Apply for an off-the-plan concession
You now apply for an off-the-plan concession or the temporary off-the-plan concession using our Digital Duties Form.
Off-the-plan concession
The off-the-plan concession is available to eligible buyers of land and a building to be constructed, or a refurbished lot. It reduces the value of the property by the costs of the construction or refurbishment occurring on or after the contract date, reducing the amount of duty to be paid.
To apply for the concession, your vendor must complete the Digital Duties Form and provide us with the required information. There are 2 methods of calculating this concession – the fixed percentage method and the alternative method – and your vendor must choose one.
About 6 months before the settlement of your property, your vendor will advise your conveyancer or solicitor of the dutiable value of your property after applying the off-the-plan concession. You can then contact your conveyancer or solicitor to get this value if you want to estimate the duty on your property.
The date of the contract is important in determining whether you are eligible for the concession.
Contracts signed before 1 July 2017
The concession is available for all property types including those purchased for investment purposes and commercial properties. The concession may apply even if you nominate a substituted purchaser on or after 1 July 2017.
Contracts signed on or after 1 July 2017
The off-the-plan concession is only available if you qualify for the principal place of residence concession or the first home buyer duty exemption/concession.
This means that you are buying a home that will be your principal place of residence. You must reside in it for a continuous period of 12 months, starting within 12 months of possession, normally settlement.
You must also meet one of the following threshold requirements:
- First home buyer duty exemption or concession - the dutiable value of your property, after applying the off-the-plan concession, cannot exceed $750,000.
- Principal place of residence concession - the dutiable value of your property, after applying the off-the-plan concession, cannot exceed $550,000.
Duty will be calculated on the contract price if you exceed the relevant threshold. Failure to meet the residence requirement results in the transfer being reassessed at the contract price and all concessions or the exemption being removed.
Read more about the off-the-plan duty concession.
Temporary off-the-plan concession
On 21 October 2024, the Victoria Government announced a new temporary off-the-plan land transfer duty concession for purchases of dwellings in a strata subdivision.
The new concession will be available for off-the-plan purchases of dwellings (including apartments and townhouses) within a strata subdivision where the contract is entered into from 21 October 2024, for 12 months.
To learn more about the eligibility requirements, visit our temporary off-the-plan duty concession webpage.
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Gather required information
Vendors need the following information to enable purchasers to apply for an off-the-plan concession:
- title details, including transfer of land documentation and council rate notice
- company or unit trust, including ABN or ACN for land use entitlements
- key values needed to calculate the costs of construction and refurbishment works completed after the contract date (i.e. the off-the-plan concession) based on the chosen calculation method
- transfer of land or transfer of land use entitlement form
- copy of sales contract, building permit/approval, subdivision plans, certificate of occupancy.
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Complete your form
The Digital Duties Form can be completed online. If you are a registered Duties Online (DOL) user you can create a form under the ‘Create’ tab in DOL.
Members of the public who are not using a DOL registered user, usually a solicitor or conveyancer, who wish to lodge electronically can do so after a simple registration process. You can electronically lodge scanned documents for a land transfer via our website after you register with us.
Next Steps
Once we have verified all documentation and calculations, we contact you in writing to issue your duty assessment.
Strict record-keeping obligations apply to both the transferor and transferee, usually the vendor and the purchaser, for all applications for the off-the-plan concession.
Last modified: 21 October 2024
News and updates
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20 November 2024
State Revenue Office 2023–24 Annual Review is now available
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21 October 2024
A new temporary off-the-plan duty concession
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20 November 2023
Our 2022–23 Annual Review is now available
