Late last year the Victorian government introduced stamp duty savings of up to 50% on properties priced (or at a market value of) up to AUD$1M. The waiver currently applies from Contracts dated on or after 25 November 2020 to 1 July 2021.
The stamp duty savings which currently apply are as follows:
- Buyers of newly built or off the plan homes save 50% of their stamp duty costs
- Buyers of established properties save 25% of their stamp duty costs
- The property must be valued at $1M or less
First Home Buyer’s benefit most of all, as they are entitled to receive the first home buyer stamp duty waiver up to $600K and then from $601K-$1M will receive the additional stamp duty discount.
Amending contract dates to get a discount
The discount on stamp duty is worth tens of thousands of dollars to individuals buying property and there are some less than ethical people who look to take advantage of this by amending their contract dates.
It should be noted that the State Revenue Office considers this to be fraud and are empowered to issue fines of up to $99K to the purchaser, vendor and their representatives (that’s $99K each!) if a contract date is improperly amended.
Buyers must ensure that they are signing their contract within the eligible time frames and must not attempt to amend or re-sign a contract fraudulently.
Stamp duty savings boost housing and construction
The discount is in place to provide support in a range of ways. The first way is to give the property market a boost after it was brought to a standstill in 2020 for several months. The real estate industry and property market accordingly was identified as needing a stimulus boost of its own.
Construction in Victoria also suffered during 2020. By encouraging buyers to build new, a range of different professions and industries will receive a fresh injection of cash. With the inclusion of the First Home Buyers Grant in metro and especially regional areas, HomeBuilder plus these stamp duty discounts – the funding all adds up and provides incredible incentives for Victorians to buy and build property.
If you’re looking to buy in 2021, be sure to have your property team ready to go. The market is hot and ensuring you have a pre-approval in place, your legal team on hand to review the contract quickly and your buyer’s advocate ready to negotiate will put you three steps ahead of the rest.