NSW stamp duty exemptions and concessions cover first home buyers, partners, separating couples, inherited homes, family farms, SMSFs, charities and company restructures. Revenue NSW lists eight in all. None is automatic. Your solicitor or conveyancer applies for it with the transfer, and each has conditions.

NSW stamp duty exemptions and concessions at a glance
Situation What you pay The condition that matters most
First home buyer $0 up to $800,000 for a home ($350,000 for vacant land); reduced up to $1 million ($450,000 for land) Never owned residential property in Australia, and you move in
Spouse or de facto partner added to your home $0 Your home, equal shares afterwards, and de facto partners have lived together 2 continuous years
Separation or divorce $0 Transfer to either partner or a child under court orders, a binding financial agreement or a separation agreement
Inheriting under a will $100 The transfer follows the will, intestacy rules or court orders exactly
Farm land to a family member $0 A commercial primary production business runs on the land before and after
Your property into your SMSF $750 Held for you in the same proportions, and allowed under super law
Charities Exempt in some cases A charitable or benevolent organisation
Corporate reconstructions Reduced Corporate restructures on or after 1 February 2024

Do first home buyers pay stamp duty in NSW?

Not on a home up to $800,000, which saves $30,187 at that price. Between $800,000 and $1 million the duty tapers back in: $19,594 at $900,000 instead of $34,687. Above $1 million the full rate applies. The stamp duty calculator works out the concession at any price, and the first home buyer stamp duty guide covers who qualifies, buying with someone who has owned before, and the 12-month move-in rule.

Can you add your partner to the title without paying duty?

Yes, if the property is the home you live in together and you end up owning it in equal shares. A de facto partner must have lived with you for at least 2 continuous years before the transfer; Revenue NSW applies that strictly, even where other laws recognise a shorter relationship. A home office in one room still qualifies if the business mainly runs elsewhere. More business use than that gets a partial concession on the residential part only. A holiday home or an investment property does not qualify.

The saving is real. Moving half of a $1.2 million home into your partner’s name would otherwise be duty on a $600,000 share: $21,187. Adding them to the home loan is a separate step that needs the lender’s approval, sometimes a refinance. See adding your partner to your property title.

Do you pay stamp duty when you buy out your ex?

Usually not. Matrimonial or relationship property moved to either partner, or to a child of either of them, is exempt when the transfer is made under court orders, a binding financial agreement, an agreement made because of the separation, or a registered arbitration award. It covers investment property and land as well as the family home, and Revenue NSW’s own example exempts a de facto couple who were together only 8 months. It does not cover a sale to anyone else: if your share goes to a relative of your ex at market value, they pay full duty.

The duty is the easy part. Keeping the home means one income has to carry the whole loan at the lender’s test rate. See refinancing after separation.

Is there stamp duty on an inherited property?

Only $100, if the executor transfers the property to you exactly as the will, the intestacy rules or a court order sets out. Change the arrangement and duty returns on the difference. Revenue NSW’s example: two siblings each inherit half of a $500,000 home, and one buys the other out under a deed of family arrangement. The buyer pays ordinary duty on the extra half, about $6,807 on $250,000, worked on the higher of the price paid or a valuation. Funding that buyout is covered in using an inheritance to buy a home.

Can parents transfer a property to their children duty free?

No. There is no general family exemption in NSW. Duty is charged on the higher of the price and the market value, so a $1 million home given to a son or daughter for nothing still costs them $39,187. The one family transfer that is exempt is primary production land, between close relatives (parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and spouses) when a commercial farming business runs on it before and after. Hobby farms and transfers from a cousin are excluded. Help with a child’s purchase is usually cheaper as a gifted deposit or a family guarantee.

What do self-managed super funds pay?

$750 when you transfer property you own into your own SMSF and the fund holds it for you in the same proportions. Super law generally allows a member to transfer only business real property, such as the premises a business trades from, into their fund. Setting up or amending the trust deed carries no duty. Full duty applies when the fund buys from anyone else, or when you take the property back out on retirement. More in SMSF loans.

What documents prove an exemption?

  • Partners: a marriage or relationship certificate, or for de facto partners evidence of two years living together, such as bills in both names, joint bank statements or a lease.
  • Separations: the court orders, binding financial agreement or separation agreement.
  • Inheritances: the will, probate or letters of administration, and the executor’s transfer.
  • First home buyers: the Revenue NSW declaration your conveyancer prepares.

Questions people ask

Can you pay stamp duty in instalments in NSW?

Generally no. Transfer duty is due within three months of signing the contract, or at settlement if that comes first. The main exception is an off-the-plan home you will live in: you may be able to defer the duty for up to 12 months, until the earliest of 15 months after signing, settlement or assigning the contract, and at least one buyer must move in within 12 months of settlement and live there for 12 months. Investors, foreign buyers, trusts and companies cannot use it, and nor can vacant land on its own (Revenue NSW, updated 22 June 2026).

Are stamp duty exemptions automatic in NSW?

No. Your solicitor or conveyancer lodges the exemption or concession with the transfer, with evidence such as a marriage certificate, bills in both names or the court orders. Without it, the duty is assessed at the full rate.

Do pensioners get a stamp duty concession in NSW?

Revenue NSW’s list of transfer duty exemptions and concessions has no category for pensioners or seniors. An older buyer who has never owned a home can still use the first home buyer exemption.

Does the spouse exemption apply to an investment property?

No. It covers only the home you live in together, or vacant land you will build it on. An investment property moved between partners after a separation can be exempt under the relationship break-up rules instead.

Do foreign buyers get these exemptions?

A foreign spouse or partner can still owe surcharge purchaser duty even when the transfer is otherwise exempt. Beneficiaries who inherit exactly under a will do not pay it.

When an exemption changes how much cash you need at settlement, or a transfer means a new loan, Charles Touma works out the lending that fits it. A free 30-minute call covers your numbers. General information only, not legal, tax or credit advice. Duty rules change, and your solicitor or conveyancer confirms whether an exemption applies to your transfer.

Sources: Revenue NSW, transfer duty exemptions and concessions; Revenue NSW, transfers between spouses and de facto partners; Revenue NSW, marriage or relationship break-ups; Revenue NSW, deceased estate transfers; Revenue NSW, primary production land; Revenue NSW, self-managed super funds; Revenue NSW, First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme; Revenue NSW, transfer duty rates 2026-27, checked 27 October 2026.

General information only, not credit, legal or tax advice. Your situation is assessed properly before any recommendation. Government scheme details change; figures are current at the time of writing.