Stamp duty in the ACT: how conveyance duty works

In the ACT, stamp duty is officially called conveyance duty, and most people searching still call it "stamp duty ACT". It is paid by the buyer to the ACT Revenue Office, and unlike a fixed tax it changes almost every year, because the ACT is 6 years into a 20-year plan to phase duty down and replace it with general rates. What you pay depends on the price, whether you will live in the home, and whether you qualify for the Home Buyer Concession Scheme. This guide sets out both current rate tables, a calculator, and the scheme that now removes duty entirely for many buyers.

What conveyance duty is

Conveyance duty is a territory tax on the transfer of property, administered by the ACT Revenue Office. Most people call it stamp duty, and the two terms mean the same tax. It applies whether you buy a house, a unit or vacant land, and is calculated on the greater of the contract price or the property's market value.

The ACT charges two different base rates depending on how you will use the property. An eligible owner-occupier transaction, where at least one buyer will live in the home continuously for at least a year, gets a lower rate. Everyone else, including investors, pays the higher standard rate. Both tables are set out below, and both change almost every financial year, since the ACT reduces its duty rates a little further each year as part of a longer-term plan to shift revenue onto general rates instead.

Who pays conveyance duty and when

The buyer pays conveyance duty, not the seller. You (and your agent) have 14 days after signing to lodge the transfer for title registration with Access Canberra, and duty is assessed and paid as part of that lodgement. Your solicitor handles this, along with declaring your land use and, if you qualify, claiming the eligible owner-occupier rate or the Home Buyer Concession Scheme.

ACT conveyance duty calculator

Enter your purchase price and buyer type for an indicative amount. Choose "Owner-occupier (principal place of residence)" to see the eligible owner-occupier rate (Table 1), or a first home buyer option to see the Home Buyer Concession Scheme exemption applied.

Standard rates sourced from the ACT Revenue Office non-commercial property rates, verified live 15 July 2026. Choose "Owner-occupier (principal place of residence)" as the buyer type above to see the eligible owner-occupier rate (Table 1); the Table 1 figures are also set out in full further down this page. Estimate only, not a formal assessment. Use the official ACT Revenue Office calculator for a precise figure.

Standard rate table (Table 2)

The standard rate applies to investors, to anyone buying a property they will not live in, and to any owner-occupier who does not meet the eligible owner-occupier test below. It applies to transactions on or after 1 July 2025, and was still the current table when re-checked live on 15 July 2026.

Source: ACT Revenue Office, non-commercial property rates, Table 2, verified live 15 July 2026. Above $1,455,000, duty is a flat 4.54% of the whole transaction value, not just the amount over that threshold.

Eligible owner-occupier rate table (Table 1)

An eligible owner-occupier transaction gets a lower rate on the same price bands. To qualify, at least one buyer must own and live in the home continuously for at least one year, starting within 12 months of settlement or of a certificate of occupancy being issued. This is a broader test than the Home Buyer Concession Scheme below: you do not need to be a first home buyer to get this rate, only to genuinely live in the property.

Source: ACT Revenue Office, non-commercial property rates, Table 1, verified live 15 July 2026. Not yet available in the calculator above; use this table directly, or ask your solicitor to enter concession code 406 on your Buyer Verification Declaration if you qualify.

At $500,000, the eligible owner-occupier rate is $8,408, compared with $11,400 at the standard rate, a saving of $2,992. This concession applies regardless of whether you have owned property before; it is about living in the home, not about being a first home buyer.

The Home Buyer Concession Scheme: $0 duty from 1 July 2026

Separate from, and more generous than, the owner-occupier rate above, the Home Buyer Concession Scheme (HBCS) removes conveyance duty entirely for eligible buyers. From 1 July 2026, the ACT Government abolished both the property price cap and the income threshold that previously limited the scheme, making the ACT the first Australian jurisdiction to offer a full, uncapped duty exemption to eligible buyers.

• No conveyance duty at all, on a home of any value, if you are eligible.
• No property price cap, removed from 1 July 2026 (previously capped around $1,020,000).
• No income test, also removed from 1 July 2026.
• Eligibility is not limited to literal first home buyers: you (and your domestic partner) must not have owned or held an interest in any property, in the ACT or elsewhere, in the last 5 years, and at least one buyer must live in the home continuously for at least a year, starting within 12 months of settlement.

A buyer at $650,000 who qualifies pays $0 in duty, against $17,880 at the standard rate. Because there is no price cap, a qualifying buyer at $1,500,000 also pays $0, a saving many buyers in other states cannot get at that price point. Full eligibility detail and more worked examples are in the first home buyer ACT guide.

Pensioner, NDIS and other concessions

The 2026-27 ACT Budget also expanded duty exemptions for pensioners, eligible NDIS participants, and buyers of new unit-titled and turn-key properties bought by owner-occupiers. This guide does not set out their specific thresholds, because eligibility rules for these narrower concessions change and turn on individual circumstances; check current details directly with the ACT Revenue Office before relying on them.

Worked examples

Each figure below is computed from the rate tables above, re-checked live on 15 July 2026:

• Standard buyer at $650,000: $17,880 at the standard rate.
• Eligible owner-occupier at $500,000: $8,408, versus $11,400 at the standard rate, a saving of $2,992.
• Home Buyer Concession Scheme, any eligible buyer, any price: nil. There is no price at which duty becomes payable again for an eligible buyer, since the cap was removed from 1 July 2026.
• Standard buyer at $850,000: $28,100.
• Standard buyer at $1,000,000: $36,950.

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.