Object to vacant residential land tax assessments

Request changes to your assessment without lodging an objection

You can make most updates or changes to your vacant residential land tax (VRLT) assessment without lodging a formal objection.

Common changes and updates include:

• updating your postal address
• notifying us of vacant residential land you owned on 31 December of the previous year
• letting us know of land incorrectly marked as exempt or land that should be exempt.

You can request a change to your assessment via the VRLT portal.

You can also visit understanding your vacant residential land tax assessment for more information.

Object to the capital improved value on the assessment

VRLT assessments used capital improved value valuations. Valuation authorities, such as the Valuer-General, determine the capital improved value we use to calculate your VRLT. We are not involved in this process.

Valuations are made on 1 January of the previous calendar year. For example, this means we use the 1 January 2025 valuation for your 2026 assessment.

If you disagree with the capital improved value used in your assessment, you may lodge an objection using the Land Valuation Objection Portal. We will refer your objection to the valuation authorities for review.

You must lodge your objection to the site value within 2 months of the date of service of your assessment. This timeframe cannot be extended.

Object to your assessment or reassessment

This section sets out the process for you to formally object to, or challenge the legal basis, of your assessment or reassessment.

An objection is a formal process. You must explain the grounds of your objection and describe clearly the reasons why you disagree with your assessment.

An objection is generally not valid if:

• the grounds are vague
• you claim the tax is too high
• request a waiver on compassionate grounds.

Objections to the penalty tax component of the assessment or reassessment (i.e. you believe you should not have been imposed penalty tax or the rate imposed should be lower) are unlikely to be successful if your situation involves:

• not knowing you had an obligation to notify us
• an oversight or unintentional default
• relying on an adviser who failed to notify us
• already receiving a reduced penalty rate due to voluntary disclosure or cooperation with an investigation
• having a good payment history
• experiencing financial hardship.

What you need to object

To formally object to your assessment or reassessment, you need:

• name and customer ID of the person who was issued the assessment or reassessment, or your name and contact details if you are an authorised representative
• the assessment or reassessment number of all the assessments you are objecting to
• land address or SRO land ID
• objection grounds that challenge the legal basis for the objection, i.e. reasons why at law the assessment is incorrect. For reassessments, you can only object to new or increased liabilities.

If you are objecting on behalf of someone else and are not an authorised representative (i.e. a lawyer, accountant, tax consultant or financial adviser), you also need to provide a written authority to act.

If your request is unclear, we will decide whether it should be treated as an amendment request or a formal objection. We will generally treat your matter informally if:

• the matter is a simple error or oversight
• we do not dispute your view on the matter
• you are claiming an exemption for the first time
• you have not provided reasons which state fully and in detail why your assessment is incorrect.

Timeframes

You must lodge your objection within 60 days of the date of service of the assessment or reassessment.

If you are lodging an objection after 60 days but within 5 years, you must provide reasons for the delay. Without reasons for the delay, your objection will be invalid. For guidelines on how we consider out-of-time applications, see Revenue Ruling TAA-004v5 – Objections lodged out of time.

You cannot lodge an objection after 5 years of the issue date. These objections are invalid under the legislation.

How to object

You should lodge your objection using only one of the below methods. The online objection form is the most efficient way to submit your objection.

Provide all information and documents in support of your objection together when you lodge.

You can object by:

1. Using our online objection form.
2. Emailing your objection to our review inbox (this inbox is not for general enquiries).
3. Posting your objection to:
   Tax Advisory and Review Branch
   State Revenue Office
   GPO Box 1641
   Melbourne VIC 3001

Lodge your objection online

Pay your assessment while waiting for a decision

While waiting for our decision, you should pay your assessment or reassessment on time, whether in full or by instalment. If you do not pay the assessed tax on time, interest for late payment will continue to accrue daily on the outstanding amount.

If you have paid all or part of your assessment and we fully or partially allow your objection, you will receive a refund of the overpaid tax with interest at the market rates.

If your objection is disallowed or only partially allowed, you have the right to refer the matter to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal or the Supreme Court. Read about your appeal options.