The principal place of residence concession lowers land transfer duty for a buyer who buys a property valued up to $550,000, moves in within 12 months of settlement, and lives there as their home for 12 straight months. It is available to anyone, not only first home buyers.
General informationA reading of the State Revenue Office’s page Principal place of residence duty concession, updated 24 June 2026. It is not tax, legal or financial advice. The State Revenue Office decides each claim; a conveyancer or solicitor can say how it applies to a particular purchase.
Three conditions, all at once
The State Revenue Office lists the three together, and the concession needs every one of them:
- the property is valued up to $550,000;
- the buyer moves in within 12 months of settlement;
- the buyer uses it as their principal place of residence, their home, for 12 straight months.
Where several people buy together, at least one of them must live in the property as their home, and it does not have to be the same person for the whole 12 months. A first home buyer has a separate and wider form of relief, set out with its conditions in the first home buyer guide.
What the concession does to the sum
The concession does not remove duty; it charges less within two value steps. The State Revenue Office prints its own comparison of the standard and concession rates:
| Dutiable value | Standard rate | Concession rate | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Over $130,000, up to $440,000 | $2,870 plus 6% of the amount over $130,000 | $2,870 plus 5% of the amount over $130,000 | 1% of the amount over $130,000 |
| Over $440,000, up to $550,000 | $2,870 plus 6% of the amount over $130,000 | $18,370 plus 6% of the amount over $440,000 | $3,100 |
The standard column is the same general rate set out in the guide to how the duty is worked out. Read across, the saving grows by one dollar in every hundred of value up to $440,000, and above that it holds at a fixed $3,100 until the concession ends at $550,000.
- Dutiable value
- $300,000
- Standard: 6% of $170,000
- $10,200
- Standard rate
- $13,070
- Concession: 5% of $170,000
- $8,500
- Concession rate
- $11,370
- Difference
- $1,700
Both rates add the fixed $2,870. Worked from the State Revenue Office’s table as at 24 June 2026.
- Dutiable value
- $500,000
- Standard: $2,870 + 6% of $370,000
- $25,070
- Concession: $18,370 + 6% of $60,000
- $21,970
- Difference
- $3,100
The difference matches the fixed saving the table prints for this step. Worked from the table as at 24 June 2026.
Buying land to build on
The concession can apply to vacant land bought to build a home. Then the test is the value of the land, up to $550,000, and the building contract is not counted. The move-in date shifts too: the earlier of 12 months after the occupancy certificate is received, or 36 months after settlement. The page adds that land left vacant may attract vacant residential land tax.
Market value, and buying from family
The concession is only for a buyer who paid market value. It is not available on a property received at a heavy discount or as a gift. For a sale between related parties, the office asks for evidence of two things: proof the purchase price was paid, such as bank statements, loan agreements and receipts; and evidence of the property’s market value, such as a letter of appraisal from a licensed real estate agent or a valuation by a certified practising valuer.
Claiming it, and when plans change
The concession is claimed on the Digital Duties Form as part of the duty transaction, and the office says a conveyancer or solicitor will complete the form. It can stand alone, or be combined with another entitlement, a pensioner exemption or concession for example.
If a buyer who claimed it does not move in within the required time, or does not stay for at least 12 months, the State Revenue Office must be told within 30 days of the change of circumstances. The guide to the 12 months in the home compares this with the other concessions that ask for a stay.
Beside the other concessions
The concession is a building block for others. Buyers under the continuing off-the-plan concession must be eligible for either this concession or the first home buyer relief, while the temporary strata concession asks for neither and is open to investors, companies and trusts. A first home buyer who is also a pensioner has to pick one benefit for the transaction, whereas this concession can be claimed together with a pensioner exemption or concession. And it is the purchaser who applies for the saving, with a conveyancer usually helping during the transfer.
Off the plan, the two concessions can meet: the off-the-plan concession lowers the dutiable value first, and the office says other concessions may then apply to that reduced amount.