ACT Stamp Duty (Conveyance Duty) Calculator 2026-27
Calculate conveyance duty (stamp duty) on property purchases in the Australian Capital Territory. Uses the ACT Revenue Office's separate owner-occupier and non-owner-occupier scales, the Home Buyer Concession Scheme, and a full upfront cost breakdown.
About to make an offer? Know the government costs before you sign.
ACT conveyance duty varies by purchase price and buyer type. Use calculator for exact figure.
Select the question that matches where you are right now.
Your result is the ACT conveyance duty on the dutiable value you entered — the greater of the purchase price and the property's unencumbered market value — worked out on the ACT Revenue Office scale that matches your buyer type.
Treat it as the cash you need at settlement on top of your deposit. Switch buyer type between eligible owner-occupier, investor and first home buyer to see how much the ACT concessions are worth to you.
Not an assessment. The ACT Revenue Office issues the binding figure in your Notice of Assessment after the transfer is registered, and it can differ if the market value exceeds the price you paid.
Built from the published 2026-27 ACT non-commercial conveyance duty scales, charged per $100 or part thereof. All processing runs in your browser — the calculator code does not submit your figures to GlobalCalc to obtain a result.
ACT duty turns on three things: the dutiable value, whether you will live in the property, and whether you qualify for one of the territory's exemptions.
The eligible owner-occupier scale starts at $0.28 per $100; every other buyer starts at $1.20 per $100. Across the mid-market that gap is a flat $2,992 — for example $17,048 versus $20,040 on a $700,000 home.
Above $1,455,000 both scales stop and a flat $4.54 per $100 applies to the whole dutiable value, not just the excess. Owner-occupiers lose their concessional scale entirely at that point.
The Home Buyer Concession Scheme and the off-the-plan unit exemption both take duty to zero. Since 1 July 2026 neither has a property price cap, so eligibility — not price — is what decides your figure.
Conveyance duty is not negotiable, but ACT law offers several routes to reduce or remove it. Check each before you exchange contracts.
You do not have to be a literal first-time buyer — you need to have held no property interest in the past five years. Plenty of people who once owned and then rented for years qualify again.
Eligible owner-occupiers buying an off-the-plan unit-titled home pay no duty at all, with the value cap removed from 1 July 2026. That is a common downsizer route in Canberra.
The ACT also runs pensioner and Disability Duty Concession Scheme relief, plus deferred duty arrangements. Your conveyancer applies these when the transfer is lodged.
Duty is one line in your settlement figure. Use the related calculators to model the rest before you commit.
Confirm how much a lender would approve based on your income, debts, and expenses.
Borrowing capacity →Duty scales differ sharply across Australia. See what the same purchase would cost across the border in NSW.
NSW stamp duty →See the monthly, fortnightly, and weekly repayment at different rates and terms.
Mortgage repayment →How ACT conveyance (stamp) duty is calculated
Two scales, not one
The ACT charges conveyance duty on the dutiable value of a property — the greater of the price you pay and its unencumbered market value. Unlike most states, since 1 July 2021 the ACT runs two base scales for non-commercial (residential and rural) property: a concessional one for eligible owner-occupier transactions, and a higher one for everyone else. Duty is charged per $100 or part thereof, so the dutiable value is effectively rounded up to the next $100.
The flat rate above $1,455,000
Above a dutiable value of $1,455,000 both progressive scales stop. A flat rate of $4.54 per $100 then applies to the whole transaction value, not just the amount over the threshold — and the owner-occupier concession disappears, so both buyer types pay the same.
| Property value | Eligible owner-occupier | Investor / non-owner-occupier |
|---|---|---|
| $400,000 | $5,008 | $8,000 |
| $600,000 | $12,728 | $15,720 |
| $800,000 | $22,158 | $25,150 |
| $1,000,000 | $33,958 | $36,950 |
| $1,500,000 | $68,100 | $68,100 |
| $2,000,000 | $90,800 | $90,800 |
Eligible first home buyers pay nothing at every one of those price points — see the Home Buyer Concession Scheme below.
When you actually pay
The ACT uses a barrier-free conveyancing model: you do not pay at exchange. After settlement, once the transfer is registered with Access Canberra, the ACT Revenue Office emails you and your representative a Notice of Assessment, and duty is due 14 days after that. Interest applies to late payment.
ACT Home Buyer Concession Scheme (HBCS) — no duty for eligible buyers
No price cap, no income test
The Home Buyer Concession Scheme is the ACT's replacement for a first home buyer grant. From 1 July 2026 the ACT Budget removed both the property value cap and the household income threshold from the scheme. Eligible buyers now pay no conveyance duty at all on an ACT home or block of vacant residential land, whatever it costs — the first Australian jurisdiction to go that far. In 2025-26 the same scheme was capped at a dutiable value of $1,020,000 with an income test attached.
Eligibility requirements
The remaining conditions are unchanged. Every buyer must be an individual aged 18 or over. Neither you nor your domestic partner may have held an interest in any property in the five years before the transaction (limited exceptions apply) — so you do not have to be a literal first-time buyer, just out of the market for five years. At least one buyer must live in the home as their principal place of residence for at least 12 continuous months, starting within one year of settlement.
What it is worth
| Purchase price | Owner-occupier duty | First home buyer under HBCS |
|---|---|---|
| $600,000 | $12,728 | $0 — saves $12,728 |
| $800,000 | $22,158 | $0 — saves $22,158 |
| $1,000,000 | $33,958 | $0 — saves $33,958 |
| $1,500,000 | $68,100 | $0 — saves $68,100 |
There is no ACT First Home Owner Grant
The ACT First Home Owner Grant ceased for transactions commencing on or after 1 July 2019, when the Home Buyer Concession Scheme replaced it. There is no cash grant in the ACT — all of the assistance now comes as duty relief. Do not budget for one.
Off-the-plan unit exemption
Separately, eligible owner-occupiers buying an off-the-plan unit-titled home (an apartment or townhouse) pay no conveyance duty. The property value cap on that exemption was also removed from 1 July 2026. As with the HBCS, at least one buyer must live in the home for a continuous year, starting within 12 months of completion.
ACT tax reform — conveyance duty is being replaced by general rates
A 20-year swap, not a choice
The ACT is the only Australian jurisdiction actively abolishing stamp duty. Its 20-year tax reform program began in 2012 and is scheduled to finish by 2032-33: conveyance duty rates come down a little each year, and the revenue is replaced by higher general rates levied annually on every property's average unimproved value.
This is a territory-wide phase-out, not an opt-in. There is no ACT equivalent of the NSW "First Home Buyer Choice" annual property tax that some buyers elect instead of duty — in the ACT you cannot choose to swap your duty bill for an annual charge. You pay whatever duty the current scale produces, and everyone pays general rates regardless.
Where the program has got to
The 2026-27 ACT Budget delivered what the government describes as the most material conveyance duty reform of the program: first home buyer duty abolished outright, the off-the-plan unit exemption uncapped, expanded pensioner and Disability Duty Concession Scheme relief, and the commercial duty tax-free threshold lifted by $100,000 to $2.1 million. Rates revenue growth above the wage price index is what funds it.
What it means for you
Two practical consequences. First, the duty figure on this page is a moving target — the scale is revisited each ACT Budget, so re-check before you exchange. Second, the annual general rates bill on an ACT property is materially higher than in surrounding NSW, because it is carrying the duty the ACT no longer collects. Factor that into your holding costs, not just your settlement figure. Independent reviews have questioned whether rates growth is on track to fund full abolition by 2032-33.
Foreign buyers in the ACT — no duty surcharge
There is no ACT foreign purchaser duty surcharge
The ACT and the Northern Territory are the only Australian jurisdictions that do not levy a foreign purchaser surcharge on conveyance duty. A foreign buyer of an $800,000 Canberra home pays the same duty as anyone else on the same scale — there is no ACT equivalent of the 8% charged in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, or the 7% in South Australia and Western Australia.
What the ACT charges instead
The ACT took the annual route rather than the upfront one. A foreign person who owns residential land in the ACT pays a foreign ownership land tax surcharge of 0.75% of the property's average unimproved value (AUV) each year, in place since 1 July 2018. It sits on top of ordinary land tax, which itself applies when a property is not your own home. If you are a foreign person and the ACT property is your principal place of residence, the surcharge does not apply.
Who is a foreign person?
Broadly, a non-citizen without permanent residency, plus most foreign corporations and trustees of foreign trusts. Australian citizens living overseas are not foreign persons, and permanent residents are not either. Where one party to a joint purchase is a foreign person, the annual land tax surcharge attaches to that person's interest.
FIRB approval still applies
None of this removes the federal layer. Most foreign persons still need Foreign Investment Review Board approval before buying residential property anywhere in Australia, including the ACT, and Commonwealth application fees and vacancy fees apply separately from anything the ACT charges.
ACT conveyance duty rate table 2026-27
ACT conveyance duty on non-commercial (residential and rural) property is charged progressively — each rate applies only to the part of the dutiable value inside that band, per $100 or part thereof. There are two scales.
Eligible owner-occupier transactions
| Dutiable value | Duty payable |
|---|---|
| $0–$260,000 | $0.28 per $100 |
| $260,001–$300,000 | $728 + $2.20 per $100 over $260,000 |
| $300,001–$500,000 | $1,608 + $3.40 per $100 over $300,000 |
| $500,001–$750,000 | $8,408 + $4.32 per $100 over $500,000 |
| $750,001–$1,000,000 | $19,208 + $5.90 per $100 over $750,000 |
| $1,000,001–$1,455,000 | $33,958 + $6.40 per $100 over $1,000,000 |
| Above $1,455,000 | Flat $4.54 per $100 of the whole value |
All other buyers (non-owner-occupier)
| Dutiable value | Duty payable |
|---|---|
| $0–$200,000 | $1.20 per $100 |
| $200,001–$300,000 | $2,400 + $2.20 per $100 over $200,000 |
| $300,001–$500,000 | $4,600 + $3.40 per $100 over $300,000 |
| $500,001–$750,000 | $11,400 + $4.32 per $100 over $500,000 |
| $750,001–$1,000,000 | $22,200 + $5.90 per $100 over $750,000 |
| $1,000,001–$1,455,000 | $36,950 + $6.40 per $100 over $1,000,000 |
| Above $1,455,000 | Flat $4.54 per $100 of the whole value |
Commercial property is assessed separately: from 1 July 2026 a commercial transaction with a dutiable value of $2,100,000 or less pays no conveyance duty at all.
Frequently asked Frequently asked questions
How much is conveyance duty on a $700,000 home in the ACT?
An eligible owner-occupier pays $17,048 conveyance duty on a $700,000 ACT home. A non-owner-occupier (investor) pays $20,040 at the same price, because the ACT applies a separate, higher scale to buyers who will not live in the property. An eligible first home buyer pays nothing under the Home Buyer Concession Scheme.
Do first home buyers pay stamp duty in the ACT?
No. From 1 July 2026 the ACT removed both the property price cap and the income threshold from the Home Buyer Concession Scheme, so eligible buyers pay $0 conveyance duty on an ACT home or vacant residential land at any value. You must be 18 or over, you and your domestic partner must not have held an interest in property in the past five years, and at least one buyer must live in the home for 12 continuous months starting within a year of settlement.
Does the ACT charge a foreign buyer stamp duty surcharge?
No. The ACT and the Northern Territory are the only Australian jurisdictions with no foreign purchaser conveyance duty surcharge — there is no equivalent of the 8% charged in NSW, Victoria and Queensland. Foreign owners of ACT residential land instead pay an annual land tax foreign ownership surcharge of 0.75% of the average unimproved value, which has applied since 1 July 2018 and does not apply to a home you live in yourself. FIRB approval is still required.
Is ACT conveyance duty different for investors and owner-occupiers?
Yes. Since 1 July 2021 the ACT has run two base scales for non-commercial property. The eligible owner-occupier scale starts at $0.28 per $100 up to $260,000; every other buyer starts at $1.20 per $100 up to $200,000. The two scales converge above $1,455,000, where a flat rate of $4.54 per $100 applies to the whole dutiable value for everyone.
When is conveyance duty paid in the ACT?
Under the ACT's barrier-free conveyancing model you pay after settlement rather than at exchange. Once the transfer is registered with Access Canberra, the ACT Revenue Office emails you and your representative a Notice of Assessment, and duty is due 14 days later. Interest applies to late payment.
Is there a First Home Owner Grant in the ACT?
No. The ACT First Home Owner Grant ceased for transactions commencing on or after 1 July 2019 and was replaced by the Home Buyer Concession Scheme. There is no ACT cash grant for first home buyers — the assistance now comes entirely as a conveyance duty exemption.
Where these figures come from
Every duty figure on this page comes from the ACT Revenue Office, the territory's revenue authority for conveyance duty and land tax. Federal foreign-investment rules come from the Foreign Investment Review Board.
- Conveyance duty rate scales — ACT Revenue Office — Conveyance duty for non-commercial property.
- How duty works and when it is paid — ACT Revenue Office — About conveyance duty.
- Home Buyer Concession Scheme — ACT Revenue Office — About the Home Buyer Concession Scheme.
- Home buyer assistance (incl. the abolished First Home Owner Grant) — ACT Revenue Office — Home buyer assistance.
- 1 July 2026 changes — ACT Revenue Office — ACT Budget 2026-27 updates.
- Foreign ownership land tax surcharge — ACT Revenue Office — Foreign ownership surcharge for land tax.
- Foreign investment approval — Foreign Investment Review Board.
Last checked: July 2026, against the 2026-27 ACT Budget measures that commenced on 1 July 2026. ACT conveyance duty scales are revisited at each ACT Budget, usually handed down in June, so re-check before you exchange contracts.