Who must pay NSW transfer duty on residential property acquisitions?

Variable transfer duty rates; foreign purchaser additional duty 9%.

Under the Duties Act 1997 (NSW), the purchaser or transferee of NSW property pays transfer duty each time dutiable property is acquired, unless an exemption applies. Duty is calculated on the dutiable value, being the higher of the agreed price and the market value, on a sliding scale that Revenue NSW indexes to CPI each year. For 2026-27 the general scale runs from $1.25 per $100 up to $52,237 plus $5.50 per $100 above $1,290,000; residential property above the $3,870,000 premium threshold pays $194,137 plus $7.00 per $100 above that threshold. Foreign persons buying residential-related property also pay surcharge purchaser duty at 9% of the dutiable value, at the same time. Eligible first home buyers pay no duty on a home valued at $800,000 or less, with reduced duty below $1 million.

Triggered by owning or buying land — the questionnaire does not ask about property holdings. The Rules Mate questionnaire does not treat this as an obligation for an ordinary business.

How the regulator frames it: Any purchaser or transferee acquiring dutiable property in NSW (a home, land, investment property or business asset), including companies and trusts. Sellers and transferors do not pay. Declaring or acknowledging a trust over NSW property, granting or transferring an option to purchase land, creating a life estate and foreclosing a mortgage can also attract duty.

What triggers it: Signing a contract for sale, agreeing to a transfer without a contract, or executing a deed that transfers or creates an interest in NSW property. The rate year is fixed by the contract date, or the transfer date where there is no contract.

Jurisdiction: New South Wales law only. A business with no operations in NSW is outside it, whatever the rest of the test says.

Outcome across the 35 industries Rules Mate maps (35 of 35: no).

The answer is the same in every industry: no. Industry does not change who must comply.

Structure does not change the answer across all industries: for every structure the answer is "no".

Size does not change the answer across all industries: at every size band the answer is "no".

Each line is one run of the Rules Mate applicability engine for a single business profile, with the reason the engine gives:

• Pty Ltd company in real estate agents with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: does not apply. Triggered by owning or buying land — the questionnaire does not ask about property holdings.

When due

By the earliest of settlement, or 3 months after signing the contract, the transfer agreement date or the deed date. Eligible off-the-plan purchases may defer payment by up to an additional 12 months.

Frequency

When a triggering event occurs

Evidence to keep

Duty assessment and payment receipt (usually lodged by the solicitor or conveyancer); evidence of dutiable value, including a formal valuation where there is no consideration, the parties are related, no selling agent was used or Revenue NSW is not satisfied the price reflects value; exemption or concession eligibility records (first home buyer, spouse or deceased estate transfers); foreign-person status declaration.

Status

Current

Priority

High

Maximum penalty: Revenue NSW charges daily interest at a variable rate on overdue duty, backdated to the due date, and may also impose penalty tax. NSW Land Registry Services will not register the transfer until all duty, interest and penalties are paid, and unpaid duty is recoverable as a debt, including by a charge on land or wind-up proceedings.

Rules Mate has not yet classified the audit or assurance level for this obligation. Any audit, review or certification requirement is set by the regulator source listed below.

If this obligation applies to you, so do these 5: the engine uses the same rule for each.

• Pay Victorian land tax (including absentee owner surcharge)
• Pay NSW land tax
• Pay Victorian stamp duty on residential property
• Pay Queensland land tax
• Pay QLD transfer duty on residential property

• Pay NSW payroll tax when threshold met: NSW: 5.45% on Australian wages above the $1.2 million tax-free threshold (FY2026-27).

Rules Mate tracks 37 published obligations tagged "tax", 6 of them rated critical. For a professional services Pty Ltd company with 6–19 employees operating in every state, 7 of those apply outright. This obligation is rated high priority, and is triggered by events.

Regulated by Revenue NSW.

Revenue NSW: NSW state taxes — payroll tax, land tax, stamp duty, fines.

• Revenue NSW

Free tools that help with this obligation:

• GST registration scope
• FBT calculator
• Compliance calendar builder