Stamp Duty Concession

The Victorian Government is slashing stamp duty on off-the-plan apartments, units and townhouses to cut upfront costs, speed-up building, and make it more affordable for everyone to buy off-the-plan.

Currently, first home buyers and owner-occupiers can access a stamp duty concession when they buy off-the-plan, allowing construction costs to be deducted from the sale price when calculating how much stamp duty they owe.

This is currently capped for first home buyers and owner-occupiers: to access the concession, the reduced value for stamp duty calculations following the deduction of construction costs must be under thresholds of $750,000 for first home buyers and $550,000 for owner occupiers – otherwise the concession isn’t available.

Under a change that will boost housing construction:

  • Anyone buying an apartment, unit or townhouse off-the-plan can claim the concession – not just first home buyers and owner-occupiers.
  • Thresholds will be removed so the concession is available for apartments, units and townhouses of any value.

The 12-month extended concession applies from 21 October 2024, and it will allow a 100 per cent deduction of outstanding construction and refurbishment costs when determining how much stamp duty is owed.

The existing concession will continue to apply during and after this 12-month extension.

How much will a buyer save?

The amount you save depends on how much construction has occurred. Generally, someone buying an apartment off-the-plan is likely to pay about a quarter of the stamp duty they would pay without the off-the-plan concession.

A Victorian using this concession who buys off-the-plan before any construction work starts could pay around $28,000 less stamp duty on a $620,000 apartment – with duty slashed from around $32,000 to around $4,000.

This is an extension of an existing concession. To read more about the range of concessions available to buyers and how they are calculated, visit State Revenue Office – Off-the-plan duty concession.

What properties are eligible?

An eligible apartment, unit or townhouse is one that is in a strata subdivision – meaning they retain common property such as a driveway or a shared hallway.

House and land packages or other dwellings that are not part of a strata subdivision are not eligible for the extended concession, but first home buyers and owner occupiers can still use the existing concession on these properties.

SOURCE: State Revenue Office     Updated

Extension of the temporary off-the-plan duty concession

The Duties Act 2000 is amended to extend the eligibility period for the temporary off-the-plan land transfer duty concession for purchases of eligible apartments and townhouses for a further 12 months to 21 October 2026.  The concession reduces the amount of duty payable by allowing purchasers to exclude construction costs incurred on or after the contract date from the dutiable value of land.

SOURCE: State Revenue Office     Updated 24/6/2025

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