First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme
If you’re a first home buyer, you may be entitled to a concessional rate of transfer duty or even an exemption from paying it altogether under the First Home Buyers Assistance scheme
If your home is valued at less than $800,000, you can apply for a full exemption so that you don’t have to pay transfer duty.
If the value of your home is between $800,000 and $1,000,000, you can apply for a concessional rate of transfer duty. The amount you’ll have to pay will be based on the value of your home.
If you are purchasing vacant land, on which you plan to build your home, the following limits apply.
- You won’t pay any transfer duty if your land is valued at less than $350,000.
- For land valued between $350,000 and $450,000, you’ll receive a concessional rate.
To find out the amount of the concession that you are entitled to you can use the Revenue NSW Calculator by following the link below.
https://www.apps08.osr.nsw.gov.au/erevenue/calculators/fhba.php
To qualify for the First Home Benefits Assistance Scheme:-
- the contract date must be on or after 1 July 2017 and must be for the whole property
- you must be an individual, not a company or trust
- you must be over 18
- you, and your spouse or partner, must never have owned or co-owned residential property in Australia
- you, and your spouse or partner, must never have received an exemption or concession under this scheme
- at least one of the first home buyers must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
You or one of the other first home buyers must
- move into the new home within 12 months after buying the property and
- live there for at least twelve continuous months.
If you are a member of the Australian Defence Force and buying your first home, and you and everyone you are buying with are on the NSW electoral roll, you won’t have to meet these living requirements.
The First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme applies when 50% or more of buyers are eligible.
- If you’re buying a home with others who aren’t eligible, you can still apply for the scheme if you and any other eligible buyers are purchasing at least half of the property. This is called a shared equity arrangement.
- Shared equity doesn’t apply if your spouse is one of the ineligible buyers.
If your circumstances change and you won’t be able to move into the house within 12 months or you can’t live there for six continuous months, you are no longer eligible for the scheme.
You must inform Revenue NSW straight away to arrange the correct duty to be paid. Otherwise, you will face the possibility of penalties or fines.
