First Home Buyer Choice

If you are an eligible first home buyer in NSW, you now have a choice between paying stamp duty or a smaller annual property tax.

First Home Buyer Choice is making home ownership in NSW easier by providing first home buyers the option between paying a smaller annual property tax, instead of stamp duty.

If you're an eligible first home buyer looking for a property up to $1.5 million, First Home Buyer Choice can lower the upfront costs of your purchase and cut up to 2 years off the time needed to save for a deposit, fast tracking your way to a new home.

Existing stamp duty exemptions and concessions for first home buyers will continue to apply for eligible purchases of up to $800,000.

Use the First Home Buyer Choice calculator to help you compare the estimated property tax and stamp duty.

Find out if you're eligible

First Home Buyer Choice calculator

Purchased your first home after 11 November 2022?

First home buyers who have bought since 11 November 2022 can apply to opt into annual property tax and have their stamp duty payment refunded within 10 business days.

Apply now

The difference between stamp duty and annual property tax

Stamp duty

Stamp duty is an upfront payment, paid at the time of buying your home. It is calculated as a percentage of the property’s purchase price or current market value (whichever is higher). Stamp duty rates vary depending on the value of the property.

Annual Property Tax

Annual property tax payments are based on the land value of the purchased property. The property tax rates for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 will be:

$400 plus 0.3% of land value for properties whose owners live in them

$1500 plus 1.1% of land value for investment properties.

Learn more on Revenue NSW

Who's eligible?

To be an eligible first home buyer in NSW:

you must be an individual (not a company or trust)
you must be over 18 years old
you, or at least one person you’re buying with, must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
you or your spouse must not have previously owned or co-owned residential property in Australia, nor received a First Home Buyer Grant or duty concessions
the property you are buying must be worth less than or equal to $1.5 million
you must move into the property within 12 months of purchase and live in it continuously for at least 6 months
you must sign the contract of purchase on or after 11 November 2022.