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Why the same purchase costs different duty in every state

Transfer duty is eight separate taxes wearing one name. They differ on what is taxed, on how the brackets move, and on concessions that end at a threshold rather than tapering away to nothing.

Reviewed by the Tradergy editorial team · September 2026
In short

Every Australian state and territory levies transfer duty under its own Act, with its own brackets and its own concessions, so an identical purchase produces a different bill in each. Duty is assessed on the dutiable value, which Revenue NSW defines as the higher of the price agreed and the market value. Some jurisdictions index their thresholds annually while others change them only by legislation, and first home concessions typically stop at a threshold rather than tapering to zero.

Transfer duty is usually discussed as though it were one Australian tax with regional variations. It is eight taxes that happen to share a name, and they differ at every level that matters.

Key Takeaways

  • Each state and territory levies duty under its own Act, with its own brackets, concessions and surcharges.
  • Duty is assessed on dutiable value, "the higher of: the purchase price you agreed to pay, or the property's market value".
  • New South Wales adjusts its thresholds annually with the Consumer Price Index; other jurisdictions change theirs by legislation.
  • First home concessions typically end at a threshold rather than tapering, which creates a cliff.
  • Concessions carry conditions that run after settlement, and Queensland requires notice within 28 days when eligibility ends.

The base is value, not price

Before any bracket applies, every jurisdiction has to decide what is being taxed, and the answer is not the number on the contract.

Duty is assessed on dutiable value, which each state's Act defines as the greater of the consideration and the unencumbered value of the property. Revenue NSW puts it in plain terms: dutiable value is "the higher of: the purchase price you agreed to pay, or the property's market value".

That single rule explains most of the assessments people find surprising. A property sold to a relative for well under what it would fetch on the open market is assessed on the market figure, and the revenue office can require evidence of value to establish it. A gift with no money changing hands is still a dutiable transaction.

It also means a comparison between states has to start from the same base. Two jurisdictions applying different brackets to the same dutiable value differ by their rates; two applying the same rates to differently determined values differ by something else entirely.

Brackets are marginal, so the effective rate climbs

Duty is not a flat percentage of the price. It runs in brackets, with a marginal rate applying to value above each threshold, which means the effective rate on the whole purchase rises as the price rises.

Two purchases a modest distance apart in price can therefore sit in different brackets and produce a gap in duty out of proportion to the gap in price. Several jurisdictions add a further premium bracket at the top of the scale for high-value residential property, which steepens the climb again.

This is also why the shape of a state's scale matters more than its headline rates. A jurisdiction with a low top rate but early thresholds can be more expensive on a mid-priced home than one with a higher top rate and later thresholds.

Some thresholds move on their own, and some do not

Here is a difference between jurisdictions that is easy to miss and compounds year after year.

In New South Wales the scale is indexed. Revenue NSW states that the thresholds and rates for general transfer duty and premium duty "are adjusted each year in line with Consumer Price Index (CPI) changes", so the brackets track inflation automatically.

Elsewhere thresholds move only when legislation moves them. In those jurisdictions, rising property prices push more purchases into higher brackets over time with no policy decision having been taken, and the correction, when it comes, arrives as a step at a budget rather than as a drift.

For anyone comparing states, this means the gap between two jurisdictions is not stable. A comparison made a few years ago describes a relationship that has since moved, in a direction determined by which of the two indexes its scale.

The first home concession ends rather than fading

Concessions are where the largest differences between jurisdictions sit, and where the structure produces an effect worth understanding before making an offer.

First home buyer relief is typically built in three parts: a full exemption up to one value, a phased concession across a band above it, and no concession at all above the top of that band. Victoria's structure is of exactly this shape, with an exemption to a first threshold, a concession phasing across the band above it, and general rates applying beyond it.

Because the relief ends rather than tapering away to nothing, there is a discontinuity at the top of the band. A purchase priced slightly above the cut-off attracts duty at general rates on the whole dutiable value, so a small increase in price near that point can cost several times the increase itself. That is the cliff, and it is a structural feature of a threshold-based concession rather than a quirk of any one state.

Victoria's State Revenue Office also lists other circumstances that change the calculation: a principal place of residence concession, additional duty for foreign purchasers, and an off-the-plan concession, each with its own eligibility test. New South Wales similarly notes that foreign persons acquiring residential-related property "may need to pay surcharge purchaser duty".

A concession is a conditional reduction with a reporting duty

The final difference between jurisdictions is what happens after settlement, and it is the one that turns a saving into a liability.

In Queensland, keeping a home concession generally means not disposing of any part of the property before moving in or within a year of first occupying it, and the revenue office must be notified where the buyer does not move in within a year of settlement. Where eligibility ends, "you must tell us within 28 days", and the transaction may be reassessed so that part or all of the concession is repaid, with unpaid tax interest and penalty tax possible on top.

A concession is therefore better understood as a conditional reduction carrying an obligation to report a change, rather than as a lower price obtained at settlement.

Where to look next

The stamp duty calculator estimates duty at general rates by state, before any concession or surcharge, and stamp duty defines the tax. Only the revenue office for the state the property sits in can issue an assessment, and each publishes its own calculator against its own current brackets.

Sources

Not financial advice, and not a recommendation of any product or institution. Reviewed by the Tradergy editorial team, September 2026.

Common questions

Why is stamp duty different in every state?

Because it is not one tax. Each state and territory levies transfer duty under its own legislation, setting its own bracket structure, its own concessions and its own surcharges. The states also differ on how often those settings change, so the gap between two jurisdictions moves over time as well.

Is duty charged on the price I paid?

On the dutiable value, which Revenue NSW defines as the higher of "the purchase price you agreed to pay, or the property's market value". A sale below market value, including a transfer between family members, is assessed on the market figure, and the revenue office can require evidence of value.

Do the thresholds change over time?

In some jurisdictions automatically, in others only by legislation. Revenue NSW states that the thresholds and rates for general transfer duty and premium duty "are adjusted each year in line with Consumer Price Index (CPI) changes". Where indexation is not automatic, thresholds can sit still for years and then move sharply at a budget.

What is the first home buyer cliff?

First home concessions are typically structured as a full exemption up to one value, a phased concession across a band above it, and nothing at all above the top of that band. Because the concession ends rather than tapering to zero, a small increase in price near the top of the band can cost far more in duty than the increase itself.

Can I lose a concession after settlement?

Yes. Concessions carry conditions that continue after the purchase. In Queensland, a buyer generally cannot dispose of the property before moving in or within a year of first occupying it, must notify the revenue office if they do not move in within a year of settlement, and where eligibility ends "you must tell us within 28 days".