Victoria Property Tax Changes Now Law: What Buyers and Home Builders Need to Know

Short summary

Victoria's Building Legislation and Treasury Legislation (Tax Relief) Amendment Act 2026 is now law. It received Royal Assent on 23 June 2026, and the State Revenue Office published its updated explanation on 8 July.

For property owners and buyers, the practical changes are:

• revised land tax rules from 1 January 2027 for a principal place of residence under construction or renovation,
• an extension of the temporary off-the-plan duty concession to eligible contracts entered into before 21 April 2027,
• a deferral of the planned increase to the emergency services fixed charge for non-principal-place-of-residence residential land.

These changes affect exemptions and contract-specific concessions. They do not change Victoria's ordinary land tax rates or general transfer duty brackets.

Use the Victorian Land Tax Calculator for an ordinary taxable-land estimate and the Victorian Stamp Duty Calculator for a general duty estimate. Neither calculator determines whether a specific exemption or off-the-plan construction-cost deduction applies.

What changed for a home under construction or renovation

From 1 January 2027, Victoria's principal place of residence land tax rules will give owners more flexibility when they are building or renovating the home they intend to occupy.

The Act allows the exemption to apply where works start and finish in the same calendar year but the home is still unoccupied on 31 December. It also allows an owner to nominate a planning-permit or building-permit date as the works start date, subject to SRO evidence and acceptance.

The SRO says the four-year limit for the qualifying occupation date is removed from 1 January 2027. For work taking longer than four years, that date can instead be six months after the work finishes.

There is an important limitation. The same SRO guidance still describes the exemption period as up to four tax years, requires owners to notify the SRO if work is incomplete after four years, and retains revocation wording for unfinished work. Owners with a long project should not assume the exemption becomes unlimited. Ask the SRO to confirm how the amended occupation deadline and exemption period apply to the actual timeline.

Joint owners have a shorter overlap period

The Act also changes the treatment of a joint owner who leaves a former principal place of residence and begins building or renovating a new one elsewhere.

The former-home exemption for the departing joint owner will be available for a maximum of one further year rather than two. This starts from 1 January 2027 with the other construction and renovation amendments.

That can matter after separation, a staged family move or a joint purchase where one owner moves before the other. The land tax calculator cannot determine which owner qualifies for an exemption.

Off-the-plan concession extended through 20 April 2027

The temporary Victorian off-the-plan duty concession has been extended by six months. Eligible contracts must be entered into on or after 21 October 2024 and before 21 April 2027. In plain date terms, the last eligible contract date is 20 April 2027.

The temporary concession applies to eligible residential lots in strata subdivisions with common property, such as apartments, units and some townhouses with a shared driveway. The SRO says it is available to all purchasers, including investors, companies and trusts, and has no property-value threshold.

It does not apply to a house-and-land package that is not part of a strata subdivision with common property.

The concession reduces the dutiable value by eligible construction costs incurred on or after the contract date. A representative usually claims it through Duties Online using information supplied by the vendor, including construction progress.

Foreign purchaser additional duty is different. The SRO says that surcharge is calculated on the dutiable value before the off-the-plan concession is applied.

Read the detailed Victoria off-the-plan stamp duty concession guide before comparing the base duty estimate with a conveyancer's contract-specific calculation.

Worked example: why the calculator may show a higher figure

Assume a buyer signs an eligible contract for a $1 million apartment before construction begins. The vendor identifies $400,000 of qualifying post-contract construction costs.

The general Victorian Stamp Duty Calculator uses the property value entered. It does not know the vendor's qualifying construction-cost figure, so it cannot reproduce the concession automatically.

This is not a formula error. The missing input is contract-specific and usually comes from the vendor's Digital Duties Form. Treat the calculator result as a base estimate, not the final assessment for an eligible off-the-plan contract.

Emergency services fixed-charge increase deferred

The Act defers the increase to the fixed emergency services and volunteers fund charge for non-principal-place-of-residence residential land. The increase had been set to start on 1 July 2026.

The new commencement date has not been fixed. It will be a date declared by the Victorian Treasurer in the Government Gazette.

The Act also expands the volunteer rebate and relief for Homes Victoria and community housing organisations. Some of those changes also depend on a Treasurer-declared commencement date, so they should not be treated as active for every current assessment without checking the latest SRO notice.

What this means for the site's calculators

No ordinary Victorian land tax rate or transfer duty bracket changed in this Act.

• The Victorian Land Tax Calculator remains useful for taxable land, but it cannot decide whether a PPR construction exemption applies.
• The Victorian Stamp Duty Calculator remains a general estimate, but it does not model the off-the-plan construction-cost deduction.
• The Property Purchase Cost Calculator should be used as a base budget. Replace the duty figure with a verified contract-specific assessment where an off-the-plan concession may apply.

What remains uncertain

The SRO's updated construction-exemption page contains wording that needs careful application when work extends past four years. The qualifying occupation date rule has changed, but separate four-year exemption, notification and revocation wording remains on the page.

The emergency services fixed-charge increase also has no declared start date yet.

Check the latest SRO guidance and obtain advice from a conveyancer, solicitor or tax professional for a specific property or ownership arrangement.

Sources

• State Revenue Office Victoria: Building Legislation and Treasury Legislation (Tax Relief) Amendment Act 2026, published 8 July 2026 and updated 9 July 2026. Checked 11 July 2026.
• Victorian legislation record: Act 22/2026, confirming Royal Assent on 23 June 2026. Checked 11 July 2026.
• SRO Victoria: temporary off-the-plan duty concession, checked 11 July 2026.
• SRO Victoria: exemption for construction or renovation of a principal place of residence, updated 9 July 2026 and checked 11 July 2026.

General information disclaimer

This article is general information only. It is not tax advice, legal advice, a duty assessment, a land tax ruling or an eligibility determination. Exemptions and concessions depend on ownership, use, contract timing, property structure, evidence and SRO assessment. Check the relevant SRO guidance and speak with a licensed professional before relying on an estimate.