Stamp duty
Stamp duty
A tax on the transfer, set separately by every state and territory, and usually due before the loan that pays for the property settles.
The tool sits here.
Until a calculator mounts in this slot, the page is the explanation. The number is run on the file.
Darren Parker, Credit Representative 501592, authorised under Australian Credit Licence 389328. This is general information, not credit assistance.
What is stamp duty, and who charges it?
Stamp duty, called transfer duty in some states, is a tax a state or territory government charges on transferring a property into your name. The Commonwealth does not charge it and neither does the lender. Each state and territory sets its own rates, thresholds and concessions, so one purchase price produces a different bill in each of them.
What changes a stamp duty bill the most?
Concessions change it more than the purchase price does. First home buyer concessions, off-the-plan treatment, pensioner concessions and the foreign buyer surcharge each move the figure a long way, and a calculator returning one gross number has ignored all of them. Which ones apply depends on the state and on the buyer.
What the tool will ask you for
The state or territory The tax is set separately in each one, so this is the first question and it changes every answer after it.
The purchase price The contract price, not the valuation and not the loan amount.
Whether this is your first home First home concessions are usually the largest thing that moves the bill, and each state writes its own.
Whether you will live in it An investment purchase can be treated differently from a home you move into.
Whether any buyer is a foreign resident A surcharge applies in some states and can be large enough to change what you can afford.
When is a stamp duty calculator the wrong tool?
When a concession is in play. A calculator returning a gross figure without asking whether you are a first home buyer, whether you will live in the property, or whether any buyer is a foreign resident has answered a different question. The state revenue offices publish the rates and the concessions, and their own calculators are the authority on the figure.
Find out whether the duty can be funded, before you sign
Send the state, the price and whether it is your first home. Money Brain works out what duty is due, when it falls due, and whether the loan can carry it — before a contract date makes the answer urgent.
Checked and updated 27 August 2026