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Canberrans will get a further tax relief when buying off-the-plan under the territory’s latest expansion of its stamp duty concessions.
Previously capped at properties valued at up to $500,000, the ACT has announced it will extend its measures to relieve stamp duty for purchases on not-yet-constructed developments, expanding the tax-free threshold to $600,000.
The government estimates this has the potential to save buyers in the ACT up to $15,720 on their home purchases.
Buyers must be owner-occupiers and be purchasing either a unit-titled apartment or townhouse.
First introduced in July 2021, the duty-free threshold will be updated as of 1 April 2022 and will be assessed yearly for further concessions.
According to a statement from the government, the move is specifically designed to encourage the development of new properties below the duty threshold and is targeted largely at helping first home owners looking to get into the property market as well as downsizers relocating to homes that better suit their needs.
Legislators in Canberra are considering a range of other measures to address housing supply at the entry level of the market, including methods of attracting build-to-rent investments, community partnerships on below-market rental projects and improvements to public housing.
The Real Estate Institute of Australia (RIEA) has been a staunch advocate of reducing and eliminating stamp duty on Australian property purchases, recently reiterating the call to address the issue on a federal level in its budget wish list for 2022.
Hayden Groves, REIA president, has urged the government to create a national plan to phase out stamp duty, noting that the tax also exerts long-reaching impacts on the real estate industry at large.
“Stamp duty has made selling and buying a home prohibitive which has contributed to a long-term downward trend for listings,” he said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
