Skip to content
exactly.loansexactly.loans

Guide · Stamp Duty · WA

Western Australia transfer duty — the FHOR lever.

WA runs a two-track system: a concessional First Home Owner Rate of Duty (FHOR) for eligible first-home buyers, sitting alongside the standard schedule for everyone else. The FHOR currently in force (since 21 March 2025) exempts new and established homes to $500K and tapers to $700K (Perth metro/Peel) or $750K (outside). The 7 May 2026 State Budget announced higher thresholds — exempt to $600K, taper to $800K — but they are not yet legislated and are estimated to commence 28 July 2026, subject to parliamentary passage and RevenueWA system updates. Here's how it works.

Reviewed · Adam King — 30 years in finance, Sunshine Coast

*Stamp duty schedules current as of May 2026 — confirm with RevenueWA before relying on a figure.*

How WA calculates it

Western Australia's transfer duty is administered by RevenueWA (part of the Department of Finance). The dutiable value is the contract price or market value, whichever is higher, and the standard schedule is marginal — base duty for each band plus a marginal rate on the portion above the band's lower bound. The top marginal rate is indicative 5.15% on amounts above $725,000 — lower than NSW's top brackets but applied earlier in the schedule. WA's structure has two distinct features. First, the standard schedule has a 'residential rate' that is already concessional compared with general/business rates — owner-occupier purchases automatically attract the lower residential schedule rather than a separate concession. Second, the First Home Owner Rate of Duty (FHOR) is a stand-alone alternative schedule for eligible first-home buyers, not a discount applied to the standard table. That separation matters: you either qualify for the FHOR and use its schedule, or you don't and use the standard residential schedule.

WA transfer duty — standard residential schedule (indicative)

Dutiable valueDuty
$0 – $120,0001.90% on full value
$120,001 – $150,000$2,280 + 2.85% over $120,000
$150,001 – $360,000$3,135 + 3.80% over $150,000
$360,001 – $725,000$11,115 + 4.75% over $360,000
Over $725,000$28,453 + 5.15% over $725,000

Indicative WA transfer duty (residential rate) as at 2026-05. Source: RevenueWA (wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-finance). Subject to confirmation with the state revenue office before settlement.

Worked example — $700K purchase, Joondalup

  • Standard duty (indicative)

    ~$27,265

    $11,115 + 4.75% × $340,000 ($700K − $360K) — confirm with RevenueWA

  • FHOR at $700K

    reduced

    Within the in-force $500K–$700K (Perth metro/Peel) FHOR concession band; the announced $600K–$800K band is not yet in force (est. 28 July 2026)

  • Net duty at $700K for FHB

    <$27,265

    Concessional duty applies if eligible — confirm exact assessment with RevenueWA

  • Foreign-purchaser surcharge

    7% extra

    Additional surcharge on top of standard duty for foreign purchasers — indicative

First Home Owner Rate of Duty (FHOR)

The FHOR is WA's first-home buyer concession, structured as an alternative schedule rather than a discount. The thresholds are narrower than QLD or NSW but the mechanism is clean: you qualify, you use the alternative schedule. The thresholds currently in force (effective 21 March 2025) give eligible first-home buyers nil transfer duty on a new or established home used as a principal residence up to $500,000, with a concessional rate up to $700,000 in the Perth metropolitan/Peel regions or up to $750,000 outside those regions. For vacant land where the buyer intends to build a new home, full exemption applies to $350,000 of land value with concessional duty to $450,000. The 7 May 2026 State Budget announced higher thresholds — nil duty on homes to $600,000 and a concession to $800,000, with vacant land exempt to $450,000 and a concession to $550,000 — but these are not yet legislated. RevenueWA estimates commencement on 28 July 2026, subject to the parliamentary process and system updates; until then the in-force $500K/$700K–$750K (home) and $350K/$450K (land) thresholds apply, and transactions assessed under the old rules before commencement may be reassessed or refunded afterwards. Confirm the current thresholds with RevenueWA before contract. Eligibility: at least one buyer must be over 18, an Australian citizen or permanent resident, never have owned residential property anywhere in Australia, and intend to live in the home as principal residence for at least six months starting within 12 months of settlement. The six-month occupation test is lighter than QLD's 12 months but is enforced — RevenueWA will check. The practical bind in WA in 2026 is that Perth prices have moved quickly. The current $500K full exemption already captures many outer first-home purchases, and the announced lift to a $600K full exemption and $600K–$800K concession band — once it commences — will do real work for buyers in corridors that previously sat above the FHOR taper.

Perth context

The FHOR has been reset for Perth's new price range.

Before the May 2026 announcement, many Perth first-home buyers were already above the concession band. The currently in-force FHOR exempts homes to $500K (concession to $700K metro/Peel, $750K outside); the announced lift to a $600K full exemption and $800K concession ceiling — estimated to commence 28 July 2026 — would cover more of the body of the market, especially Armadale, Mandurah, Rockingham, Ellenbrook, Yanchep and other first-home corridors. Because the higher thresholds are not yet legislated, model against the in-force $500K/$700K–$750K figures and treat the lift as pending; RevenueWA's implementation notes still matter.

WA First Home Owner Grant — separate from the duty concession

WA's First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) is a flat $10,000 cash grant to first-home buyers who build or buy a brand-new home (or substantially renovated home). The WA Government announced the south-of-26th-parallel cap would rise from $750,000 to $800,000 from 7 May 2026, subject to the parliamentary process and RevenueWA updates. The northern cap remains $1,000,000. The grant is separate from the FHOR duty concession and can be claimed alongside it on a qualifying new-build purchase. The FHOG does not apply to established homes — only new builds, off-the-plan, or owner-builder construction. For a Perth first-home buyer building a new home in a growth corridor at indicative $620K, the FHOG provides $10,000 cash and the FHOR can reduce duty under the first-home schedule — both layered. For an established-home first-home buyer at the same price, only the FHOR applies and no FHOG. Applications for the FHOG are typically made through your lender at the time of formal approval. The grant is paid at settlement (or at first progress payment on construction) and is generally treated as part of the settlement funds, so the cash flow is clean.

Other WA provisions worth knowing

  • Foreign-purchaser surcharge: An additional indicative 7% surcharge applies to foreign buyers on top of standard duty. Applies to non-citizen, non-permanent-resident buyers and certain foreign trusts and companies. Confirm current rate with RevenueWA.
  • Off-the-plan: WA also has separate off-the-plan duty relief settings for eligible pre-construction dwellings. New off-the-plan first-home purchases may involve FHOR, FHOG and off-the-plan relief interactions, so confirm the contract type with RevenueWA before signing.
  • Spousal transfers: Transfers of principal residence between spouses are generally exempt from duty.
  • Family farm and business transfers: WA has specific exemptions for genuine family farm transfers and certain small-business succession — worth a conversation with your accountant and conveyancer.
  • General rate (non-residential): Commercial property and investment property held in certain structures uses the general rate schedule rather than residential — materially higher above $1M. Investors should model carefully.

When duty is payable and how it stacks with LMI

Transfer duty in WA is payable within two months of the contract date, or before settlement, whichever is earlier. Your settlement agent or conveyancer lodges the duty assessment through RevenueWA's online portal and remits payment at or before settlement. The title transfer cannot register until duty is paid. Late payment attracts interest from the date duty was due. For a first-home buyer in Perth, the FHOR-plus-FHOG combination is genuinely meaningful when the price falls in the eligibility band. On a $580,000 new build in an outer Perth corridor, the FHB sits inside the in-force FHOR concession band (nil duty to $500K, concession to $700K metro/Peel) — so duty is reduced rather than nil at that price — while still receiving $10,000 cash via FHOG; once the announced $600K full-exemption threshold commences (est. 28 July 2026), a $580K purchase would fall under the full exemption. At $700,000, the buyer currently sits at the top of the in-force metro/Peel concession band (and inside the announced $600K–$800K band once it commences) rather than paying the full standard schedule. That can be the difference between a viable 5–10% deposit file and one that needs another year of savings. For general buying-cost benchmarking, [MoneySmart's buying a home calculator](https://moneysmart.gov.au/home-loans) is a sensible cross-check. The authoritative source for the WA schedule is [RevenueWA](https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-finance/revenuewa). [ABS housing finance data](https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/finance/lending-indicators) helps contextualise where median first-home buyer loan sizes are sitting in WA across the year.

What this looks like across a Perth buyer's typical price points

At $400,000 (established, outer suburb): standard residential indicative ~$13,015 — but the in-force FHOR full exemption (to $500K) means a first-home buyer pays approximately $0 duty at this price. Cash needed at settlement covers deposit and costs only. At $525,000 (established, middle suburb): this sits just above the in-force $500K full-exemption threshold, so an eligible first-home buyer pays concessional FHOR duty (not $0) on the portion above $500K rather than the ~$18,953 standard residential figure. Once the announced $600K full-exemption threshold commences (est. 28 July 2026), a $525K purchase would fall under the full exemption. At $600,000 (established): inside the in-force metro/Peel FHOR concession band ($500K–$700K), so concessional FHOR duty applies rather than the ~$22,515 standard figure; under the announced thresholds this price would sit at the top of the new full-exemption threshold once it commences. At $700,000 (new build): standard residential indicative ~$27,265 (per our worked example) — at the top of the in-force metro/Peel FHOR concession band (and inside the announced $600K–$800K band once it commences), with the $10K FHOG also potentially available if the new-build grant criteria are met. At $850,000 (new build): standard residential indicative ~$34,891 — above the FHOR concession ceiling for homes under both the in-force and announced thresholds. The FHOG cap south of the 26th parallel is announced to rise to $800K, so at $850K the buyer typically needs the full deposit plus duty plus costs.

Questions you might have

The honest answers.

Real numbers · honest answers

WA stamp duty — modelled into your *whole* picture.

Perth, Joondalup, Mandurah, Rockingham, Bunbury — we cover WA from our Sunshine Coast base. Twenty-minute discovery call to confirm FHOR eligibility and structure.

Keep reading

General information only — not personal credit advice. Rates and figures shown are indicative and subject to confirmation against current lender pricing and policy.