Somerville Office
Phone 03 5977 5111
6D Eramosa Road East, Somerville, Victoria (See Map)
chris@walshconveyancing.com.au
Off-the-plan stamp duty concessions
Currently, first home buyers and owner-occupiers can access a stamp duty concession when they buy off-the-plan, allowing construction costs to be deducted from the sale price when calculating how much stamp duty they owe.
This is currently capped for first home buyers and owner-occupiers: to access the concession, the reduced value for stamp duty calculations following the deduction of construction costs must be under thresholds of $750,000 for first home buyers and $550,000 for owner occupiers - otherwise the concession isn't available.
Under a change that will boost housing construction:
- Anyone buying an apartment, unit or townhouse off-the-plan can claim the concession - not just first home buyers and owner-occupiers.
- Thresholds will be removed so the concession is available for apartments, units and townhouses of any value.
The 12-month extended concession applies from 21 October 2024, and it will allow a 100 per cent deduction of outstanding construction and refurbishment costs when determining how much stamp duty is owed.
The existing concession will continue to apply during and after this 12-month extension.
How much will a buyer save?
The amount you save depends on how much construction has occurred. Generally, someone buying an apartment off-the-plan is likely to pay about a quarter of the stamp duty they would pay without the off-the-plan concession.
A Victorian using this concession who buys off-the-plan before any construction work starts could pay around $28,000 less stamp duty on a $620,000 apartment - with duty slashed from around $32,000 to around $4,000.
What properties are eligible?
Eligible apartment, unit or townhouse is one that is in a strata subdivision - meaning they retain common property such as a driveway or a shared hallway.
House and land packages or other dwellings that are not part of a strata subdivision are not eligible for the extended concession, but first home buyers and owner occupiers can still use the existing concession on these properties.
Information Courtesy: Victorian Government - vic.gov.au - 3 June 2025