Stamp duty calculator

How stamp duty is worked out in WA

Transfer duty is charged on the dutiable value of the property, which is normally the contract price or the market value, whichever is higher. The rate is not a flat percentage. It steps up through bands, so the last dollar of a $900,000 purchase is taxed harder than the first.

Most residential purchases in WA are assessed on the general rate. There is no separate residential scale here the way there is in some other states. The general rate has applied unchanged since 2 July 2014.

Reading that as a worked example: a $650,000 purchase sits in the fourth band. You pay the fixed $11,115, plus $4.75 for each of the 2,900 hundreds between $360,000 and $650,000, which is $13,775. Together that is $24,890.

The first home owner rate of duty

First home buyers in WA pay no transfer duty at all on a home worth up to $600,000. Between $600,001 and $800,000 duty is charged at $16.15 for every $100 above $600,000, and above $800,000 the concession is not available and the general rate applies in full.

Vacant land has its own thresholds. Nothing is payable up to $450,000, then $20.14 per $100 up to a ceiling of $550,000.

These thresholds took effect on 7 May 2026 and they replaced a system that had different limits for the metropolitan and Peel regions than for the rest of the state. That split is gone. One set of numbers now applies everywhere in WA.

Who counts as a first home buyer

• Nobody named on the contract has held a relevant interest in residential property in Australia before
• You will move in as your principal place of residence, within the time RevenueWA allows
• At least one buyer is an Australian citizen or permanent resident
• The property is under the value ceiling for its type

The rules on prior ownership catch more people than expected. An investment property bought years ago and long since sold will usually disqualify you, and so will a share in a property you inherited. If you are unsure, check with RevenueWA before you sign rather than after.

The concessional rate, and who it actually helps

There is a third scale, the concessional rate, which applies where the property is your principal place of residence or a WA business asset and the whole property is worth $200,000 or less. It charges $1.50 per $100 up to $120,000, then $1,800 plus $4.04 per $100 above that.

At Perth prices this almost never comes up for a house. It matters for a small unit, a share in a property, or a business asset transfer, and the calculator applies it automatically when the numbers fit.

Above $200,000 the concessional rate simply stops. There is no taper, so a property at $200,100 is assessed on the general rate from the first dollar.

Foreign buyers duty

If a foreign person or entity is acquiring residential property in WA, an additional 7% of the dutiable value is payable on top of the transfer duty. On a $700,000 purchase that is another $49,000, which is more than double the ordinary duty.

It applies to the foreign person's share of the interest being acquired, so a couple where one partner is a foreign person is affected, not exempt. Everyone acquiring an interest in WA land completes a foreign buyers duty declaration as part of settlement.

Tick the box on the calculator and the surcharge is added to the estimate. If this applies to you, get advice on structure before you sign anything, because the surcharge is assessed on what is on the contract.

What the number does not include

The calculator estimates transfer duty and nothing else. Duty is the largest of the settlement costs, but it is not the only one, and people who budget for duty alone are the ones who end up short in the fortnight before settlement.

• Landgate transfer registration fee, which scales with the property value
• Mortgage registration fee, charged per mortgage lodged
• Settlement agent or conveyancer fees
• Building and pest inspection, and a strata report if it applies
• Lenders mortgage insurance where your deposit is under 20%
• Council rates, water rates and strata levies adjusted to the settlement date
• Loan application, valuation or settlement fees the lender charges

As a rough planning figure, allow for duty plus a few thousand dollars on top for the rest. We will give you a proper costed breakdown before you make an offer, so there are no surprises at settlement.

When duty is payable and how it is paid

Duty is assessed once the transaction is lodged with RevenueWA and it must be paid before the transfer can be registered. In practice your settlement agent handles the lodgement and the payment, and it comes out of the funds at settlement.

That timing matters for your deposit. Duty is a cash cost you cannot borrow against the property, so it has to be sitting in your account alongside the deposit, not funded by the loan.

There are exemptions and deferrals in specific cases, including transfers between spouses and some family farm transfers. They are narrow, they are assessed by RevenueWA, and they are worth asking about before you assume you do not qualify.