How to Calculate NT Stamp Duty and Other Government Fees

Buying a First Home, Buying a Home, Buying Investment Property, Buying Property, Stamp Duty

How to Calculate NT Stamp Duty

Updated 22 August 2020.

Read this article if you want to learn about calculating Stamp Duty in the Northern Territory.

If you just want to calculate your costs, use the online stamp duty calculator.

Important points to note about NT Stamp Duty

Investors pay the standard rate of duty.
There is a Principal Place of Residence rebate for Home Buyers.
Eligible First Home Buyers may receive:
- Stamp duty discount
- Various grants available
Low or middle income assistance is available.

Standard Rate of NT Stamp Duty (Transfer Duty)

The standard rate of duty is payable in the following instances:

You’re purchasing for investment purposes
You’re not eligible for the following:
- Principal Place of Residence Rebate
- First Home Owner Discount
- Senior, Pensioner and Carer Concession.

In the Northern Territory, the government has created a complex looking formula for purchase prices up to $525,000.

See the formula within the below table, D = (0.06571441 x V² ) + 15V

D = the Stamp Duty payable
V = Purchase Price or Value divided by 1000

How to calculate the NT stamp duty:

The easy way to calculate stamp duty is to use this online stamp duty calculator.

Your Purchase Price	Standard Rate of NT Stamp Duty
$0 – $525,000	D = (0.06571441 x V² ) + 15V
$525,000 – $2,999,999	Purchase Price x 4.95%
$3,000,000 – $4,999,999	Purchase Price x 5.75%
$5,000,000 and above	Purchase Price x 5.95%

NT Stamp Duty Concessions

There’s various NT stamp duty exemptions or concessions, here’s the most common:

Concessions for Home Buyers and First Home Buyers

If you’re buying an established home in the NT you may be eligible for a stamp duty concession of up to $18,601.

You must be purchasing a Principal Place of Residence to be eligible, and you don’t have to be a First time buyer.

Eligibility criteria:

You are purchasing an established home in the NT.
No other concessions (excluding the FHOG and NT BuildBonus).
First home in the NT within the last 24 months.

You can find the complete details here.

Other Home Buyer Incentives

As a First Home Buyer, you could be eligible for:

First Home Owners Grant $10,000
Household Goods Grant $2,000
Home Renovation Grant $10,000

Click here to read more about these grants.

Other NT Stamp Duty Discounts

There’s a few other scenario’s where you could be eligible for an exemption or concession of the stamp duty in the Northern Territory.

You may be eligible for an exemption if:

You’re transferring the ownership to a spouse (a few rules apply)
You’re a Senior, Pensioner, or Carer click here

You can see the full list of exemptions and concessions over here.

When is Stamp Duty Payable?

NT stamp duty is payable within 60 days of the transaction agreement (contract date).

Other Government Fees:

There are many possible fees that you could encounter, depending on the nature of your transaction, however in this article we’ll address only the 3 you’re most likely to encounter during a property transaction.

Transfer Registration
Mortgage Registration
Mortgage Discharge Registration

In the NT Budget each year, the Treasurer will announce changes to the fees.

Transfer Registration (when a ‘transfer of ownership’ is occurring)

In good news for the NT, the cost of a Transfer Registration is quite good on a national scale (most other states have a rate that increases with the purchase price).

Effective the 1 July 2018 the Transfer Registration fee is $145

When you purchase a property, there is a legal document that transfers the ownership of that property in to your name.

And the transfer of ownership has to be registered, and the State Government charges a fee for managing the register.

Mortgage Registration (when you are borrowing money)

The mortgage gives the bank the right to sell your property if you don’t pay them back.

As at 1 July 2020 the Mortgage Registration fee is $149

The mortgage registration ensures that the mortgage can be viewed by a simple title search.

This therefore prevents you from selling your home and not paying back the lender – because the transfer of ownership wouldn’t be able to happen unless the previous mortgage was discharged.

Mortgage Discharge Registration (when you are refinancing or selling)

Payable when an existing mortgage is being discharged (released).

Mortgage Discharge Registration Fee as at 1 July 2020 is $149.

This is usually payable when you’re refinancing.

However, if you’re purchasing a property, your new lender may prepare a Mortgage Discharge and charge you this fee. Your solicitor arranging the settlement, will pass on that fee to the seller so that you’re not out of pocket.