Stamp Duty VIC: Calculator, Rates & First Home Buyer Concessions (2026)

What is stamp duty in VIC?

Stamp duty in Victoria is officially called land transfer duty. It is a one-off state tax on the transfer of property, and for most buyers it is the biggest upfront government cost after the deposit itself.

The buyer pays it, not the seller, and it is usually settled at the same time as the property. It is charged on the dutiable value of the home, which is normally the purchase price (or the market value if that is higher). The State Revenue Office Victoria administers it. Because the rate climbs as the price climbs, the duty bill grows faster than the price does, which is why a small jump in purchase price can mean a much larger jump in duty.

VIC stamp duty: what you’ll actually pay

Here is what land transfer duty works out to across a range of common Victorian price points, both for a standard buyer and for an eligible first home buyer.

These are owner-occupier estimates and exclude any foreign purchaser surcharge. For an exact figure on your own purchase price, run it through the full stamp duty calculator.

How VIC stamp duty is calculated

Victoria uses a tiered, marginal scale. You do not pay a single flat rate on the whole price. Instead each band of the price is taxed at its own rate, and the duty is the fixed base for your band plus a marginal rate on the amount above that band’s floor. These are the standard owner-occupier brackets the calculator on this page uses.

Worked example on a $650,000 home: that price falls in the third band, so the duty is $2,870 plus 6% of the $520,000 above $130,000, which is $31,200. Add them together and you get $34,070, matching the standard-buyer figure in the table above.

First home buyers in VIC

Victoria gives first home buyers one of the more generous duty positions in the country, but only up to a hard ceiling.

• Up to $600,000: an eligible first home buyer pays $0 land transfer duty. The full exemption wipes the bill out entirely.
• $600,001 to $750,000: a sliding-scale concession applies, so you pay a reduced amount that grows as the price rises. On a $650,000 home that works out to roughly $11,357 instead of $34,070.
• Above $750,000: no first home buyer duty relief applies and you pay the standard rate in full.

Separately, a $10,000 First Home Owner Grant is available on new homes valued up to $750,000. That grant sits on top of any duty concession, so a first home buyer purchasing a new build under the cap can use both. For the full detail on the grant, eligibility and the wider scheme list, read our VIC first home buyer guide.

Foreign buyers and surcharges

Victoria charges an 8% foreign purchaser additional duty on residential property bought by foreign buyers. It sits on top of the standard land transfer duty, not instead of it, so a foreign buyer pays the normal scale plus 8% of the dutiable value. On a $700,000 home that surcharge alone adds $56,000 to the bill, which is why working out your residency status early matters. The standard-buyer figures in the table above do not include this surcharge.

When do you pay stamp duty in VIC?

Land transfer duty is generally paid at settlement, and Victoria requires it to be settled within roughly three months of the transaction. You will not usually deal with the State Revenue Office yourself. Your conveyancer or solicitor lodges the transfer and arranges payment of the duty as part of the settlement process, often through the electronic settlement platform. The practical point for budgeting is simple: the duty is due at settlement, so it needs to be in your funds-to-complete, separate from the deposit you paid at exchange.