Absentee owner surcharge

Description

This video explains who is liable for the absentee owner surcharge.

Transcript

If you’re an absentee owner of land in Victoria, you will pay a surcharge on top of the land tax you pay at general and trust surcharge rates.

Visit the SRO website to find out current rates and thresholds for absentee owners.

An absentee owner can be an absentee individual, an absentee corporation or an absentee trust.

An absentee individual is a foreign citizen who does not ordinarily live in Australia and who was either away from Australia on 31 December in the prior year, or was away from Australia for more than six months in the prior year.

If you are an Australian citizen, permanent resident or a New Zealand citizen with a special category visa, you do not have to pay the surcharge.

An absentee corporation is a corporation that was incorporated outside of Australia, or a corporation where more than half of its shares are held by absentee individuals, absentee corporations or absentee trusts.

An absentee trust is a trust where one or more of the beneficiaries or unit holders of that trust are an absentee individual, an absentee corporation or an absentee trust.

If you believe the surcharge applies to you, you must notify the SRO via our website. You will need your customer number and an assessment number, both of which are located on the top right-hand corner of your land tax assessment notice.

Learn more about the absentee owner surcharge and who it applies to at sro.vic.gov.au/aos