Marriage or relationship breakdown and duty

Key information

If your marriage or domestic relationship ends, you may not have to pay land transfer (stamp) duty on property transferred because of the breakdown.

The exemption is not limited to the family home. It can also apply to other property, such as an investment property, commercial property or vacant land.

The exemption only applies to certain transfers made solely because of the relationship breakdown. It covers transfers to you or your former partner, your dependent children, or a trustee for any of those people. It does not apply simply because your relationship ends and you sell the property to an unrelated person.

A domestic relationship includes a registered domestic relationship. It also includes 2 unmarried people living together as a couple on a genuine domestic basis.

When the exemption applies

For the exemption to apply, we must be satisfied all the following requirements are met:

• The transfer is made solely because of the breakdown of your marriage or domestic relationship. This means the breakdown must be the only reason for the transfer.
• The property is transferred from one or both parties to the relationship.
• The property is transferred to one or both parties to the relationship, a dependent child, or a combination of these people. It can also be transferred to a trustee of a trust whose only beneficiaries are any of these people.
• No-one else receives an interest in the property through the transfer.

Who can receive the property

The property can be transferred to:

• one or both parties to the marriage or domestic relationship
• a dependent child of one or both parties
• one or both parties together with a dependent child
• a trustee of a trust where the only beneficiaries are one or both parties to the relationship or their dependent children.

For this exemption, a dependent child is a child of one or both parties who: 

• is in the custody, care and control of one or both parties, and
• ordinarily lives with one or both parties.

No-one else can receive an interest in the property through the transfer.

Examples

Trusts and companies

Different requirements apply if a trust or company owns the property.

Property held in a trust

The exemption may also apply when property is held in a trust and transferred solely because of the relationship breakdown.

If the trustee is transferring the property, at least one party to the relationship must be a beneficiary of that trust.

Property can also be transferred to the trustee of another trust. If this happens, the only beneficiaries of the receiving trust can be:

• one or both parties to the relationship
• their dependent children
• one or both parties and their dependent children.

Transfers involving trusts can be more complex. You will need to provide supporting documents when claiming the exemption.

Property held by a company

The exemption can also apply when a company owns the property. Additional requirements apply to these transfers.

For a full exemption, we must be satisfied all the following apply:

• The transfer is made solely because of the breakdown of your marriage or domestic relationship.
• The property is transferred to one or both parties to the relationship, their dependent children, or a trustee of a trust where the only beneficiaries are the parties or their dependent children.
• No-one else receives an interest in the property through the transfer.
• The dutiable value of the property does not exceed the value of the parties' interests in the company.
• The value of the parties' interests in the company reduces by the same amount as the dutiable value of the property transferred.

For these rules, the value of a party's interest in the company is the amount they would be entitled to receive if the company were wound up.

If the dutiable value of the property is more than the value of the parties' interests in the company, the exemption may still apply in part if all the other requirements are met. The exemption applies to the part of the dutiable value that does not exceed the value of those interests.

Declarations of trust

The exemption can also apply to a declaration of trust made solely because of the breakdown of a marriage or domestic relationship.

If one or both parties to the relationship declare the trust, we must be satisfied the only beneficiaries are the parties, their dependent children, or both.

Different requirements apply if a company declares the trust. See our Evidentiary Requirements Manual for more information.

How to apply

In most cases, your conveyancer or solicitor will apply for the exemption as part of the property transfer.

If the property is being transferred between you and your former partner, the exemption is claimed using the Digital Duties Form and the transaction is lodged through Duties Online before settlement.

Different lodgement and evidence requirements apply if the transfer involves a dependent child, trust or company, or is a declaration of trust.

If you are claiming the exemption because of the breakdown of a domestic relationship, we may ask you to provide evidence that you and your former partner were living together on a genuine domestic basis.

Check our Evidentiary Requirements Manual for the documents you need to provide and when to lodge the transaction.