ACT Budget Lifts Home Buyer Income Cap to $250,000 in Major Stamp Duty Cut

Thousands more Canberrans will be able to buy a home without paying stamp duty after the ACT Government announced a significant expansion of its Home Buyer Concession Scheme ahead of the 2024–25 Territory Budget.

From 1 July 2024, the household income eligibility threshold rises from $170,000 to $250,000 a year, and eligible buyers will receive a full stamp duty concession on the first $1 million of a property’s value. The government estimates the change will save an eligible buyer about $34,000.

Who qualifies

The scheme is aimed at people who have not owned property for some time, rather than strictly at first home buyers. Under the revised rules, applicants must not have owned a property in the previous five years, a change from the previous two-year test. The income threshold also increases for each dependent child, by $4,600 per child, up from $3,330.

People experiencing family violence will be exempt from the prior-ownership requirement, recognising that some may need to leave a jointly owned home and start again.

Units, dual occupancies and downsizers

The package extends beyond the headline scheme. For 2024–25, the stamp duty concession for off-the-plan unit-titled apartments and townhouses will apply to properties valued at up to $1 million, up from $800,000. The RZ1 Unit Duty Exemption Scheme, which covers unit-titled dual occupancy homes built on suburban residential blocks, is also lifted to a $1 million valuation limit. That scheme runs from 27 November 2023 to 30 June 2026.

Older Canberrans looking to downsize also benefit. The Pensioner Duty Concession Scheme will provide a full concession on the first $1 million of value, up from a previous limit of $550,000, with a partial concession above that. The Disability Duty Concession Scheme moves to the same $1 million full concession, and a new Severe Disability Duty Exemption will begin on 1 July 2025 for people with a severe disability and their carers buying a principal residence.

Part of a long transition

The changes are the latest step in the ACT’s 20-year tax reform program, which began in 2012–13 and is shifting the Territory’s tax mix away from transaction taxes such as stamp duty towards a broad land tax base through general rates. ACT Treasury describes the program as broadly revenue neutral over time, with lost stamp duty revenue replaced by gradual increases in rates, delivered in five-year stages.

The government notes it has cut stamp duty in every ACT Budget since 2012, and describes the upfront cost of duty as a significant barrier to home ownership. Concessions such as the Home Buyer Concession Scheme direct relief to the people most affected by that cost, while the broader phase-out continues in the background.

Wider budget measures

The stamp duty changes form part of a broader housing and cost-of-living package in the 2024–25 Budget, handed down on 25 June. According to Smart Property Investment’s summary of the budget, it expands the Affordable Housing Project Fund to $80 million and continues the Rent Relief Fund, which can provide up to $2,500 towards four weeks’ rent for eligible renters. Utility concessions for low-income households rise to $800 a year.

What it means for buyers

• Eligible buyers pay no stamp duty on the first $1 million of a purchase from 1 July 2024.
• Household income must be under $250,000, plus $4,600 for each dependent child.
• Applicants must not have owned property in the previous five years, with an exemption for family violence victims.
• Off-the-plan unit and RZ1 dual occupancy concessions now reach $1 million in 2024–25.
• Pensioners downsizing receive a full concession on the first $1 million, up from $550,000.

Buyers weighing a purchase around the 1 July start date should confirm their eligibility with the ACT Revenue Office before exchanging contracts.