Previously known as Stamp Duties, Transfer Duties is less commonly known as Land Transfer. Transfer Duty is one of the major upfront costs associated with buying a property and often buyers overlook allowing for Transfer Duty in their budget for a property.
Transfer duty is a tax charged by the State Government when purchasing a property and it is paid by the individual who purchases the property to the Office of State Revenue.
How much transfer duty you pay on a purchase is based on the property’s purchase price and varies depending if the property is used as a personal place of residence or an investment. The amount of transfer duty paid also varies whether you purchasing an established property, a newly constructed property or vacant land.
Transfer duty needs to be paid within 30 days of the transaction and generally is paid by your Solicitor
Whilst you can use a variety of Transfer Duty Calculators online to estimate your Transfer Duty payable, your solicitor, or mortgage broker, can generally assist you in accurately calculating how much you will need to pay. Usually, Transfer Duty is paid prior to settlement and certainly no later than 3 months after the contract of purchase has been exchanged. Beware as you will incur hefty interest charges if your payment is late.
First Home Buyers do have some concessions with respect to Transfer Duties in the form of the ‘First Home Buyers Stamp Duty Rebate’.
