Complete Guide to Australian Stamp Duty (Updated July 2024)
First of all, all overseas persons are able to buy property in Australia. However, overseas persons with different residency statuses are subject to different rules when buying property in Australia.
1. Overseas persons holding a temporary residence visa (meaning overseas persons holding a visa with a duration of more than 12 months) may only purchase one established property. When submitting an FIRB application for an owner-occupied home, the applicant must be within Australia. Furthermore, this established property may only be used as a residence and cannot be rented out; it must be sold within three months of moving out of the residence.
2. Overseas persons holding a temporary residence visa are not subject to the above requirements when purchasing new properties, and may purchase any number of them.
3. Overseas persons without a visa, or with a visa of less than 12 months' duration, cannot buy established properties, and may only buy new properties or buy land to build on for investment purposes.
4. Overseas persons holding a bridging visa cannot buy an established property on their own.
5. Overseas persons holding a tourist visa cannot buy an established property, even if the visa period exceeds 12 months.
Australian property prices continue to climb, and in order to encourage local residents to enter the property market, the Australian government has repeatedly introduced overseas stamp duty to cool overseas investment enthusiasm.
The Victorian government introduced a stamp duty surcharge targeting "overseas buyers" of residential property in the 2016 financial year, making it the first state in Australia to implement overseas stamp duty. Subsequently, New South Wales and Queensland adopted it in turn. Next, let's take a look at the specific additional stamp duty and land tax policies in these three states.
Brisbane - Queensland Overseas Stamp Duty Policy (Investment)
Applies to: Foreign persons or Australian temporary residents
Rate charged:
Depending on each property, a local stamp duty of 3.5%-5.75% is charged, plus an additional 8% overseas stamp duty, totalling 11.5%-13.75%.
The detailed method for calculating local stamp duty is shown in the image below:
Case study: In Queensland, an asset of A$800,000 incurs A$21,850 in stamp duty, plus A$64,000 in overseas stamp duty.
For more information, please refer to the official website of the Queensland Office of State Revenue
Melbourne - Victoria Overseas Stamp Duty Policy (Investment)
Applies to: Foreign persons or Australian temporary residents
Rate charged:
Depending on each property, a local stamp duty of 5.0%-6.5% is charged, plus an additional 8% overseas stamp duty.
The detailed method for calculating local stamp duty is shown in the image below:
For more information, please refer to the official website of the Victorian State Revenue Office
Sydney - New South Wales Overseas Stamp Duty Policy (Investment)
Applies to: Foreign persons or Australian temporary residents
Rate charged:
Depending on each property, a local stamp duty of 3.5%-5.5% is charged, plus an additional 8% overseas stamp duty (from 1 January 2025, the overseas stamp duty surcharge increases to 9%).
The detailed method for calculating local stamp duty is shown in the image below:
For more information, please refer to the official website of Revenue NSW