New South Wales Stamp Duty Calculator

NSW stamp duty at three prices: worked examples

NSW stamp duty (officially transfer duty) on a $650,000 home is $23,437 at 2026/2027 rates, unless you qualify for the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme, in which case it is nil. The table below runs the same NSW stamp duty calculator engine used above at three common price points, so you can see where the concessions start and stop.

The middle column is the one most Sydney buyers get wrong. At $950,000 a first home buyer is inside the concession band, so the duty is neither the full $36,937 nor zero: the formula tapers the saving down to $7,546.75, leaving $29,390.25 to pay. At $1,500,000 the first home concession has gone entirely, and there is no general owner-occupier discount in NSW to fall back on.

Who qualifies for the NSW First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme

You qualify for the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme if every buyer is over 18, at least one is an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and neither you nor your spouse or partner has ever owned residential property in Australia. Revenue NSW applies the conditions to couples together: a spouse includes a de facto partner, so one partner’s earlier property ownership rules out both.

The scheme is claimed through your solicitor or conveyancer, not after the event. They lodge the application form and Purchaser/Transferee Declaration with your proof of identity, and the exemption or concession is applied when the duty is assessed.

• Never previously received an exemption or concession under the scheme (it is once only).
• Move in within 12 months of settlement and live there as your principal place of residence for at least 12 continuous months.
• Shared purchases: an eligible buyer must take at least half of the property; any ineligible co-buyer pays transfer duty on the share they acquire.
• If you cannot meet the residence condition you lose eligibility and must tell Revenue NSW straight away so the correct duty can be paid. Members of the Australian Defence Force are exempt from the residence requirement.

When NSW transfer duty must be paid

NSW transfer duty must be paid within 3 months of signing the contract for sale, or on or before settlement if settlement is earlier. Where there is no contract, the 3 months runs from the date you agree to transfer the property or the date of the deed. Your solicitor or conveyancer arranges payment so it is ready for settlement; the Duties Notice of Assessment lists the payment options, including EFT and BPAY.

Duty is charged on the dutiable value, the higher of the agreed price and market value. That matters for transfers between family members at a discount: a gift still attracts duty on its market value unless a specific exemption applies.

Buying off the plan in NSW: deferring stamp duty for up to 12 months

NSW off-the-plan buyers do not get a lower stamp duty rate, but owner-occupiers can defer payment. Under the deferral, duty is due at the earliest of 15 months after signing the contract, completion and settlement, or the date any part of the contract is assigned to someone else — effectively 12 months more than the usual 3.

To be eligible, every purchaser must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, partner visa holder (subclass 309 or 820) or New Zealand citizen on a special category visa (subclass 444); non-citizens must have been in Australia for at least 200 days in a 12-month period before exchange. The purchase must be a home to be built or developed before completion (not vacant land), bought with a genuine intention to live in it: at least one buyer must move in within 12 months of completion and stay for 12 continuous months. There is no price cap and you do not need to be a first home buyer. The deferral is not automatic, so ask your solicitor or conveyancer to apply for it when they prepare the duty assessment.

Thresholds are set by the contract date, not settlement. A contract signed in June 2026 for an apartment completing in 2028 is assessed on the 2025/2026 table, even though the duty is paid two years later.

Surcharge purchaser duty: who counts as a foreign buyer in NSW

Foreign buyers pay surcharge purchaser duty of 9% of the dutiable value of residential-related property on top of ordinary duty — $58,500 on a $650,000 apartment. You are generally a foreign person unless you are an Australian citizen, a permanent resident who is “ordinarily resident” (in Australia for at least 200 days of the previous year), an exempt permanent resident, or a retirement visa holder (subclass 405 or 410) meeting the residence rules.

Residential-related property is wider than houses and units: it includes land with a dwelling under construction, vacant land zoned for residential use, and company title arrangements. Surcharge duty is due by the earlier of settlement or 3 months after signing. Revenue NSW lists exemptions for eligible build-to-rent developments and Australian-based developers, and a refund may be available if you stopped being a foreign person before the property was transferred, or if the share being bought by a foreign person was reduced.

Common mistakes when estimating NSW stamp duty

Most errors in NSW come from applying the right table to the wrong facts.

• Counting the 3 months from settlement: the payment clock starts when the contract is signed, so a long settlement does not buy extra time.
• Expecting off-the-plan to be cheaper: in NSW the deferral changes when you pay, not how much.
• Underestimating the taper between $800,000 and $1,000,000: there is no cliff, but every extra $10,000 on the price in that band adds about $1,959 of duty for a first home buyer, so negotiating the price down is worth far more than usual.
• Ignoring market value on family deals: a discounted sale to a relative is still assessed on what the property is worth.