For a first home buyer who meets every condition below, a Victorian home with a dutiable value up to $600,000 attracts no duty, and one from $600,001 to $750,000 attracts a reduced amount. Those figures are as at the State Revenue Office’s page of 15 September 2026, and the office points buyers to its own duty calculator for the amount payable; this guide gives no figure for the reduced band.
General informationA reading of the State Revenue Office’s page First home buyer duty exemption or concession, updated 15 September 2026. It is not tax, legal or financial advice. Whether a buyer qualifies is for the State Revenue Office to assess; a conveyancer or solicitor can say how the rules apply to a particular purchase.
The two bands, and what they rest on
| Dutiable value | Duty for an eligible first home buyer |
|---|---|
| Up to $600,000 | No duty |
| $600,001 to $750,000 | A reduced amount of duty (no figure given here) |
- First home buyers only. The bands apply to first home buyers only, as the next section defines them.
- The dutiable value is the greater of two figures: the price paid or the market value, whichever is greater. For vacant land it is assessed on the land itself, without the building contract. The home can be new or established, or vacant land meant for building a first home.
- Every purchaser meets the eligibility criteria, summarised in the next section: natural persons, at least 18, at least one a citizen or permanent resident, and none who has had the grant or the relief or owned a home before, with the family violence exception and the disability transferee rule.
- Someone lives there for 12 continuous months, starting within 12 months of settlement, unless the defence force exception applies; it does not extend to reservists.
- A co-buyer from overseas changes the sum. If one of the buyers is neither a citizen nor a permanent resident, foreign purchaser additional duty may apply.
Who counts as a first home buyer
The State Revenue Office tests every purchaser, not only the one who will live there. All purchasers must be:
- natural persons, so not companies or trusts;
- at least 18 years old;
- buying the property as their principal place of residence;
- buying it at market value.
At least one purchaser must be an Australian citizen, a New Zealand citizen or a permanent resident; transactions before 26 November 2025 followed different rules for New Zealand citizens.
The relief is lost if the buyer, or their spouse or partner, has already had a First Home Owner Grant, or an earlier exemption or concession from duty as a first home buyer; owned all or part of a residential home in Australia before 1 July 2000; or, from 1 July 2000 on, owned all or part of a home in Australia and lived in it for 6 continuous months or more.
Two exceptions are written into the page. Victim-survivors of family violence may be eligible even after an earlier grant, an earlier first home buyer exemption or concession, or owning a home. And if the first home buyer has a legal disability, the property may be transferred to their guardian, or to the trustee of a special disability trust whose primary beneficiary is the first home buyer.
Living in the home
One purchaser at least has to live in the home as their principal place of residence for 12 continuous months, starting within 12 months of settlement. For vacant land the move-in deadline is whichever comes first: 36 months after settlement, or 12 months after the occupancy certificate is issued.
Current members of the Australian Army, Navy or Air Force can be excused from the residency requirement, subject to a further condition set out on the office’s page. The page is plain that reservists in the defence force are not covered by the exception, and nor are Australian Public Service staff. The guide to the 12 months in the home sets this rule beside the other concessions that ask for one.
An illustrative comparison
A made-up dutiable value of $580,000 shows the size of the first band. A buyer who is not a first home buyer is above the principal place of residence concession’s $550,000 limit at this value, so the general rates are the starting point. An eligible first home buyer meeting every condition above falls in the band with no duty.
- Dutiable value
- $580,000
- General rates
- $2,870 + 6% over $130,000
- 6% of $450,000
- $27,000
- At general rates
- $29,870
- Eligible first home buyer
- No duty
General rates as at 29 September 2026; first home buyer band as at 15 September 2026, first home buyers only, with every condition on this page.
Pensioners, families and the grant
An eligible pensioner buying a first home may qualify for this relief or for the pensioner duty reduction, but only one benefit can be claimed on a transaction, so one has to be chosen. The pensioner and concession cardholder reduction is a once-only benefit, and what it gives depends on when the contract was signed. The office also lists a separate benefit for first home buyers with dependent children.
A first home bought off the plan can carry the off-the-plan concession too, which may lower the dutiable value first. The First Home Owner Grant is a separate payment, and the office’s off-the-plan page notes it is available only where the contract price is $750,000 or less, including construction costs. The off-the-plan guide explains how construction costs come off.