Which state has the lowest stamp duty?

It depends heavily on the property value and whether you're a first home buyer. Several states offer full stamp duty exemptions for first home buyers up to a price threshold, which can make them cheapest even if their standard rates are higher.

How accurate are these figures?

They're indicative estimates combining publicly available stamp duty, land tax and first home grant rules. Always confirm exact costs and eligibility with your state revenue office and a conveyancer before purchasing.

Why does land tax only show for investors?

Every Australian state exempts your principal place of residence from land tax, so it only becomes a real ongoing cost for investment properties, holiday homes or vacant land.

Can I get a first home owner grant on an established home?

No. Every first home owner grant in Australia is for new, off-the-plan or substantially renovated homes — no state pays a cash grant to the buyer of a previously occupied house. Established-home first home buyers are still often better off, because most states' duty exemptions and concessions do apply to established homes. That is why this tool asks which you are buying and only credits a grant against a new build.

Why is a state sometimes left out of the ranking?

Because a cost we know that jurisdiction charges is not priced here, so including it would flatter it against the others. The ACT is the current case for investors: it does levy land tax, but quarterly on Average Unimproved Value combined with general rates rather than an annual land-value scale, so it is flagged as not directly comparable instead of being shown as nil and crowned cheapest.

State Property Costs Comparator

Which state is cheapest to buy in? Compare stamp duty, land tax and first home grants side-by-side

Enter a property value and buyer type to see the total first-year cost across every Australian state and territory in one ranked table — combining stamp duty, any first home owner grant, and estimated annual land tax for investors.

Property Details

Compare stamp duty, land tax and first home grants across every state

Property Value ($)

Buyer Type

First home buyer includes grant eligibility; investor includes an estimated annual land tax (owner-occupied homes are exempt from land tax in every state).

Dwelling Type

Every first home owner grant in Australia is for new homes only, so an established home attracts duty concessions but no cash grant.

Cheapest State

Lowest total first-year cost for this property value

New South Wales

Most expensive

Northern Territory · $34,650

Difference

$34,650

Full state-by-state ranking below — grants depend on the specific property and your eligibility, so treat this as a starting point.

State-by-State Comparison

Ranked cheapest to most expensive by total first-year cost

State	Stamp Duty	First Home Grant	Total First-Year Cost
New South WalesCheapest	$0	-	$0
Queensland	$0	-	$0
Australian Capital Territory	$0	-	$0
Western Australia	$16,150	-	$16,150
Victoria	$24,713	-	$24,713
Tasmania	$26,748	-	$26,748
South Australia	$32,330	-	$32,330
Northern Territory	$34,650	-	$34,650

Relief not modelled

Queensland: Queensland's first home owner grant is for new homes only, so it is not included in this established-home comparison.
Western Australia: Western Australia's first home owner grant is for new homes only, so it is not included in this established-home comparison.
Victoria: Victoria's first home owner grant is for new homes only, so it is not included in this established-home comparison.
Tasmania: Tasmania's first home owner grant is for new homes only, so it is not included in this established-home comparison.
South Australia: South Australia's first home owner grant is for new homes only, so it is not included in this established-home comparison. South Australia's first home buyer stamp duty relief applies to new homes, off-the-plan apartments and vacant land only — an established home does not qualify. Because this calculator does not ask whether the home is new, the relief is not applied to the figure above.
Northern Territory: Northern Territory's first home owner grant is for new homes only, so it is not included in this established-home comparison. The Northern Territory has no general first home buyer duty concession. A House and Land Package Exemption applies to eligible house-and-land contracts signed between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2027, and is not modelled here.

How to Use This Calculator

1Enter the property value you're considering
2Select whether you're a first home buyer, owner-occupier or investor
3Say whether the home is established or a new build — every first home owner grant is new-homes-only, so this changes the answer
4See every state ranked from cheapest to most expensive total first-year cost

Why Compare Property Costs by State?

Stamp duty, first home owner grants and land tax all vary significantly by state — the same property value can cost tens of thousands of dollars more upfront depending on where it is.

This tool combines all three into one view so you can see the real total cost of buying, not just the headline stamp duty figure most calculators show in isolation.

What's Included

Stamp duty: The one-off transfer duty payable at settlement, including any first home buyer concession.
First home owner grant: A cash grant some states pay first home buyers, subject to price caps. Every one of these schemes is for new or substantially renovated homes only, so a grant is applied here only when you select a new build — an established home gets duty concessions but no cash.
Land tax (investors): An estimated annual land tax bill for investment properties, based on a typical land-value share of the total price. The Northern Territory levies none at all; the ACT does levy it, but on a quarterly rates-based formula this tool does not model, so the ACT is flagged rather than shown as nil.

How to Use This Comparison

•Switch between established and new build — it is the single input that most changes the ranking, because grants only exist for new homes
•Read the "relief not modelled" panel under the table before you act on the ranking: it lists every concession or cost this comparison leaves out
•If you're relocating for work, this can help weigh up the true cost difference between states
•Land tax is only shown for investors since every state exempts your home
•Use the individual stamp duty and land tax calculators for a deeper breakdown of any single state

Frequently Asked Questions

Official Sources

Estimates only. Not financial or tax advice. Full disclaimer for your rights and our limitations of liability.

About this calculator

This calculator exists to show you the arithmetic. It applies published Australian rates, thresholds and formulas to the numbers you enter and shows the working, so you can check it. That is all it does — it produces a number and describes what the number is. It does not recommend anything and it holds no opinion about any financial product.

What can move this result

It only knows the figures you type in. Offsets, deductions, prior-year losses, other income, your partner's position and anything you have not entered are not in the result, and any of them can move it a long way.
Rates and thresholds change, sometimes mid-year and occasionally with retrospective effect. Each calculator shows the financial year and the verification date it is working from — outside that year the result is wrong rather than approximate.
Assumptions are set to a reasonable default and every non-statutory one can be changed. Defaults are not predictions, and a small change to a growth or inflation assumption compounds into a large change in a long projection.
Where a result reaches two or more years into the future it is shown in today's dollars as well as future dollars, because a future-dollar figure overstates what the money will actually buy.
It is a generic calculator. It is not built around any particular product, it does not compare the market, and it cannot tell you whether a product is suitable for you.

This calculator is not intended to be relied on for the purposes of making a decision in relation to a financial product. Before you make a financial decision, consider obtaining advice from someone who holds an Australian Financial Services Licence. We do not, and we cannot advise you.

Related Tools

Stamp Duty Calculator

Calculate stamp duty costs for a single state in detail

Land Tax Calculator

Estimate annual land tax for an investment property

First Home Owner Grant

See grant amounts and eligibility by state

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State

Stamp Duty

First Home Grant

Total First-Year Cost

New South WalesCheapest

Queensland

Australian Capital Territory

Western Australia

$16,150

Victoria

$24,713

Tasmania

$26,748

South Australia

$32,330

Northern Territory

$34,650

Relief not modelled

Queensland: Queensland's first home owner grant is for new homes only, so it is not included in this established-home comparison.

Western Australia: Western Australia's first home owner grant is for new homes only, so it is not included in this established-home comparison.

Victoria: Victoria's first home owner grant is for new homes only, so it is not included in this established-home comparison.

Tasmania: Tasmania's first home owner grant is for new homes only, so it is not included in this established-home comparison.

South Australia: South Australia's first home owner grant is for new homes only, so it is not included in this established-home comparison. South Australia's first home buyer stamp duty relief applies to new homes, off-the-plan apartments and vacant land only — an established home does not qualify. Because this calculator does not ask whether the home is new, the relief is not applied to the figure above.

Northern Territory: Northern Territory's first home owner grant is for new homes only, so it is not included in this established-home comparison. The Northern Territory has no general first home buyer duty concession. A House and Land Package Exemption applies to eligible house-and-land contracts signed between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2027, and is not modelled here.

About this calculator

What can move this result

It only knows the figures you type in. Offsets, deductions, prior-year losses, other income, your partner's position and anything you have not entered are not in the result, and any of them can move it a long way.
Rates and thresholds change, sometimes mid-year and occasionally with retrospective effect. Each calculator shows the financial year and the verification date it is working from — outside that year the result is wrong rather than approximate.
Assumptions are set to a reasonable default and every non-statutory one can be changed. Defaults are not predictions, and a small change to a growth or inflation assumption compounds into a large change in a long projection.
Where a result reaches two or more years into the future it is shown in today's dollars as well as future dollars, because a future-dollar figure overstates what the money will actually buy.
It is a generic calculator. It is not built around any particular product, it does not compare the market, and it cannot tell you whether a product is suitable for you.