First Home Owner Grant Tasmania and Other Home Buyer Assistance

The First Home Owner Grant in Tasmania for 2026-27

The First Home Owner Grant in Tasmania is a one-off payment to eligible first home owners who buy or build a new home. It is established under the First Home Owner Grant Act 2000 and administered by the State Revenue Office of Tasmania (SRO). The amount depends on the date the eligible transaction commenced, which is usually the date of the building contract, the date the laying of foundations began for an owner builder, or the date of the contract to buy a new or off-the-plan home.

For transactions that commence between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027, the grant is $20,000. This amount was set by amending legislation that passed the Tasmanian Parliament in June 2026 and was announced in the 2026-27 Budget. It replaced the temporary $30,000 grant, which applied to transactions between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026. Earlier amounts were $10,000 for transactions between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025 and $30,000 for transactions between 1 April 2021 and 30 June 2024.

The higher grant carries a building timeframe. To receive $20,000, the home must be completed within 24 months of the transaction start date, which for a construction contract means an occupancy certificate is issued within that period. The SRO guideline states that a buyer who does not meet the timeframe is eligible only for a $10,000 grant, although the Commissioner of State Revenue may extend the period where there is good reason and the applicant did not cause or contribute to the delay.

Which homes qualify for the grant in Tasmania

The grant is available only for a new home, meaning a home that has not previously been occupied or sold as a place of residence. The home must be in Tasmania, fixed to the land and meet local planning standards. Eligible transactions include a comprehensive building contract with a builder, building as an owner builder, buying an off-the-plan home, buying a newly built dwelling and relocating a new moveable building, which is treated as owner building. Kit homes are included.

An established home does not qualify, however recently it was built, if it has already been lived in or sold as a residence. Tasmania does not apply a purchase price or value cap to the grant, which distinguishes it from several other states. The grant is therefore available on a new home at any price, provided the applicant and transaction requirements are met.

Each transaction type has its own completion evidence. For a building contract or an owner-built home, completion is the date the council issues the certificate of occupancy. For an off-the-plan or new home purchase, completion is when the buyer becomes entitled to possession under the contract and has obtained the registered title. The application must be made after the transaction start date and no later than 12 months after completion.

Applicant and residence requirements in Tasmania

Every person who will be on the title must be an applicant, and each must be a natural person rather than a company or trust and at least 18 years old. At least one applicant must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident. An applicant is not a first home owner if the applicant or their spouse owned residential property in Australia before 1 July 2000, owned and occupied a residential property in Australia for more than six months after 1 July 2000, or has already received the grant, or the former HomeBuilder Grant, in any state or territory.

Each applicant must occupy the home as their principal place of residence for a continuous period of at least six months, beginning within 12 months of completion. The SRO describes a principal place of residence as the home where a person usually eats and sleeps on a settled basis. Leaving belongings in a vacant property does not satisfy the requirement, and advertising the property for rent or sale during the six months is viewed unfavourably.

An applicant who becomes aware that they cannot meet the residence requirement must notify the SRO within 14 days. The Commissioner has a discretion in exceptional circumstances to extend the 12 month period, reduce the six month period (but not to zero) or exempt one applicant, where at least one other applicant complies. The SRO audits grant applications, and a grant paid on incorrect information must be repaid and may attract penalties.

How to apply and when the grant is paid in Tasmania

The SRO guideline asks applicants not to lodge grant applications directly with the SRO. A buyer borrowing from a financial institution that is an approved agent can apply through that lender, which lodges the application with the SRO. In all other cases the application is lodged through the SRO First Home Owner Grant portal, with certified supporting documents. The SRO aims to decide an application within 15 business days once all information is provided, and a refused applicant may lodge an objection within 60 days.

Timing of payment depends on the transaction. Where an approved agent lodges the application for a financed home built under a building contract, the grant is paid after the foundations are laid. For an owner builder, payment is usually made on receipt of the occupancy certificate. For a financed purchase of a new or off-the-plan home, the grant is usually paid to the lender at settlement. The grant is therefore usually not available to fund the initial deposit when a contract is signed.

Duty relief for first home buyers in Tasmania after 30 June 2026

From 18 February 2024 to 30 June 2026, Tasmania exempted eligible first home buyers from property transfer duty on established homes with a dutiable value of $750,000 or less. The SRO states that this exemption is not available for transactions settling after 30 June 2026, and as at September 2026 no replacement concession for established homes has been published. A first home buyer of an established home that settles now pays duty at the general rates, which is about $22,500 on a $600,000 home.

The exemption never applied to new homes, which were supported through the grant instead. The off-the-plan apartment or unit duty concession, which halved duty on eligible strata and conjoined dwellings, is also closed to agreements executed after 30 June 2026, and it could not be combined with the grant in any case. The duty relief table on this page therefore shows no relief for Tasmania. The Tasmanian stamp duty calculator shows the duty payable at a given price.

MyHome shared equity and other Tasmanian programs

MyHome is the Tasmanian Government shared equity program, administered by Homes Tasmania. The buyer and Homes Tasmania share the cost of the home, so the buyer borrows less and needs a smaller deposit, with a minimum of 2 per cent. For new homes, including house and land packages, Homes Tasmania can contribute up to 40 per cent of the price to a maximum of $300,000. For existing homes the contribution is up to 30 per cent to a maximum of $150,000. Price caps of $800,000 for new homes and $750,000 for existing homes apply.

MyHome applicants must be at least 18, Australian citizens or permanent residents living in Tasmania, and within income and asset limits that vary by household type and by whether the home is new or existing. They must not own other real estate and must live in the home. The share held by Homes Tasmania is calculated on market value, so it rises or falls with the value of the home, and the buyer must eventually buy it out or sell. MyHome is not limited to first home buyers, although the ownership test excludes anyone who currently owns property.

Separately, in April 2026 the Commonwealth and Tasmanian governments agreed in principle to a program under the Commonwealth 100,000 homes for first home buyers commitment, covering up to 2,101 homes reserved for first home buyers, including enabling infrastructure in Brighton, Sorell and Meander Valley. The Commonwealth announcement states that the first homes will be delivered to market from 2027-28, so the program does not yet offer homes for sale.

Combining Tasmanian assistance with federal schemes

The Tasmanian grant can generally be used alongside the federal 5% Deposit Scheme, which allows eligible first home buyers to purchase with a deposit of 5 per cent without lenders mortgage insurance. In Tasmania the scheme price cap is $700,000 in Hobart and regional centres and $550,000 elsewhere, and a new home bought with the grant must also fall within those caps to use the scheme. The grant is paid at foundations or settlement, so it usually reduces the loan or funds construction rather than forming the deposit at exchange.

The federal Help to Buy shared equity scheme became available for property purchases in Tasmania from 9 June 2026, after the Tasmanian Parliament passed the enabling legislation. Help to Buy and MyHome are both shared equity arrangements in which a government agency takes an ownership share, and each has its own lender panel, price caps and eligibility rules. A buyer comparing them should confirm with each administrator whether they can be combined in a particular purchase, rather than assuming so.

The First Home Super Saver Scheme, administered by the Australian Taxation Office, allows voluntary superannuation contributions to be released for a first home deposit. It interacts with Tasmanian assistance mainly through timing, since the ATO rules for requesting a release are tied to the date the contract is signed, while the Tasmanian grant is paid later, at foundations or settlement.

Practical sequencing for a first home purchase in Tasmania

For a first home buyer planning a new build in Tasmania, the order of steps matters because the grant amount is fixed by the date the transaction commences. A building contract signed on or before 30 June 2027 falls within the $20,000 period, and the build must then be completed within 24 months to keep the higher amount. It is prudent to confirm the builder's expected timeframe in writing before signing.

Pre-approval should be obtained before signing, with the lender told which schemes are intended, because an approved agent lender can lodge the grant application and a scheme such as MyHome or the 5% Deposit Scheme must be arranged through a participating lender. The budget should include duty on the land or completed home at the general rates, since first home buyer duty relief is no longer available, together with legal, inspection and lender costs.

For an established home, there is no Tasmanian grant and no duty relief for settlements after 30 June 2026, so the main state assistance is MyHome, alongside the federal schemes. BorrowWise is an education site and can connect readers with an accredited broker, who can assess eligibility for each scheme and the order in which they should be applied for.