home schemes ask whether you've ever owned a home. The ACT asks only about the last 5 years, so a returning buyer can pay no duty while still failing the federal schemes' tests (next part).

Who counts as a first home buyer? Three different tests

There isn't one definition of a first home buyer in the ACT. The territory's concession, the 5% Deposit Scheme and the First Home Super Saver Scheme each ask a different question about what you've owned before.

The 5% Deposit Scheme's test is wider than it sounds: it counts land, a long lease or a company title interest, in any state, residential or commercial, investment or owner-occupied, whether or not you lived in it, and whether you held it alone or with a former partner [2]. The super saver asks that you've never owned property in Australia, including an investment property, vacant land or commercial property [4].

What this means for you: passing the ACT's test tells you nothing about the federal ones. A buyer who sold a home seven years ago pays no duty in the ACT, but can't use the 5% Deposit Scheme, and the super saver is open only in a financial hardship case. That's why we run every test against your history before you sign.

Can first home buyers in the ACT avoid LMI?

Yes, through the federal 5% Deposit Scheme. It lets an ACT first home buyer buy with a 5% deposit and no lenders mortgage insurance, because Housing Australia, a government agency, guarantees the lender in place of the insurance [2]. Single parents and legal guardians can buy from a 2% deposit, applying on their own [2].

The scheme has no income cap and no limit on places [2]. It works on an existing home, a house and land package, vacant land with a separate contract to build, or an off-the-plan property [2].

Here's what LMI would cost on a 95% loan for a first home buyer at three ACT prices, from one insurer's published rate card [5]. Under the scheme, that cost isn't charged. These are illustrations from one card, not quotes; your premium depends on the insurer, the loan and the lender.

Some lenders also waive LMI for certain professions. See LMI waivers and the 5% Deposit Scheme in full.

Is there a maximum deposit for the 5% Deposit Scheme?

Yes. The 5% Deposit Scheme has a ceiling as well as a floor: if you have 20% or more saved after purchase costs such as stamp duty and legal fees, your loan isn't eligible [2]. Moving cash or assets to someone else to get under the line is named as against the scheme's intent [2].

What this means for you: in the ACT, an eligible buyer has no duty to pay, so less of your savings goes on purchase costs and more of it counts toward that 20%. On an $800,000 home, $160,000 or more left after purchase costs puts you outside the scheme; on a $600,000 home, the line is $120,000 [6]. A buyer who is close to it may do better with a different loan, and that's worth checking before you choose.

What is the 5% Deposit Scheme price cap in the ACT?

The 5% Deposit Scheme price cap in the ACT is $1,000,000, the same across the whole territory, with no split between the city and the rest [2]. Both the price you pay and the lender's valuation have to be at or under it, and for vacant land with a separate build contract, the land and the build together must stay under it [2].

Buying just over the border changes the rules. Queanbeyan is in New South Wales, and it isn't one of the named New South Wales regional centres, so the scheme's cap there is the rest-of-state $800,000 [2], and New South Wales duty rules apply, not the ACT's. See first home buyers in NSW.

Can you use Help to Buy in the ACT?

Yes. Help to Buy is shared equity: the government contributes up to 30% of the price of an existing home, or up to 40% of a newly built one, and you buy with a deposit from 2% [3]. You own the home and share some of its value with the government [3].

There are 10,000 places a year, and the current income limits are $103,000 for a single and $165,000 for joint applicants or a single parent; they're wage indexed each year [3]. All applicants must be Australian citizens, and the price must be at or under the cap for the location [3].

Help to Buy rules out state and territory shared equity schemes, loans and guarantees, but the government says stamp duty concessions, grants and other exemptions still apply [3]. See Help to Buy.

Can you use the First Home Super Saver in the ACT?

Yes. The First Home Super Saver Scheme lets you save for a deposit inside your super. You can put in up to $15,000 a year, and up to $50,000 in total, in voluntary contributions, then ask the Australian Taxation Office to release them toward your first home [4]. Your employer's compulsory super doesn't count [4].

Voluntary before-tax (concessional) contributions are taxed at 15% in the fund, usually less than your marginal rate [4]. When released, you get back 85% of those and 100% of after-tax contributions, plus earnings worked out at a set rate rather than what your fund made; the taxable part is added to your income, with a 30% tax offset [4].

The order matters: you must ask for a determination before the property is transferred to you, and you can request the release up to 90 days after you sign the contract [4]. Allow 15 to 20 business days for the money to arrive [4]. See First Home Super Saver.

Can you combine the ACT concession with the federal schemes?

Mostly, yes. The 5% Deposit Scheme's guide says using it doesn't stop you getting other help from the Australian, state or territory governments [2], and Help to Buy says stamp duty concessions and exemptions still apply [3]. So the ACT's duty concession can sit beside either one.

The one firm exclusion: the 5% Deposit Scheme and Help to Buy can't be used together [2]. You choose one.

What is the whole package worth on an ACT home?

An illustration, not a client file. A first home buyer pays $800,000 for an established townhouse in Canberra and meets the concession's tests. Conveyance duty is nil [1]. Through the 5% Deposit Scheme, a $40,000 deposit is enough, and the price is under the $1,000,000 cap [2].

On top of that, the scheme means no LMI. On the same $760,000 loan, one insurer's card puts LMI at about $34,276 [5][6]. At $1,000,000, the deposit is $50,000 and the LMI not paid is about $42,845 [5][6].

The duty saving is the other half of the total, and it depends on the ACT's normal rates on your price. We don't print those here; the ACT Revenue Office publishes them, and the duty on your price is the number you'd pay if you failed the 5-year test.

What this means for you: the revenue office explains the duty and the federal sites explain the deposit schemes, but the total on your own price is worth adding up before you sign. See how the schemes fit together.

Building a new home or buying land in the ACT

The ACT's concession covers vacant residential land as well as homes, and for a new build the year to move in runs from the certificate of occupancy [1].

Under the 5% Deposit Scheme, the building contract must be signed within 6 months of the loan settling, building must start within 12 months and finish within 36 months, and you move in within 6 months of the occupancy certificate [2]. Owner-builder contracts don't qualify; the builder must be licensed, insured, at arm's length and on a fixed-price contract [2].

Two traps: the land has to be titled before the guarantee can be issued, inside the 90-day pre-approval window, and if you already own the vacant land, you can't use the scheme to build on it [2]. See construction loans.

Buying off the plan in the ACT

The ACT's concession applies to new homes [1], and the 5% Deposit Scheme accepts an off-the-plan apartment or townhouse [2].

For the scheme, the contract is signed before the loan settles, settlement must happen within 90 days of the home loan date, and you move in within 6 months of settlement [2]. A long wait between contract and completion is where the timing needs checking first.

How long do you have to live in the home?

Each scheme sets its own rule, and the strictest one you use is the one that counts.

What this means for you: the ACT gives you a year to move in, but if you use the 5% Deposit Scheme, plan to move in within 6 months of settlement, and don't plan to rent the home out later while the guarantee is in place [2].

Buying with a partner, a friend or family in the ACT

For the ACT concession, every buyer and every buyer's domestic partner has to pass the 5-year test [1]. A partner's investment unit can rule you out even if they aren't on this contract.

The 5% Deposit Scheme takes exactly two people on a joint application, and they don't have to be a couple: partners, friends or family members. Both must pass every test, and three or more buyers can't use it [2]. The First Home Super Saver works person by person, so a couple can each use their own savings for the same home [4].

A parent can help in another way, by putting up part of their home's equity as security. See guarantor home loans and the 5% Deposit Scheme against a guarantor.

Do you need to be a citizen to get first home buyer help in the ACT?

It depends on the scheme. The 5% Deposit Scheme asks for citizenship or permanent residency [2]. Help to Buy asks that all applicants are Australian citizens [3]. The First Home Super Saver's eligibility list has no citizenship test [4].

For the ACT concession, the conditions we've set out above are the ones the ACT Revenue Office lists on its scheme page [1]. If you're on a visa, we check the ACT Revenue Office's own rules for your situation before you sign. See home loans for visa holders.

What happens to the 5% Deposit Scheme after you buy?

The 5% Deposit Scheme's guarantee stays on the loan until the loan reaches 80% of the value through scheduled repayments; extra repayments you can redraw don't count toward that [2].

While it's in place, the loan can't be increased, so there's no topping up for a renovation. Rate changes and product switches with the same lender are fine. You can refinance to another participating lender and keep the guarantee, but not to a lender outside the scheme, and not to borrow more or extend the term [2]. See refinancing.

The home buyer declaration is a statutory declaration. A false one is a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of four years' imprisonment, and Housing Australia checks it against council and title records [2].

Can ACT first home buyer help go towards your deposit?

The ACT concession can't, because it's a bill you don't pay rather than money you receive [1]. What it does is free up savings you'd otherwise have spent on duty.

Super saver money can, if the timing works: you can request its release up to 90 days after signing, and it may take 15 to 20 business days to arrive [4]. Plan the deposit you pay when you sign from money you already hold, and treat anything released later as money that arrives later.

How much can a first home buyer borrow in the ACT?

What you can borrow in the ACT comes from your income, your debts and your living costs, and each lender works it out its own way. The duty concession and the federal schemes don't change what a lender works out you can repay; they change how much cash you need on the day.

That's why the order matters: work out what lenders will lend you first, then fit the schemes to the price. See how much can I borrow.

What does a broker cost you?

How a broker is paid, and the rule Money Brain holds against it, is set out in full on its own page: what a mortgage broker costs.

Your first move

You've read the rules. Now there's one question left: on the home you want, at the price you'll pay, with your history and your partner's, which of the ACT concession and the federal schemes do you actually get, and in what order do you do it?

That depends on what you and anyone buying with you have owned in the last 10 years, what you've saved and what you're buying, and it's what Money Brain works out before anything goes to a lender.