Queensland first home owner grant and stamp duty
Last checked
As at Next checkQueensland helps first home buyers with a grant for new homes and lower stamp duty (called transfer duty in Queensland).
Changed in 2026: the State Budget 2026 continued the $30,000 grant from 1 July 2026.[3] From 1 August 2026, home duty concessions are limited to citizens, permanent residents and specified foreign retirees.[5]
- Grant: $30,000, new homes only
- New home value: under $750,000
- Stamp duty on a new home: none (contracts from 1 May 2025)
- Stamp duty on an existing home: none up to $700,000, less under $800,000
The Queensland grant now
The grant is $30,000 for contracts signed on or after 20 November 2023. It was $15,000 before that. The Queensland Government continued it for contracts signed from 1 July 2026.[1][3] It is only for a new home: one that has not been occupied or sold as a place of residence before. The value, including the land and any contract variations, must be less than $750,000, so a home valued at exactly $750,000 does not qualify.[1]
You must move into the home within 1 year of the completed transaction. You must then live there as your main home (your "principal place of residence") continuously for 6 months. At least one applicant must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.[1]
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| First home owner grant # | $30,000, new homes only, value under $750,000 | [1][3] |
| Transfer duty: new home # | No duty and no value cap, for contracts dated 1 May 2025 or later | [4] |
| Transfer duty: existing home # | No duty up to $700,000; a partial concession under $800,000; saves up to $24,525 | [5] |
| Transfer duty: vacant land to build on # | No duty on residential vacant land (contracts from 1 May 2025); build and move in within 2 years of settlement | [6] |
| Living in the home # | Grant: move in within 1 year and stay 6 months. Duty concessions on a home: move in within 1 year of settlement | [1][5] |
| Who can claim the duty concessions # | From 1 August 2026: Australian citizens, permanent residents and specified foreign retirees | [5] |
Queensland stamp (transfer) duty for first home buyers
Queensland has three separate first home duty concessions, and which one applies depends on what you buy.
- A new home: for a contract dated 1 May 2025 or later, the first home (new home) concession reduces duty to nil. There is no value cap on the home and the residential land that goes with it.[4]
- An existing home: for agreements from 9 June 2024, a home valued at $700,000 or under pays no duty. Between $700,001 and $799,999 a partial concession applies, and from $800,000 only the general home concession is left. The Queensland Revenue Office puts the largest saving at $24,525.[5]
- Vacant land to build on: from 1 May 2025, no duty is payable on residential vacant land. You must build, move in and live there within 2 years of settlement.[6]
For the two home concessions you must move in within 1 year of settlement, and that time cannot be extended. From 1 August 2026, every buyer claiming a home concession must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or specified foreign retiree.[5]
To estimate the duty on a particular price, use the Queensland Revenue Office's official Transfer duty estimator.[7] We do not run our own duty calculator: the official one is maintained by the office that sets the rules.
A worked example: a $730,000 home in Queensland
Take a home priced at $730,000, bought by first home buyers who all meet the rules. The agreement is entered into on or after 1 August 2026.
- If it is an existing home: there is no grant. The Queensland Revenue Office's own worked example puts the duty at $6,555 after the first home concession.[5]
- If it is a new home: the $30,000 grant may apply, because $730,000 is under $750,000. The first home (new home) concession reduces duty to nil.[1][4]
- The federal caps: $730,000 is under the $1,000,000 cap that both federal schemes set for Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast. It is over the $700,000 cap elsewhere in Queensland.[8][9] A 5% deposit on this price is $36,500; Help to Buy's minimum 2% deposit is $14,600.
This applies the published rules to stated prices. It is not a prediction of your result: eligibility depends on your circumstances and is decided by the Queensland Revenue Office and the lender.
Want Zafar to check this against your purchase in Queensland?
Request a call Call 0402 357 860
Or ask Zafar to call you back
How Queensland support sits beside the 5% Deposit Scheme and Help to Buy
The federal 5% Deposit Scheme and Help to Buy each set a property price cap by location. In Queensland the higher cap covers Brisbane. It also covers these regional centres: Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. The rest of the state has a lower cap.[8][9] Housing Australia says Help to Buy can be used together with state stamp duty concessions and grants.[10]
In Queensland the two federal schemes share the same caps, $1,000,000 and $700,000. Two Queensland limits sit close to the federal caps. The grant is only for a new home under $750,000. The full stamp duty break on an existing home stops at $700,000. That is the same as the federal cap outside Brisbane and the two coasts. There, a home above $700,000 is over both federal caps, even where the new home duty concession still applies.
Help to Buy in Queensland
The Help to Buy price cap in Queensland is $1,000,000 for Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, and $700,000 elsewhere in the state.[8]
5% Deposit Scheme in Queensland
The 5% Deposit Scheme price cap in Queensland is $1,000,000 for Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, and $700,000 elsewhere in the state. These are the same as the Help to Buy caps. The minimum deposit is 5%, or 2% for eligible single parents.[9]
Caps apply by suburb and postcode; Housing Australia's postcode search confirms the cap for a particular address.[8]
How to apply, and who pays it
The grant is administered by the Queensland Revenue Office, not by the lender, though a lender can lodge the application as an approved agent. The Queensland Revenue Office says the fastest way to receive it is through an approved agent, such as a bank or lending institution. The agent confirms your eligibility and manages the application.[2] Duty concessions are claimed when the transfer documents are lodged for stamping.[5]
Check before you rely on it. Grant and duty rules are administered by the Queensland Revenue Office and change from time to time. General information only. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs, and it is not a recommendation to enter into any credit contract. Eligibility is decided by the scheme administrator and the lender.
Compare Queensland with every other state and territory in our first home buyer tracker. Or read how Help to Buy and the 5% Deposit Scheme work.
What changed
- : Grant raised to $30,000 for contracts from this date. It was $15,000.[1]
- : Existing homes: no transfer duty up to $700,000, for agreements from this date.[5]
- : New homes and residential vacant land: no transfer duty and no value cap, for contracts from this date.[4]
- : The State Budget 2026 continued the $30,000 grant for contracts from this date.[3]
- : Home duty concessions limited to Australian citizens, permanent residents and specified foreign retirees.[5]
Page history: every figure re-checked against the official pages listed below on .
Buying in Queensland?
Zafar works with clients Australia-wide by phone and video call. He can check the Queensland and federal rules against your situation and how they fit with a loan from his lender panel.
Ask Zafar to check Call 0402 357 860
Sources
- Queensland Revenue Office, First home owner grant eligibility criteria. Retrieved .
- Queensland Revenue Office, Applying for the first home owner grant. Retrieved .
- Queensland Revenue Office, State Budget 2026. Retrieved .
- Queensland Revenue Office, First home (new home) concession. Retrieved .
- Queensland Revenue Office, First home concession. Retrieved .
- Queensland Revenue Office, First home vacant land concession. Retrieved .
- Queensland Revenue Office, Transfer duty estimator. Retrieved .
- Housing Australia (firsthomebuyers.gov.au), Help to Buy property price caps. Retrieved .
- Housing Australia (firsthomebuyers.gov.au), Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme fact sheet (headed 1 July 2026). Retrieved .
- Housing Australia (firsthomebuyers.gov.au), Help to Buy: frequently asked questions. Retrieved .
Common questions
How much is the first home owner grant in Queensland?
$30,000 for a new home valued under $750,000, for contracts signed on or after 20 November 2023. The Queensland Government continued it for contracts signed from 1 July 2026.
Is the QLD $30,000 grant still available?
As at 14 Oct 2026, yes: the Queensland Revenue Office lists $30,000 for eligible contracts. The State Budget 2026 continued it for contracts from 1 July 2026. Check the official page before you sign, because grant settings change by government decision.
Can I get the Queensland grant on an existing home?
No. The grant is only for new homes. On an existing home, the first home concession can remove transfer duty up to $700,000 and reduce it under $800,000.
Do first home buyers pay stamp duty in Queensland?
Not on a new home bought under a contract from 1 May 2025, or on residential vacant land to build on. On an existing home, there is no duty up to $700,000 and reduced duty under $800,000.
Talk to Zafar
Call Zafar, request a call back or send a message. Zafar works with clients across Australia by phone and video, and meets clients in person in Melbourne.