Conveyance duty in the ACT and the Home Buyer Concession

Three rates, depending on who you are

For residential property, the ACT determination for 2026-27 (DI2026-155, from 1 July 2026) sets two scales, and the Home Buyer Concession determination (DI2026-157, from 1 July 2026) sets a nil rate:

1. Eligible home buyer under the Home Buyer Concession Scheme: nil duty.
2. Eligible owner occupier: Table 1 below.
3. Everyone else (for example investors): Table 2 below.

The explanatory statement says the residential marginal rates are unchanged from 2025-26.

Owner-occupier and other residential scales (from 1 July 2026)

All amounts are “for every $100, or part of $100”. An eligible owner occupier transaction has a transaction date on or after 1 July 2026; every buyer is an individual who acquires a legal and equitable interest; and at least one buyer will own and occupy the property as their principal place of residence within 1 year after the residence start date, for a continuous period of at least 1 year. If it turns out the transaction is not an eligible owner occupier transaction, the buyer must give the Commissioner written notice within 14 days, and duty is calculated on the non-owner-occupier scale.

Home Buyer Concession Scheme: nil duty

The determination provides that “the amount of duty payable on an eligible transaction under this instrument is nil rate of duty”. An eligible transaction is a transfer with a transaction date on or after 1 July 2026 to an eligible home buyer where:

• every buyer is an individual aged 18 or over (a corporation, a trustee of a trust, or a partner in a partnership is not eligible);
• all buyers acquire a legal and equitable interest in a home or vacant land;
• on the transaction date, no buyer and no domestic partner has held a legal or equitable interest in land in the previous 5 years, other than an “allowed interest” (for example, an interest in the property being bought, land that a court order or family law agreement required the person to give up, or in some cases land held after relationship breakdown or family violence); and
• at least one buyer owns and occupies the property as their principal place of residence within 1 year after the residence start date (completion for a home; the occupancy certificate for vacant land) for a continuous period of at least 1 year.

The instrument contains no income threshold and no property value limit. The Commissioner can shorten the residence period, or set a later start date, if an “unforeseen circumstance” prevents occupation and the request is made within 18 months after the residence start date. A buyer who finds the transaction is not eligible must notify the Commissioner in writing within 14 days; the instrument then treats the buyer as never eligible, and its example says duty is payable within 14 days of the transfer being registered. You apply on lodgement of the transfer with the registrar-general, or request an extension within 12 months of lodgement.

Foreign buyers

Neither the ACT Duties Act 1999 (version of 16 December 2025) nor the two determinations contain a provision for a foreign-purchaser surcharge on residential property (a text search of each for the word “foreign” finds no such provision). Foreign persons must still apply for federal approval before buying residential property. See foreign purchaser surcharge duty.

Which professional to consult

A conveyancer or solicitor lodges the transfer, applies for the concession and notes the 5-year ownership test and the residence period: see conveyancers. A mortgage broker can include the other purchase costs in your funding plan: see mortgage brokers.