ACT Stamp Duty Calculator: Conveyance Duty Rates

The ACT has two scales: one for eligible owner occupiers and one for everyone else. They differ only in the first bands, so the gap between them is $2,992 at any price from $300,000 up to $1,455,000. Above $1,455,000 both scales charge $4.54 per $100 of the whole value.

The transaction date that decides which rates apply is the date of the grant, transfer or agreement for transfer, whichever comes first. It is not the settlement date.

For transaction dates from 1 July 2026, eligible buyers pay no conveyance duty at all. The income test and the property value cap have both been removed, and the scheme covers new homes, established homes and vacant residential land. On an $800,000 home that saves the $22,158 an owner-occupier would otherwise pay.

It is not limited to first home buyers. Every buyer must be an individual aged 18 or over, and all buyers and their domestic partners must not have held an interest in property anywhere in the previous 5 years. At least one buyer must live in the home as their principal place of residence for a continuous year, starting within a year of settlement, or of the certificate of occupancy for vacant land. The calculator's first home option shows this exemption.

For transactions from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, the scheme had a $1,020,000 property value limit, a maximum concession of $35,238 and an income test of $250,000 for buyers with no dependent children.

The owner occupier scale charges less on the first $260,000 of the price and is identical above $300,000. So the saving grows up to $260,000, stays flat, then disappears once the price passes $1,455,000:

• $250,000: $700 instead of $3,500, a saving of $2,800
• $400,000: $5,008 instead of $8,000, a saving of $2,992
• $800,000: $22,158 instead of $25,150, a saving of $2,992
• $1,400,000: $59,558 instead of $62,550, a saving of $2,992
• $1,500,000: $68,100 instead of $68,100, no saving

Above $1,455,000 the ACT stops using a sliding scale and charges $4.54 per $100 of the whole value, on both scales. Because the owner occupier scale was cheaper up to that point, the switch produces a step for owner-occupiers. At exactly $1,455,000 an owner-occupier pays $63,078. One dollar more and the whole price is charged at the flat rate, which comes to $66,061.54, an increase of $2,983.54.

For an investor there is almost no step: the non-owner occupier scale gives $66,070 at $1,455,000 and $66,061.54 one dollar above it. If you are an owner-occupier negotiating a price just above $1,455,000, getting it down to the threshold can save more in duty than the amount taken off the price.

The effective rate for an owner-occupier rises steadily up to that point:

• $500,000: $8,408, or 1.68% of the price
• $750,000: $19,208, or 2.56% of the price
• $1,000,000: $33,958, or 3.40% of the price
• $1,455,000: $63,078, or 4.34% of the price
• $2,000,000: $90,800, or 4.54% of the price

On a $650,000 established property bought as an investment, Australian Capital Territory charges $17,880, the lowest of the eight states and territories. The table uses each jurisdiction's general rates only, so it leaves out home, first home and foreign purchaser rules, which change the answer for many buyers.