Stamp Duty Calculator Tasmania

How property transfer duty works in Tasmania

Property transfer duty, previously known as stamp duty, is a tax the Tasmanian Government charges under the Duties Act 2001 when an interest in dutiable property is acquired, most commonly when a home, an investment property or vacant land is bought. It is administered by the State Revenue Office of Tasmania (SRO), which is part of the Department of Treasury and Finance. The transferee, meaning the purchaser, is liable for the duty.

Duty is assessed on the dutiable value, which the SRO describes as the greater of the purchase price and the unencumbered value of the property. The unencumbered value is worked out by applying the adjustment factor for the relevant municipality to the valuation last determined by the Valuer-General, and both figures can be obtained from the Land Information System Tasmania (LIST). For an ordinary sale between unrelated parties on the open market, the price paid is usually the figure that matters. Where property is transferred between family members, gifted or sold below market value, the unencumbered value can produce a higher assessment than the price in the contract.

The calculator on this page applies the general Tasmanian scale to established residential property. It does not model the foreign investor duty surcharge, vacant land, primary production land, transfers to companies or trusts, or the closed off-the-plan concession. The SRO provides its own property transfer duty calculator, and the assessment it issues is the authoritative figure.

The general duty rates in Tasmania and a worked example

Tasmania applies a single progressive scale to every purchaser of residential property. Unlike Queensland, Victoria or the ACT, it does not publish a separate owner-occupier schedule, so an investor, an owner-occupier and a first home buyer purchasing an established home at the same price now pay the same duty. The scale reproduced in the table on this page has applied to transfers on or after 21 October 2013, and the thresholds are not indexed each year. This means that, as prices rise, a larger share of Tasmanian purchases falls into the top brackets.

The scale starts at a flat $50 for values up to $3,000 and then rises through marginal rates of $1.75, $2.25, $3.50, $4.00 and $4.25 for every $100, reaching $4.50 for every $100 on the portion of value above $725,000. Each rate applies only to the part of the value within its band, and the base amount at the start of each band captures the duty on everything below it.

As a worked example, a home with a dutiable value of $500,000 falls in the band from $375,000 to $725,000. The duty is $12,935 plus $4.25 for every $100 of the $125,000 above $375,000, which is $5,312.50, giving a total of $18,247.50. At $600,000 the duty is $22,497.50, and at $750,000 it is $27,810 plus $1,125, or $28,935. The table above the rates on this page shows the result at several other prices. Because duty is charged for every $100 or part of $100, a value that does not end in a round hundred is rounded up to the next $100 before the rate is applied.

First home buyer duty relief in Tasmania after 30 June 2026

From 18 February 2024, Tasmania exempted eligible first home buyers from all property transfer duty on an established home with a dutiable value of $750,000 or less. The SRO states that this 100 per cent exemption applied to transfers that settled between 18 February 2024 and 30 June 2026 inclusive, and that it is not available for transactions settling after 30 June 2026. The test is the settlement date, not the contract date, so a first home buyer who signed a contract before 30 June 2026 but settled on or after 1 July 2026 is not entitled to the exemption.

As at September 2026 no replacement concession for first home buyers of established homes has been legislated or published by the SRO. The Tasmanian 2026-27 Budget directed first home buyer assistance to new construction instead, through a $20,000 First Home Owner Grant for eligible transactions entered into between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027. A first home buyer of an established home in Tasmania therefore now pays duty at the general rates shown on this page, and the calculator reflects this by returning the same figure for first home buyers and owner-occupiers.

Earlier versions of the relief remain relevant only for refunds and past transactions. Before the full exemption, a 50 per cent concession applied to established homes settling between 7 February 2018 and 17 February 2024, with the value cap rising in steps from $400,000 to $600,000. A buyer who settled within the exemption period but paid duty in error may apply to the SRO for a refund using the First home buyers of established homes duty relief application, with a copy of the transfer and the contract.

Other duty concessions in Tasmania: what has closed and what remains

The off-the-plan apartment or unit duty concession provided a 50 per cent reduction in duty for eligible buyers of strata or conjoined dwellings that had no occupancy permit when the contract was signed, with a dutiable value of $750,000 or less. It is not available where the agreement for sale was executed after 30 June 2026. Buyers who signed an eligible agreement between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2026 can still claim it, provided the transfer occurs before 30 June 2031 and the other conditions are met, including that no First Home Owner Grant has been paid for the same transfer.

The pensioners downsizing to a new home duty concession also provided a 50 per cent reduction for eligible pensioners aged 60 or over who sold a Tasmanian home and bought a cheaper one. The SRO states that it applies only where the sale of the former home settled between 10 February 2018 and 30 June 2025, and the new home settled within six months of that sale, so it is no longer available for new purchases.

Several exemptions that do not depend on a closing date remain in force. These include the personal relationship exemption for the transfer of a principal place of residence between spouses, significant partners or caring partners, the breakdown of relationship exemption for transfers following separation, and the intergenerational rural transfer exemption for primary production land passed to relatives. Each has its own conditions, and the SRO concessions and exemptions pages set out the evidence required.

Foreign investor duty surcharge in Tasmania

A foreign person who acquires residential property in Tasmania, directly or indirectly, pays the foreign investor duty surcharge (FIDS) on top of ordinary duty. For agreements entered into on or after 1 April 2020 the rate is 8 per cent of the proportion of the dutiable value of residential property acquired by the foreign person, and 1.5 per cent for primary production property. Vacant land may be caught where it meets the definition of residential or primary production property.

On a $600,000 residential purchase by a foreign person, the surcharge alone would be $48,000, in addition to general duty of $22,497.50. The definition of a foreign person extends beyond individuals who are not citizens or permanent residents and can include Australian citizens acting as trustees of foreign trusts, as well as foreign corporations. Where a purchase is shared between Australian and foreign buyers, the surcharge applies only to the foreign share. The SRO publishes separate guidelines on who is foreign, the exemptions available and how to seek a refund if foreign status changes. Tasmania also imposes a separate foreign investor land tax surcharge, which is an annual charge rather than a duty.

When duty is payable in Tasmania and how it is lodged

Duty in Tasmania is payable within three months of the dutiable transaction, which for an ordinary purchase is usually the settlement date. This is a longer window than in some other states, but in practice most purchases are handled by a conveyancer or solicitor who arranges for duty to be assessed and paid as part of settlement.

Electronic conveyancing is available in Tasmania but is not mandatory. Representatives registered as agents in Tasmanian Revenue Online (TRO) and with PEXA can create the transfer, estimate and pay duty, settle and lodge the transfer with the Land Titles Office electronically, and the Duties Act allows duty on an electronic transfer to be estimated before settlement. Paper-based transfers remain available and are processed after settlement. A paper lodgement requires a duty lodgement cover sheet, the agreement for sale, the original signed and dated transfer, a transaction information form, and transferor and transferee information forms, sent to GPO Box 1374, Hobart TAS 7001 or submitted through TRO by a representative.

The transferee information form is also how the SRO determines whether a buyer is a foreign person for the purposes of the surcharge. Any concession or exemption must be claimed with the documentary evidence the SRO specifies, and a buyer who later fails a residence or other condition may be reassessed and required to pay the duty that was relieved.

How duty affects the deposit and lenders mortgage insurance in Tasmania

Lenders generally expect duty to be paid from the buyer's own funds rather than added to the loan. For a Tasmanian first home buyer of an established home, the end of the exemption means duty now forms part of the upfront cash requirement. At $600,000, duty of $22,497.50 is about 3.7 per cent of the price, which is close to three quarters of a 5 per cent deposit. Savings that would previously have gone towards the deposit may now be needed for duty.

This matters for lenders mortgage insurance. A buyer who has 20 per cent of the price available before duty may find that, once duty and other purchase costs are paid, the remaining deposit falls below 20 per cent and lenders mortgage insurance becomes payable. The 5% Deposit Scheme removes that insurance for eligible first home buyers within the Tasmanian price caps shown on the grants page, but it does not reduce duty. Buyers using the scheme still need the duty in cash at settlement.

New homes are treated differently for assistance but not for duty rates. A first home buyer who builds or buys a new home in Tasmania may receive the $20,000 First Home Owner Grant for eligible transactions entered into between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027, while the purchase itself attracts duty at the general rates on its dutiable value. A buyer comparing an established home with a new build should therefore compare the total cash required, including duty and any grant, rather than the price alone. BorrowWise is an education site and can connect readers with an accredited broker, who can assess an individual situation.