When you buy a property or someone transfers ownership of a property to you in NSW, you generally must pay transfer duty (stamp duty).
Duty is payable on the following
- property, including your home or holiday home.
- an investment property
- vacant land or a farming property
- commercial or industrial properties, or
- a business, which includes land.
You must also pay transfer duty when you acquire land, or an interest in land, without buying it. For example:
- a declaration of trust
- a gift, or
- a transaction effecting a change in the beneficial ownership of a property.
In some circumstances, you may be eligible for a concession or exemption from transfer duty, such as:
- when you are a beneficiary of a deceased estate, or
- the transfer is between a married couple or de facto couple.
When to pay transfer duty
You must pay transfer duty within three months of signing a contract for sale or transfer, except in the case of off-the-plan purchases.
If you buy off-the-plan and you intend to live in the property, you may be able to defer your transfer duty liability for up to 12 months.
Calculating transfer duty
The Revenue NSW’s online calculator will work out how much transfer duty you will need to pay.
You must pay transfer duty based on the property’s sale price or its current market value, whichever is higher.
- Revenue NSW charge a standard transfer duty rate, as well as a premium duty rate, for residential properties worth more than $3 million.
- Each year the threshold amounts for standard transfer duty and premium duty rates are adjusted in line with movements in the Sydney Consumer Price Index (CPI).
- Due to updated threshold amounts, the 2021/22 year has two sets of transfer duty calculations.
- If the buyer and seller are related or associated, or you’re not transferring the whole property, the property must be valued by a suitably qualified person.