Consider this if…
- You are buying your first property and want to know what you are entitled to
- You are buying with a partner who has owned property before
- Someone has suggested buying in a company or trust name
- You are choosing between an established home and a new build or apartment
- You are close to the threshold where relief starts to taper away
- You are planning to rent it out for a while before moving in
How it works
Tell us what you are looking at, before you sign
Price range, the kind of property, who is buying, and whether anyone involved has owned property before. That is enough for us to tell you what relief is realistically available.
Same or next business day
We review the contract and section 32
The usual review, plus the questions specific to a first purchase — whether the property qualifies, whether the price sits inside the relief, and whether anything on title would cause you a problem.
1–2 business days
We confirm what you will actually pay
The duty figure for your purchase, the relief applied, any grant you qualify for, and a single number for the cash you need on settlement day.
With the review
We lodge the claims with the purchase
Duty relief and grant applications are made as part of the conveyance. You do not have to chase them separately.
During the conveyance
Settlement
Adjustments, the electronic settlement, and confirmation so you can collect the keys.
On the settlement date
Fee
Quoted in writing before we start
GST inclusive
Excludes: Government charges, searches and settlement costs are separate and charged at cost.
Quoted in writing before we start. Checking what relief you qualify for is part of the job, not an extra.
Turnaround
A lawyer replies to your enquiry within one business day.
What is actually available
Victoria offers first home buyers relief from land transfer duty, and a separate grant for new homes. They are two different schemes with different tests, and it is common to qualify for one and not the other.
The duty relief works on a threshold. Below one figure the duty is removed entirely. Between that figure and a higher one it is reduced on a sliding scale, so the benefit tapers away rather than ending abruptly. Above the upper figure there is no first home relief, though a separate concession may still apply if the property will be your principal place of residence.
The grant is a fixed cash amount and is directed at new homes — newly built, substantially renovated, or off the plan — rather than established ones.
We deliberately do not publish the current threshold figures here, because they change and a stale number on a website is worse than no number. We calculate your actual position on the rates in force at the time you buy.
Where first home buyers lose the relief
Whose name goes on the contract. This is the most common and the most expensive mistake. The tests generally consider everyone acquiring an interest, and spouses and domestic partners as well. If your partner has owned property before, that can disqualify the purchase even though you have not. Deciding this before the contract is signed is straightforward; changing it afterwards can trigger a second duty liability.
Renting it out first. The relief comes with a residence requirement — you have to move in within a set period and live there for a minimum time. Buying now and moving in "eventually" is not the same thing, and claiming the relief without meeting the requirement means paying it back.
Buying through a structure. A company or trust will usually cost you the relief entirely. Sometimes there is a good reason to accept that. Nobody should accept it without knowing.
Being just over the line. Because the relief tapers, a purchase a little above the full exemption point still gets something. Buyers sometimes assume they get nothing and do not claim. Others negotiate hard on price without realising that a small reduction moves them into a materially better duty position.
What we do
We look at three things before you sign: whether you qualify, whether the property qualifies, and whether the way you are proposing to buy it preserves the entitlement.
Then we run the numbers properly. Not "you will probably save some duty" — the duty figure for your purchase, the relief applied, any grant, and one number for what has to be in your account on settlement day.
Then we lodge the claims as part of the conveyance. You do not have to make a separate application or chase anything.
New build or established?
It affects what you can claim. Established homes can attract the duty relief but not the grant. New homes may attract both. Off-the-plan purchases have their own duty treatment as well, which sometimes produces a better outcome and sometimes does not, depending on how far along construction is when you sign.
That is a real decision with a real cost attached, and it is worth putting the numbers side by side before you choose rather than after.
Buying with someone else
Two decisions get made early and are hard to unwind: whose name goes on the title, and in what proportions. Joint tenants and tenants in common are not the same thing, and it matters for what happens if one of you dies or the relationship ends.
If one of you has owned property before, that conversation should happen before the contract, because it may change what the purchase costs you.
Frequently asked questions
Am I still a first home buyer if my partner has owned property before?
Usually not, for the purposes of Victorian duty relief. The tests generally look at everyone acquiring an interest in the property, and at spouses and domestic partners, so a partner's earlier ownership can disqualify the purchase even if you personally have never owned anything. There are limited exceptions. It is worth asking before you decide whose name goes on the contract, not after.
Does first home buyer relief apply if I rent it out first?
Generally no. Victorian first home buyer duty relief comes with a requirement to occupy the property as your principal place of residence within a set period after settlement, and to live there for a minimum period. Buying with the intention of renting it out first usually puts the relief out of reach, and claiming it and then not meeting the residence requirement can mean paying the duty back.
Can I buy my first home through a company or a trust?
You can, but it will almost always cost you the concessions. First home buyer relief and the grant are directed at individuals buying a home to live in. If someone has suggested a company or trust structure for a first home, get advice on what it costs you in duty relief before you commit — the structure may still be right, but you should know the price of it.
What is the difference between the duty relief and the grant?
They are two separate things administered by the State Revenue Office. The duty relief reduces or removes the land transfer duty on your purchase, and can apply to established homes. The First Home Owner Grant is a cash amount and is directed at new homes. You may qualify for one, both, or neither, and the tests are different. We check both.
What happens if the price is just over the threshold?
The relief tapers rather than stopping dead, so a purchase slightly above the full exemption point still attracts a reduced concession — up to a point, beyond which it ends. Where those points sit changes from time to time, so we calculate your position on the current rates rather than on what was true last year.
Do I need a lawyer, or can I just use the agent's recommended conveyancer?
Either can do the conveyance. The first home questions are where the difference shows up: whether the relief applies, how the names on the contract affect it, and whether a proposed structure would cost you the concession. Those are advice questions rather than conveyancing steps, and a licensed conveyancer cannot advise on them.
Related services
Tell us the price range and who is buying. That is usually enough for a straight answer.
Ask us what you qualify for