First home buyer WA: the $10,000 grant, the stamp duty concession and how they add up

What do first home buyers get in WA?

Western Australian first home buyers can get up to three kinds of help: the state's First Home Owner Grant, the state's first home owner rate of transfer duty, and the federal 5% Deposit Scheme. They are separate, with separate rules, and a buyer can qualify for one without the others.

The grant is cash toward a new home. The first home owner rate cuts a tax you'd otherwise pay when the home is transferred to you. The 5% Deposit Scheme doesn't give you money at all: it 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.

What this means for you: the grant gets the headlines, but it's for new homes only. For anyone buying an established home in WA, the duty concession and the deposit scheme are where the money is.

How much is the first home owner grant in WA?

The Western Australian First Home Owner Grant is a one-off payment of $10,000, or the amount you paid to buy or build if that's less than $10,000 [1]. It's for a new home, or one that has had substantial renovations [1].

There's no income test and no assets test [1]. That means a well-paid couple can get it as easily as a single buyer on a modest wage. It's a grant, not a loan, and it comes with a rule about living in the home (see how long you have to live there, below).

What is the WA grant's value cap, north and south of the 26th parallel?

The WA grant has a value cap that depends on where the home is. South of the 26th parallel, which includes Perth, the home can be valued up to $800,000. North of it, the cap is $1,000,000 [1].

For a home you build, the value counts the building contract, any variations to it, and the land [1]. A house-and-land deal priced just under the cap can creep over it with a few upgrades signed later, and the grant is lost. Before you sign a variation, add it to the land and build price and check where you land.

The cap used to be lower: $750,000 south of the 26th parallel [1]. Pages that still quote that figure are out of date.

Can you get the WA grant on an established home?

No. The WA grant is for a new home, built or bought, or a home that has been substantially renovated [1]. Buy an established home and there's no grant, whatever the price.

The first home owner rate of duty is different. It applies to established homes too [2]. A buyer of an existing house or unit at $600,000 or less pays no transfer duty at all.

What this means for you: if you're choosing between new and established, the grant is only $10,000 of the difference. On a $600,000 home, the duty concession alone is worth $22,515 [10], and you get it either way.

Do first home buyers pay stamp duty in WA?

Not on a home up to $600,000. WA calls stamp duty transfer duty, and first home buyers pay it at the first home owner rate: no duty up to $600,000, then $16.15 for every $100 above $600,000, on a home valued up to $800,000 [2]. Over $800,000, the first home owner rate isn't available and the general rate applies [2][3].

The concession isn't a payment to you. It's applied when your duty is assessed, so it lowers a bill at settlement rather than putting money in your account.

To get it, the duty concession only asks that you'd qualify for the grant, apart from two things: the home can be established, and its value can be over the grant's cap [2]. So the same first home buyer test applies to both.

How much stamp duty does a first home buyer pay in WA?

On a $650,000 home, a WA first home buyer pays $8,075 in transfer duty, against $24,890 at the general rate: a saving of $16,815 [2][3][10]. The table shows the duty at each price, both ways.

These are worked out from the WA government's published rates. Your settlement agent or conveyancer confirms the figure on your contract.

Where does the WA stamp duty concession cut out?

The WA concession fades out between $600,000 and $800,000 rather than stopping all at once. The full saving, $22,515, is at $600,000 [10]. Above that, every $100 of price adds $16.15 of duty at the first home owner rate, much faster than the general rate rises, so the saving shrinks [2][3].

By $700,000 the saving is $11,115, by $750,000 it's $5,515.50, and at $800,000 it's $15.50 [10]. Over $800,000 there's no concession at all, but because it has already faded to almost nothing, there's no sudden jump in the bill at the limit.

What this means for you: the real question isn't whether you're under $800,000. It's how far over $600,000 you are. Between $600,000 and $725,000, each $10,000 you add to the price takes about $1,140 off your saving; above $725,000, about $1,100 [10]. A better negotiation in that range is worth more than it looks.

How is stamp duty calculated in WA?

WA transfer duty is worked out on the home's value in bands. For a home valued from $360,001 to $725,000, the general rate is $11,115 plus $4.75 for every $100, or part of $100, above $360,000. Above $725,000, it's $28,453 plus $5.15 for every $100, or part, above $725,000 [3].

That's what a buyer who isn't a first home buyer pays, and what a first home buyer pays on a home over $800,000. The table shows the general rate at a range of prices.

For any other price, use the stamp duty calculator.

Why do some pages still say $500,000 for WA?

Because WA changed its first home owner rate, and some pages haven't caught up. Under the earlier rules, the no-duty line was $500,000, and the concession cut out at $700,000 in Perth and Peel and $750,000 elsewhere [2].

The current rules lifted the no-duty line to $600,000, set one limit of $800,000, and removed the split between Perth and regional WA for duty [2]. The grant's cap south of the 26th parallel also rose, from $750,000 to $800,000 [1].

What this means for you: if a page tells you Perth and the regions pay different first home duty, or that no duty stops at $500,000, it's out of date. The WA government's own pages are listed in the sources at the foot of this one.

Stamp duty on vacant land for WA first home buyers

Vacant land has its own first home owner rate in WA. There's no duty on land valued up to $450,000, and reduced duty up to $550,000, at $20.14 for every $100 above $450,000 [2]. By $550,000 the concession is used up: the duty is the same as at the general rate [3][10].

A new home built on the land can also get the $10,000 grant, if the land and the building contract together stay within the grant's value cap [1].

Is there a second home buyers grant in WA?

No. The WA grant and the first home owner rate are for first home buyers only, and a first home grant or first home duty concession you've had before, in any state or territory, rules you out of both [1][2].

If you've owned before, the help on this page isn't open to you, and duty is assessed at the general rate unless another concession applies. The federal 5% Deposit Scheme is different again: it asks whether you've owned property in Australia in the last 10 years, so someone who owned long ago may still pass it [4].

Who counts as a first home buyer? Three different tests

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

What this means for you: passing one test tells you nothing about the others. A buyer who owned an investment unit in recent years and never lived in it may pass the WA test, which looks at homes you owned and lived in, yet fail the deposit scheme's 10-year test and the super saver test. That's why we check every test against your history before you sign.

Can first home buyers in WA avoid LMI?

Yes, through the federal 5% Deposit Scheme. It lets a WA 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 [4]. Single parents and legal guardians can buy from a 2% deposit [4].

The scheme has no income cap and no limit on places [4]. It 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, you can't use it [4].

Here's what LMI would cost on a 95% loan for a first home buyer, from one insurer's published rate card [7]. 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 waive LMI for certain jobs. Bank First, for example, waives it up to 90% of the price for healthcare and education workers buying their first home, on loans up to $800,000, though not for building [8]. See LMI waivers.

What are the price caps in Perth and regional WA?

For the 5% Deposit Scheme, the WA cap is $850,000 in Perth and $600,000 everywhere else in the state [4]. Both the price you pay and the lender's valuation have to be at or under the cap [4]. WA has no regional centres on the scheme's list, so every town outside Perth is on the $600,000 cap [4].

For the duty concession, one set of limits now applies across the whole state [2]. For the grant, the line that matters is the 26th parallel, not Perth [1].

What this means for you: in Perth, the deposit scheme's $850,000 cap sits above the grant's $800,000 cap and the concession's $800,000 limit, so those two bite first. In regional WA south of the 26th parallel, the deposit scheme's $600,000 cap lines up with the no-duty line, so a $600,000 home can get no duty and the deposit scheme together.

Help to Buy and the First Home Super Saver in WA

Two more federal schemes are open to WA buyers. 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 new one, and you buy with a deposit from 2% [5]. You own the home and share some of its value with the government. 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 [5]. All applicants must be Australian citizens [5].

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, with deemed earnings, toward your first home [6]. See Help to Buy and First Home Super Saver.

Can you get the WA grant, the concession and a federal scheme together?

Mostly, yes. On a new home you can get the grant and the duty concession on the same purchase, and both in full at $600,000 or less [1][2]. The 5% Deposit Scheme's guide says using it doesn't stop you getting state or territory help [4].

The one firm exclusion: the 5% Deposit Scheme and Help to Buy can't be used together [4]. Help to Buy also rules out state shared equity schemes, loans and guarantees, while stamp duty concessions and grants still apply [5].

What is the whole package worth on a WA home?

An illustration, not a client file. A first home buyer pays $650,000 for a newly built home in Perth. The grant is $10,000. Transfer duty at the first home owner rate is $8,075 instead of $24,890, a saving of $16,815. Through the 5% Deposit Scheme, a $32,500 deposit is enough and the price is under the $850,000 Perth cap [1][2][3][4][10].

The scheme also means no LMI. On the same 95% loan, one insurer's card puts LMI at $27,849 [7]. Counted together, that's $54,664 the buyer doesn't pay or gets back [10].

Buy an established home for $580,000 instead, and the grant falls away, but there's no duty at all: a saving of $21,565. The deposit scheme still applies, and the LMI it avoids on a 95% loan is about $18,514, so the help comes to about $40,079 [3][4][7][10].

The WA government explains the state help and the federal sites explain the federal help, so the total on your own price is worth adding up before you sign. See how the schemes fit together.

Can the WA grant go towards your deposit?

Usually not at the time you need it. The WA grant is usually paid at settlement, or at the first progress payment on a build, so it can't pay the deposit you hand over when you sign the contract.

Plan your deposit from your own savings, and treat the grant as money that arrives later. For the 5% Deposit Scheme, the 20% ceiling is counted after purchase costs [4]: on a $650,000 home, $130,000 or more left after purchase costs puts you outside it [10].

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: if you use the 5% Deposit Scheme, plan to move in within 6 months of settlement, not the 12 months the grant allows, and don't plan to rent the home out later while the guarantee is in place [4].

Buying with a partner, a friend or family

For the WA grant and duty concession, your spouse's or partner's past ownership counts, so a partner who owned and lived in a home before can rule you both out [1]. At least one buyer must be a citizen or permanent resident [1].

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 [4]. The First Home Super Saver works person by person, so a couple can each use their own savings for the same home [6].

A parent can help in another way, by putting up part of their home's equity as security. See guarantor home loans.

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

It depends on the scheme. The WA grant and duty concession need at least one buyer to be a citizen or permanent resident; the 5% Deposit Scheme accepts citizens and permanent residents; Help to Buy needs every buyer to be a citizen.

If you're on a visa, the WA grant and duty concession may still be open if you buy with a citizen or permanent resident [1][2]. See home loans for visa holders.

Building a new home in WA

A new build is where the WA grant lives, and where the rules are tightest. For the grant, the land, the building contract and every variation count toward the cap [1]. On vacant land, the first home owner rate for land applies to the land purchase [2].

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 [4]. Owner-builder contracts don't qualify; the builder must be licensed, insured and on a fixed-price contract [4].

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 [4].

Lenders have WA rules too. Firstmac, for example, lets up to 6.5% of a fixed-price building contract be paid to the builder as a deposit when the land settles in WA, against 5% in every other state [9]. See construction loans.

How much can a first home buyer borrow in WA?

What a WA first home buyer can borrow comes from income, debts and living costs, and each lender works it out its own way. The grant and the duty concession 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, which of the WA grant, the duty concession and the federal schemes do you actually get, and in what order do you do it?

That depends on new or established, where in WA you're buying, what you've owned and what you've saved, and it's what Money Brain works out before anything goes to a lender.