First home buyer in Tasmania: no duty exemption, a $20,000 grant only

If you searched for first home buyer stamp duty relief in Tasmania and found an old article promising a full exemption, it is out of date. As at 2026, Tasmania has no property transfer duty concession or exemption for first home buyers of any kind. The one benefit that remains is a $20,000 First Home Owner Grant, and it only applies to a new home, not an established one. This guide sets out exactly what changed, what that means for your budget, and where the real savings sit.

Why there is no duty exemption right now

Between 18 February 2024 and 30 June 2026, a first home buyer purchasing an established home valued at $750,000 or less in Tasmania paid no property transfer duty at all, under a 100% exemption. Per the State Revenue Office Tasmania, that exemption "is not available for transactions settling after 30 June 2026," and it was not extended, replaced or renewed in the 2026-27 Tasmanian Budget. Eligibility turned on the settlement date, not the contract date, so even a contract signed before 30 June 2026 needed to settle by that date to qualify. A separate Off-the-Plan Apartment or Unit Duty Concession expired on the same date, also without extension.

The result, stated plainly: if you are buying now, there is no duty exemption or concession available to you as a first home buyer, whether the home is established or brand new, and whether you are buying a house or vacant land. Your property transfer duty is worked out on exactly the same scale as an investor's. This is a genuinely different position from Victoria or New South Wales, where a first home buyer duty saving still exists, so do not carry over an assumption from either state, or from an article you may have read before mid-2026.

What the old exemption used to cover

For context, and because a lot of published material about Tasmania online still describes the old scheme as current, the exemption that expired covered:

• A first home buyer purchasing an established home valued at $750,000 or less: full (100%) exemption from property transfer duty.
• Before that, from 7 February 2018, a 50% concession applied to homes at or under $600,000.
• A separate Off-the-Plan Apartment or Unit Duty Concession, which also ended 30 June 2026.

None of these apply to a settlement after 30 June 2026. If a source you are reading quotes any of these figures as current, check its date against the State Revenue Office Tasmania's own concessions and exemptions page before relying on it.

What a first home buyer actually pays: worked examples

Because there is no first home buyer concession, these figures are simply the standard property transfer duty scale, computed from the current State Revenue Office Tasmania rates (verified 15 July 2026), and they apply to a first home buyer exactly as they would to anyone else:

• $500,000 home: $18,248 in property transfer duty, first home buyer or not.
• $650,000 home: $24,623.
• $750,000 home: $28,935.

For the full rate scale and a calculator for your own price, see the stamp duty Tasmania guide.

The $20,000 First Home Owner Grant

Separate from duty is a cash grant, and this one is still available. The $20,000 First Home Owner Grant (new homes only) is paid by the State Revenue Office Tasmania to eligible first home buyers who buy or build a new home. Its conditions are: new home (never previously occupied or sold as a place of residence, including kit homes) purchased or built in Tasmania, for eligible transactions commencing between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027. Not available for established homes. The amount was a temporarily boosted $30,000 for transactions between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026.

The key distinction is new versus established, and it now matters more than it used to, because the duty exemption that once covered established homes as well is gone. An established home purchase gets neither the (expired) duty exemption nor the grant. A new home purchase can still get the $20,000 grant, even though it gets no duty saving either. Full conditions are on the State Revenue Office Tasmania First Home Owner Grant eligibility page.

Deposit and shared-equity schemes

Two of the most-asked-about first home buyer supports are federal, not part of Tasmania's own rules, so this guide does not quote their figures (income and property price caps change, and they are set nationally):

• The First Home Guarantee (the Australian Government low-deposit scheme) lets eligible buyers purchase with a smaller deposit without paying lenders mortgage insurance. Property price caps and eligibility are set federally and change, so check the current details at the official Australian Government first home buyers site.
• Shared-equity and super-saver schemes are likewise federal. The same official site is the authoritative source for what is available and the current caps.

Who counts as a first home buyer for the grant

The First Home Owner Grant has its own eligibility rules, broadly, per the State Revenue Office Tasmania:

• You must be a natural person aged 18 or over, and an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
• You (and any spouse or partner) must not have owned residential property in Australia before 1 July 2000, or owned and occupied residential property for more than 6 months in Australia after that date.
• You must not have received the grant previously.
• You must occupy the home as your principal residence for at least 6 continuous months within 12 months of completion.

Eligibility can turn on details this general guide cannot resolve for your situation, for example buying with a partner who has owned before. Confirm your own eligibility with the State Revenue Office Tasmania or your conveyancer before you sign.

How to claim the grant

The First Home Owner Grant is applied for through the State Revenue Office Tasmania, often via your lender at the same time as your loan application, or directly if you are not borrowing. Because property transfer duty is no longer discounted for first home buyers, your conveyancer's duty assessment at settlement will not include a first home buyer adjustment; budget for the full duty figure shown above, and treat the grant as a separate payment rather than something that offsets duty at settlement.

Conveyancing Explained provides general information about property transactions in Australia. It is not legal advice and does not create a client relationship. For advice on your situation, engage a licensed conveyancer, settlement agent, or property solicitor in your state or territory.