How Victorian Land Transfer Duty Works
Victoria's land transfer duty is administered by the State Revenue Office of Victoria and uses a different bracket structure to NSW — most notably a flat 5.5% band that runs across a wide swathe of metropolitan Melbourne price points, plus a 6.5% premium tier for transactions above $2 million.
Current bracket structure used by this calculator
For dutiable transactions of residential property by Australian buyers:
- Up to $25,000: 1.4%
- $25,001 – $130,000: $350 + 2.4% on excess
- $130,001 – $960,000: $2,870 + 6.0% on excess
- $960,001 – $2,000,000: flat 5.5% of the entire dutiable value (not marginal)
- Above $2,000,000: $110,000 + 6.5% on excess
The flat band between $960k and $2M is the unusual feature. Below $960k, duty is calculated cumulatively. At exactly $960,001, the calculation resets and duty becomes 5.5% of the whole value — creating a small "notch" where buying at $959,999 saves a few hundred dollars versus $961,000.
First Home Buyer Concessions
- Full exemption for principal-place-of-residence purchases up to $600,000
- Phase-in concession from $600,001 to $750,000
The phase-in formula: Duty payable = standard duty × (price − 600,000) / 150,000. So at $675,000 (midpoint), the buyer pays half the standard duty. At $749,000 they pay approximately 99.3% of standard duty. At $750,001, the concession disappears entirely.
The buyer must occupy the property as their PPR for a continuous 12 months commencing within 12 months of settlement.
Foreign Purchaser Additional Duty
Foreign purchasers of residential property pay an additional 8% surcharge on the dutiable value. Trusts with foreign beneficiaries are caught unless specifically excluded — a trap for family trusts that have not had their deeds reviewed.
Worked Example: $1,200,000 Melbourne Purchase
The price falls inside the flat 5.5% band, so the duty is simply:
$1,200,000 × 5.5% = $66,000
No marginal stacking, no incremental brackets. Compare to a $959,000 purchase, where standard duty would be $2,870 + 6.0% × $829,000 = $52,610 — a $959k house attracts $52,610 of duty, while a $960,001 house attracts $52,800 (5.5% of $960,001).
If the same $1.2M buyer were a first home buyer, they would receive no concession because the price exceeds the $750,000 cap.
If the buyer were a foreign person:
- Standard duty: $66,000
- Plus foreign surcharge: 8% × $1,200,000 = $96,000
- Total: $162,000 — 13.5% of the purchase price in transfer taxes alone.
Common Mistakes
- Assuming the 5.5% applies marginally. It does not. The whole price is taxed at 5.5% once you cross $960,000.
- Triggering the foreign-purchaser surcharge through trust structures. A discretionary trust with a single foreign-resident beneficiary in the class can be deemed a foreign trust. The SRO's foreign purchaser ruling DA-058 sets out the exclusion criteria.
- Misapplying the FHB phase-in formula. The formula multiplies standard duty by the fraction, not the price. Many online calculators get this wrong on the boundary.
- Confusing PPR concession with FHB concession. Victoria has a separate, smaller PPR concession for non-first-home owner-occupiers up to $550,000 — it stacks differently and is often missed.
- Forgetting off-the-plan concessions changed. From October 2024, Victoria introduced a temporary expanded off-the-plan concession with no price cap for a defined window. Check the SRO site for current eligibility before relying on a calculator's output.
Assumed vendor tax amounts from 17 August 2026
SRO public ruling DA-070 explains when a purchaser-paid amount towards a vendor's land tax, windfall gains tax or congestion levy can form part of the consideration used for duty. Most sales do not involve these amounts, so this calculator does not add them automatically. Read the Victorian assumed tax amounts update and have a qualified professional check the contract if it requires a separate vendor tax payment.