First Home Concession QLD: What You Actually Pay in 2026

If you're a first home buyer in Queensland, you may pay no transfer duty at all. Under current Queensland Revenue Office rules, eligible buyers purchasing an established home valued at up to $700,000 pay $0 duty. The concession reduces progressively above $700,000 and ends at $800,000. For eligible contracts entered into from 1 May 2025, new homes and residential vacant land can also attract $0 duty with no value cap. The established-home thresholds changed on 9 June 2024, the new-home and vacant-land rules changed on 1 May 2025, and buyer eligibility changed again on 1 August 2026, so the contract date matters.

Queensland applies different duty concessions to established homes, new homes and vacant land. The property you are buying determines which of the three concessions applies.

• First Home Concession. This applies to established homes. Properties below $700,000 receive the full concession, while homes between $700,000 and $800,000 receive a progressively smaller reduction. The first home concession ends at $800,000, although the Home Concession may still reduce the duty payable.
• First Home (New Home) Concession. Eligible buyers purchasing a brand new home under a contract dated 1 May 2025 or later can have their transfer duty reduced to $0, regardless of the property value.
• First Home Vacant Land Concession. Eligible residential land purchased from 1 May 2025 attracts $0 transfer duty regardless of the purchase price. If you are buying vacant land as a first home buyer, this guide explains the additional conditions.

There's also a fourth option called the Home Concession. It's not a first home concession, but it kicks in when the first home concession doesn't apply, and it still reduces your duty.

For an established home, the first home concession runs on a sliding scale. Under $700,000, you get the full concession and pay nothing. Between $700,000 and $800,000, QRO deducts $17,350 for homes not more than $709,999.99, then reduces that deduction by $1,735 for each $10,000 band, until you hit $790,000 to $799,999.99 where the concession is $1,735. At $800,000 or more, the first home concession is nil, though the Home Concession may still apply.

Here are QRO's own worked examples for agreements entered into from 1 August 2026:

The headline saving on the sliding scale sits at $17,350. QRO states the total saving can reach $24,525 in certain scenarios where the home concession stacking is factored in. Want to check your exact figure? Run it through the transfer duty calculator.

This is the change most buyers still haven't heard about. If your contract is dated 1 May 2025 or later and you're buying a brand new home, QRO reduces your transfer duty to nil. No value cap on the home or the residential land attributed to it.

QRO's own example shows $0 duty payable on a $1,230,000 new first home where there's no additional non-residential land. That's a big shift from the old rules. If you're building or buying off the plan, this is probably the concession that applies to you.

From 1 May 2025, eligible first home buyers acquiring residential vacant land get a full transfer duty concession with no cap on the land value. QRO's published examples show $0 duty payable on vacant land values of $350,000, $360,000, $500,000 and $750,000.

Going down the house-and-land path? There's a detailed walkthrough on the vacant land concession that covers how it lines up with your build contract.

The eligibility rules run across all three concessions:

• You're at least 18 years old (QRO can grant an exception in limited cases).
• You've never held property or land in Australia or overseas.
• You're an Australian citizen or permanent resident. If you're not, Additional Foreign Acquirer Duty (AFAD) may apply on top of standard duty. Check the current AFAD rate with QRO before you sign.
• You move into the home with your personal belongings within 1 year of settlement.
• You live there on a daily basis for a continuous 12-month period.
• If you're buying with someone who has owned property before, you may still get a partial concession based on your ownership share.

For the wider picture on grants, deposits and lender criteria, the full first home buyer guide for Queensland covers it.

QRO checks. If you claim a first home concession and then sell or lease the property before you've lived in it for 12 continuous months, you'll usually have to pay back part or all of the concession. The clawback is proportional to how long you occupied.

Quick scenario. You settle in February, move in with your belongings in March, then need to move out and rent the place at month 8. You've broken the 12-month rule and QRO will reassess. You need to report the change in circumstances to them. It's not a gotcha, but it isn't optional either.

Your solicitor or conveyancer normally handles the concession claim as part of the settlement process, so you generally will not need to lodge a separate application yourself.

1. Your solicitor or conveyancer prepares the QRO transfer duty forms including the concession claim.
2. Documents must be lodged within 30 days of the liability arising, which is usually when the contract is signed or becomes unconditional.
3. Duty (whatever is left after the concession) is paid at settlement.
4. Your broker manages the loan, while your solicitor or conveyancer handles the duty assessment and transfer of title. They will provide the relevant documents for you to review and sign.

Duty is one line in your upfront costs, not the whole picture. Before settlement you'll need:

• Your deposit (often 5% or more, depending on the lender and loan type).
• Any duty payable after the concession.
• Lender fees and government registration fees.
• The First Home Owner Grant, if you qualify, arrives as a separate benefit. QRO confirms the grant and the transfer duty concessions are separate schemes with separate eligibility. See how the $30,000 First Home Owner Grant works alongside this.

If you're staring at a new build in one column, an established townhouse in another, and a block of land in the third, the answer to "which concession" changes your cash-to-close by tens of thousands. Book a free 20-minute call with Victor. We'll work out which concession you qualify for, what your deposit needs to look like, and how it all fits your borrowing power. Start with first home buyer loan help.

• 9 June 2024: QRO lifted the first home concession thresholds. Full concession now applies up to $700,000 and partial up to $800,000 (previously $500,000 and $550,000).
• 1 May 2025: The new home and vacant land concessions became full concessions with no value cap. This is the change that reshaped the market for anyone buying a build.
• 1 August 2026: Eligibility for Queensland home concessions changed. For transactions entered into from this date, buyers must generally be Australian citizens, permanent residents or specified foreign retirees. Where buyers have different eligibility, the concession is calculated separately on each ownership interest.

Rules can move again. Before you sign a contract, check the current position on QRO's site or ask your broker or solicitor to confirm. For background, the broader explainer on stamp duty in Queensland fills in the wider duty picture.

Want someone to run your actual purchase price, contract date and buyer situation against the current QRO rules and tell you what you'll pay? Book a free 20-minute call. I've been arranging first home loans in Queensland for 19+ years, and the concession question comes up every week. You can also reach out through the Brisbane mortgage broker page.

Victor Kalinowski, founder and principal broker, Blackk Mortgage Brokers. Australian Credit Licence holder.

Reviewed August 2026 against current QRO rules. Rates and thresholds change. Verify with QRO before signing a contract.

• https://qro.qld.gov.au/duties/transfer-duty/concessions/homes/first-home/
• https://qro.qld.gov.au/duties/transfer-duty/calculate/concession-rates/
• https://qro.qld.gov.au/duties/transfer-duty/concessions/homes/first-home-new-home/
• https://qro.qld.gov.au/duties/transfer-duty/concessions/homes/first-home-vacant-land/
• https://qro.qld.gov.au/property-concessions-grants/first-home-grant/eligibility/
• https://qro.qld.gov.au/duties/transfer-duty/lodging-paying/