First Home Buyer Stamp Duty Exemption NSW (2026 Guide)

First home buyer stamp duty exemption NSW: what you’ll pay in 2026

In NSW, an eligible first home buyer pays no stamp duty on a new or existing home valued at $800,000 or less, and a reduced amount on a home valued above $800,000 and below $1 million. For vacant land you plan to build on, the exemption runs to $350,000 and the concession to anything under $450,000.

Both come from the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme (FHBAS), which Revenue NSW runs. Under the 2026-27 rates, an eligible buyer at $800,000 saves $30,187. At $900,000 the saving is $15,093.50. At exactly $1 million it’s nothing.

The exemption itself is the easy part. The money gets lost at the edges: a partner who owned a unit years ago, a price that creeps past $800,000 where every extra $1,000 adds about $196 of duty, a move-in date that slips past 12 months. We’ve written this guide around those edges, with every dollar figure checked against the Revenue NSW calculator on 26 September 2026.

Worked examples: $650,000, $800,000, $900,000 and $1 million

The table runs seven prices, and four of them cover all three outcomes: full exemption, partial concession and none. Each figure below is the output of the Revenue NSW First Home Buyers Assistance calculator for an existing home, contract signed in September 2026, no shared equity. Transfer duty figures are based on rates effective 1 July 2026, sourced from Revenue NSW.

A new home gives the same result as an existing one at each price. Four of those prices tell most of the story.

$650,000: full exemption

A unit or townhouse at this price costs a standard buyer $23,437 in duty. An eligible first home buyer pays nothing, so that $23,437 stays in the deposit instead of going to Revenue NSW.

$800,000: full exemption, at the ceiling

$800,000 is the last dollar of the full exemption, and it is also where the saving peaks at $30,187. Go $1 over, to $800,001, and the calculator charges $20. There is no cliff at $800,000.

$900,000: partial concession

Halfway through the concession band you pay $19,593.50 and save $15,093.50. That’s still worth having, but the extra $100,000 of price has cost you roughly $19,600 in duty on top of the $100,000 itself.

$1 million: no concession

The concession applies to homes valued below $1 million. At exactly $1,000,000 you pay the full $39,187. At $999,000 the saving is only $150.94, so the practical line sits closer to $950,000, where the saving is still $7,546.75.

How the concession is worked out between $800,000 and $1 million

Across the band, the calculator follows a simple rule: take the full exemption at $800,000 ($30,187 under the 2026-27 rates) and reduce it evenly to zero at $1 million. Every $1,000 of price above $800,000 costs you about $151 of the saving, on top of the extra price. Vacant land works the same way between $350,000 and $450,000, starting from a saving of $10,307.

That straight-line taper is why we run the duty at two or three prices before a buyer sets an auction limit. Most buyers pick the suburb first and work out the duty second. Knowing that a $950,000 bid carries $29,390.25 of duty and a $900,000 bid carries $19,593.50 changes where you stop bidding.

To check a different price, use the Revenue NSW calculator above or our NSW stamp duty calculator. Use the date you expect to sign the contract, because that date decides which year’s rates apply.

Duty is one line of the bill. What sets your buying limit is deposit, duty, LMI if it applies and what a lender will approve. We compare 52+ lenders and work that out with you. There’s no cost to you; we’re paid a commission by the lender. Talk to our first home buyer team

NSW stamp duty rates for 2026-27

Transfer duty (stamp duty) is a NSW tax on buying property, charged on the higher of the price and the market value. Revenue NSW indexes the brackets to CPI every 1 July. The rates that apply are the ones in force on the date you sign the contract. These are the current thresholds and rates for contracts signed from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027:

Residential property over $3,870,000 pays premium duty: $194,137 plus $7.00 for every $100 over $3,870,000.

Only the brackets changed on 1 July 2026. The top of the 4.5% bracket moved from $1,240,000 to $1,290,000, for example. The first home buyer thresholds of $800,000, $1 million, $350,000 and $450,000 have not moved since 1 July 2023, and the NSW Budget 2026-27 kept the scheme as it is. The government says more than 94,000 first home buyers have used it since July 2023, saving around $20,400 each on average.

Who is eligible for the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme

Revenue NSW lists these conditions. You need all of them.

1. You’re buying a new or existing home, or vacant land to build a home on, in NSW, and the value is inside the thresholds above.
2. You’re buying the whole property, not a share of it (with one exception for equity partners, covered below).
3. You’re buying as an individual, not through a company or trust, and you’re over 18. Revenue NSW says these two requirements may be waived on application, so ask before assuming either rules you out.
4. Neither you nor your spouse or de facto partner has ever owned or co-owned residential property in Australia.
5. Neither of you has received an exemption or concession under this scheme before.
6. At least one of the buyers is an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Not every buyer has to be.
7. For a home, at least one eligible buyer moves in within 12 months of settlement and lives there as their main home for at least 12 continuous months.

Permanent members of the Australian Defence Force don’t have to meet the residence rule, as long as everyone buying is on the NSW electoral roll.

The fastest check is the NSW Government’s Home Buyer Assistance Finder. It gives an indication only; your conveyancer confirms it when they lodge.

Buying with a partner or spouse

Your spouse’s history counts even if their name isn’t on the contract. If your husband, wife or de facto partner has ever owned residential property in Australia, you can’t claim the exemption by buying in your name alone. This one catches couples who assume only the names on the title matter, so check both histories before you start looking at listings.

A separated spouse is treated differently. If you’re legally married but separated, not living together and not intending to, Revenue NSW doesn’t treat you as having a spouse for this scheme.

Buying with a parent, sibling or friend

You can buy with someone who isn’t a first home buyer, as long as they aren’t your spouse. Revenue NSW calls them an equity partner. The rules:

• The equity partners together can own no more than 50%.
• If they own more than 5%, they pay duty on their share. You still get the exemption or concession on yours.
• If they own 5% or less, the whole purchase gets the exemption or concession.

So a parent who goes on title at 50% pays half the standard duty. A parent at 5% pays none. Above 5%, the parent’s duty grows with their share: at 10% of an $800,000 home it’s $3,018.70, and at 50% it’s $15,093.50. Settle the split before anyone signs.

Who isn’t eligible for the stamp duty exemption

You won’t get the exemption or concession if any of these apply:

• You or your spouse have owned residential property in Australia before. That includes an investment property you never lived in, and one you sold many years ago.
• You or your spouse have already had an FHBAS exemption or concession, even on a property you’ve since sold.
• None of the buyers is an Australian citizen or permanent resident. A temporary visa holder buying alone doesn’t qualify.
• You’re buying through a company or a trust. Ownership structure also changes your NSW land tax position, so it is worth settling early.
• You don’t intend to live in the home. An investment purchase doesn’t qualify, and neither does a plan to rent it out and move in more than 12 months after settlement.
• The price is $1 million or more for a home, or $450,000 or more for vacant land.
• You’re buying only part of the property, outside the equity-partner rules above.

Owning property overseas does not count against you. The test is residential property in Australia.

When one partner is on a temporary visa

A partner on a temporary visa raises two separate questions. A couple came to us with a two-day deadline from an agent on a house-and-land package around $1.2 million. She was a permanent resident; he was on a temporary partner visa. At that price the FHBAS was never in play. The expensive question was whether putting him on the title would trigger surcharge purchaser duty.

Surcharge purchaser duty is 9% of the value of the share a foreign person acquires, charged on top of ordinary transfer duty.

Being eligible for the FHBAS does not switch it off.

With him on title for half of a $1.2 million purchase, 9% of his $600,000 share would have been $54,000 if Revenue NSW treated him as a foreign person. Whether a partner-visa holder counts as a “foreign person” depends on their visa and how long they’ve been in Australia; Revenue NSW says subclass 309 and 820 holders may be treated as ordinarily resident. Run the Revenue NSW surcharge tool before the contract is signed.

In the end the couple didn’t need the answer. She took sole title, and he went on the loan only, as a co-borrower. Surcharge purchaser duty applies when a foreign person acquires an interest in the property, and he acquired none, so no surcharge applied. If you’re weighing the same structure, confirm in writing that the lender will accept a borrower who isn’t on title before you sign.

For a couple under $1 million, the FHBAS only needs one buyer to be a citizen or permanent resident, and the visa-holder partner must also never have owned property in Australia. Get both questions answered in writing by your conveyancer before exchange.

The residence requirement, and what happens if you break it

For a new or existing home, the exemption comes with a promise: one of the eligible buyers moves in within 12 months after settlement and lives there as their main home for at least 12 continuous months. For vacant land there is no set occupancy period under the FHBAS; you need to intend to use the block as the site of a home you’ll live in.

If your plans change and you can’t meet it, Revenue NSW’s position is plain: you’re no longer eligible, and you must tell them immediately so the correct duty can be paid. In practice that means paying the duty you were excused from. If you don’t tell them, interest and penalties can be added. Revenue NSW says it regularly cross-checks applications against data from other government agencies and businesses, so a quiet move-out is a poor bet.

Genuine cases have a way through. Revenue NSW can allow a shorter residence period, or waive the requirement, in special circumstances. You apply in writing to [email protected] with:

• what happened, and when
• the contract and settlement dates
• when you moved in and how long you’ve lived there
• whether and when you plan to move back
• your Duties Notice of Assessment and any supporting documents

A job transfer, a relationship ending or a renovation that runs long are the kinds of change that can put the rule out of reach. The 12 months runs from settlement, not from when the renovation finishes, so if a delay is coming, raise it with Revenue NSW before the deadline passes. If you also received the $10,000 First Home Owner (New Homes) Grant, it has its own 12-month occupancy rule. Failing to notify Revenue NSW can mean repaying the grant plus a fine of up to $11,000.

Keep simple evidence that you lived there: utility bills in your name, your licence address, your electoral enrolment.

How the 5% Deposit Scheme and the stamp duty exemption work together

One is a NSW tax concession and the other is a federal deposit scheme, and they cover different costs. The FHBAS reduces the tax you pay NSW. The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme lets you buy with a 5% deposit without paying lenders mortgage insurance (LMI). Using one doesn’t reduce what you get from the other, and you apply for each separately: the FHBAS through your conveyancer, the 5% Deposit Scheme through a participating lender.

Used together, they cut the cash you need up front. On a $900,000 existing home in Sydney:

Add conveyancing, inspections and registration fees on top. Without either scheme, the same buyer would need a 20% deposit of $180,000 to avoid LMI, plus $34,687 in standard duty.

Three things matter when you use both.

The price caps don’t match. The 5% Deposit Scheme price cap in NSW is $1.5 million in Sydney and six named regional centres (among them the Central Coast, the Illawarra and the Newcastle area), and $800,000 elsewhere in the state. The postcode search on that page settles which cap applies to a particular suburb. So in Sydney, a $1.2 million purchase can qualify for the 5% deposit but pays full duty. In the rest of NSW, the Scheme’s cap and the FHBAS exemption ceiling are the same number: $800,000.

The ownership tests don’t match either. The 5% Deposit Scheme accepts buyers who haven’t owned property in Australia in the last 10 years. The FHBAS requires that you have never owned. Someone who sold a unit 12 years ago can use the 5% deposit but pays full stamp duty.

Income doesn’t come into either. The 5% Deposit Scheme has no income caps or place limits, and the FHBAS has no income test.

One thing we tell every 5% Deposit Scheme buyer: the Scheme gets you in the door, and then you own a home with the equity of someone who put down 5%. That’s fine, but it limits what you can do with the property for the first few years. Our 5% Deposit Scheme guide for NSW covers the lender side in detail.

The First Home Owner (New Homes) Grant

If you’re buying or building a new home, the $10,000 First Home Owner (New Homes) Grant can be paid on top of the stamp duty exemption. The caps are lower: $600,000 for a new home, or $750,000 for land plus a building contract. It isn’t available on established homes, and its ownership test is different from the FHBAS, so check both. Our guide to NSW first home buyer grants and schemes sets out how the three fit together, and Help to Buy is a fourth option if you’re short of a deposit.

How to claim the exemption, and when duty is due

There is no cash payment and no separate grant portal. The exemption is applied to the duty assessment on your purchase.

1. Check eligibility before you sign: both partners’ ownership history, citizenship, and the price against the thresholds.
2. Exchange contracts. The contract date fixes which year’s duty rates apply.
3. Complete the forms. For contracts from 1 July 2023 that’s the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme application (ODA 066B) and a Purchaser/Transferee Declaration for each buyer, plus proof of identity.
4. Hand them to your solicitor or conveyancer, who lodges them with Revenue NSW as part of the duty assessment.
5. Pay any duty owing by the earlier of settlement or three months after signing the contract.
6. Move in within 12 months of settlement and stay for 12 continuous months.

If you owe duty and can’t pay it on time, Revenue NSW charges daily interest and NSW Land Registry Services won’t register the transfer until it’s paid.

Buying off the plan to live in can give you up to 12 extra months to pay, but only if every buyer meets the citizenship and residency tests, and vacant land on its own doesn’t qualify. With the deferral, duty is due at the earliest of 15 months after signing, completion, or assignment of the contract. Our off-the-plan finance guide covers the loan side.

Stamp duty for pensioners and seniors in NSW

NSW does not have a stamp duty exemption or concession for pensioners or seniors. Holding a Pensioner Concession Card, Seniors Card or Health Care Card does not reduce transfer duty, and downsizing doesn’t either. Revenue NSW’s list of exemptions and concessions has no category for age or pension status.

A pensioner pays the standard rates unless another exemption applies. That includes the FHBAS: a retiree who has genuinely never owned residential property in Australia can qualify like anyone else. It’s uncommon, but the scheme has no upper age limit. Some other states do have pensioner or downsizer concessions; our stamp duty by state comparison lists them.

Other legal ways to pay less stamp duty in NSW

A few other transactions attract no duty, or a nominal amount. Each has conditions, so have your solicitor or conveyancer confirm them:

• Adding a spouse or de facto partner to the title of your home is exempt when it’s your main home and you end up owning equal shares. De facto partners must have lived together for at least two continuous years.
• After a relationship breakdown, transfers of relationship property under court orders, a binding financial agreement, a written separation agreement or a registered arbitration award can be exempt.
• A beneficiary who receives property from the executor exactly as the will (or intestacy rules) directs pays a concessional $100. If the family varies the will, standard duty applies to the extra share.

Buying outside NSW?

Every state sets its own first home buyer thresholds, and they move on different budget cycles. We keep them side by side, with worked examples at $750,000 and $1 million for each state, in our stamp duty by state comparison, and our first home owner grant comparison covers the cash grants that sit alongside them. Check the rules for the state you’re buying in, not the one you live in.

How we help first home buyers with the numbers

Stamp duty is one line of the bill. Your buying limit comes from everything together: deposit, duty, LMI if it applies, conveyancing, lender fees, and what a lender will approve for your income. We work that out before you start bidding, including which schemes you can combine, and we compare 52+ lenders to find the one whose policy fits. There’s no cost to you for that; we’re paid a commission by the lender.

If you’d like us to look at your situation, talk to our first home buyer team. You can also read more about first home buyer loans or our first home buyer stamp duty concession service.

FAQ: first home buyer stamp duty in NSW

Do first home buyers pay stamp duty in NSW?

Not if the home is valued at $800,000 or less and you meet the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme rules. Between $800,000 and $1 million you pay a reduced amount, and at $1 million or more you pay full duty. For vacant land, the exemption runs to $350,000 and the concession to anything under $450,000.

How much is stamp duty on $650,000 in NSW?

Under the 2026-27 rates, standard duty on $650,000 is $23,437. An eligible first home buyer pays $0 because the price is under the $800,000 exemption ceiling.

How much is stamp duty on a $700,000 house in NSW?

Standard duty on $700,000 is $25,687 for a contract signed from 1 July 2026. An eligible first home buyer pays nothing.

How much stamp duty will I pay on $800,000?

A standard buyer pays $30,187. An eligible first home buyer pays $0, because $800,000 is the top of the full exemption. At $800,001 the Revenue NSW calculator charges $20.

How much stamp duty does a first home buyer pay on $900,000?

$19,593.50, against standard duty of $34,687, a saving of $15,093.50. The concession shrinks evenly from $800,000 until it disappears at $1 million.

What are the NSW stamp duty rates for 2026?

For contracts signed from 1 July 2026, duty on most homes falls in the bracket of $11,602 plus $4.50 for every $100 over $387,000, which applies up to $1,290,000. The brackets are indexed to CPI each 1 July. The first home buyer thresholds did not change.

Does owning property overseas stop me getting the exemption?

No. The FHBAS test is whether you or your spouse have owned residential property in Australia. Property owned overseas doesn’t count.

Can I get the exemption if my partner has owned a home before?

No, unless you’re legally separated and not living together. If your spouse or de facto partner has owned residential property in Australia, you can’t claim the exemption, even if you buy in your name alone. Adding a parent or other non-spouse as an equity partner doesn’t change that: your partner’s history still rules you out.

How can I avoid stamp duty in NSW?

You can’t avoid it legally unless an exemption or concession applies. The main one is the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme. Others include transfers between spouses into equal shares of your home, relationship breakdown transfers, and deceased estate transfers made exactly as the will directs, which pay a flat $100. Giving Revenue NSW false or misleading information to reduce duty attracts substantial penalties.

Do seniors have to pay stamp duty in NSW?

Yes. NSW has no stamp duty exemption or concession for pensioners or seniors. They pay standard rates unless another exemption, such as the FHBAS for someone who has never owned property in Australia, applies.

Can I pay stamp duty in instalments in NSW?

Not as a standard option. Duty is due by the earlier of settlement or three months after signing the contract. If you can’t pay in full, Revenue NSW may agree a payment plan depending on your circumstances, but daily interest applies and the transfer won’t be registered until the duty is paid. Contact Revenue NSW before the due date.

What happens if I don’t live in the property for 12 months?

You lose eligibility and must tell Revenue NSW straight away so the correct duty can be paid. Interest and penalties can apply if you don’t. In special circumstances, Revenue NSW can accept a shorter period or waive the requirement if you apply in writing.

This article contains general information only and does not constitute financial advice. Your personal financial situation, objectives and needs have not been considered. Before acting on any information, you should consider its appropriateness to your circumstances. Speak to a qualified mortgage broker for advice tailored to your situation. Stamp duty rates and thresholds change; confirm current figures with Revenue NSW and your conveyancer before you sign a contract. Mortgage World Australia Pty Ltd ATF O’Brien Family Trust (ABN 65 653 284 433) is a credit representative (CR No. 396946) of Mortgage Specialists Pty Ltd (ACN 612 422 178, Australian Credit Licence No. 387025).

Patrick O’Brien, Director and Home Loan Specialist since 2001, Mortgage World Australia

Patrick O'Brien

Patrick is a Director and a Home Loan Specialist. He has been helping Australians with home loans since 2001. Prior to working as a mortgage broker Patrick was employed by Macquarie Bank for 3 years and also worked as an accountant for a publicly listed company. Patrick’s qualifications include:

Bachelor of Business, UTS Sydney. Majored in accounting and sub-majored in Finance and Marketing.
Diploma of Finance and Mortgage Broking Management FNS50310
Certificate IV in Financial Services (Finance/Mortgage Broking) FNS40804