Land tax in NSW after you buy a property

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The land tax year

1 July: the NSW Valuer General determines the unimproved value of land, and Revenue NSW uses those values.
Midnight on 31 December: the taxing date. Tax is calculated on the taxable land you own at that moment, and charged for the full year that follows.

A drawing of one calendar year, with its two land tax dates marked.

Land tax is not pro rata: owning taxable land for only part of a year does not reduce the tax, and a change to what you own this year affects what you pay next year. If you are liable, Revenue NSW sends an assessment notice each year, and you then have 60 days either to pay it all or to arrange a payment plan.

Liable owners must, by law, keep Revenue NSW up to date with their land and contact details. If you think you are liable but no notice has arrived, Revenue NSW asks you to update your details in Land Tax Online.

Threshold and rates

The threshold applies to the combined land value of all your non-exempt land in NSW, not to each property on its own. It does not matter whether the land earns you income. The general and premium thresholds were frozen for land tax years after 2024, as announced in the 2024–2025 State Budget.

NSW land tax rates as at October 2026, from Revenue NSW
Threshold	Combined land value	Land tax
General	Above $1,075,000 and below $6,571,000	$100 plus 1.6% of the amount over $1,075,000
Premium	Above $6,571,000	$88,036 plus 2% of the amount over $6,571,000

Land you own together with others gets one threshold for that land. The tax-free threshold does not apply to land held in special or discretionary trusts, and some related companies may not qualify for it.

Which value is used

Land tax uses unimproved land value: the land itself, without buildings, fences, driveways, landscaping or pools. That is why it can differ from what you paid for the property. Revenue NSW uses a 3-year average of the Valuer General’s values; for land created less than 3 years ago, only the years since it was created are counted.

Illustration, not an assessment

Average land value of one investment property: $1,300,000
Less the general threshold: $1,075,000
Taxable amount: $225,000
1.6% of that: $3,600
Plus $100: land tax for the year: $3,700

As an illustration only: an individual whose only non-exempt land is one investment property with a 3-year average land value of $1,300,000. Arithmetic on Revenue NSW’s general rate; Revenue NSW publishes its own examples on how land tax is calculated.

Your home

Only one property worldwide can be your principal place of residence: the one place you primarily live, in or outside Australia. To qualify, the people living there must together own at least 25% of it, the owner must be a natural person rather than a company or special trust, only one exemption can be claimed per family, and the land must be used and occupied solely as a residence. The 25% ownership requirement applies from the 2026 land tax year onwards.

If you buy after 1 July, the exemption can still be allowed if the Chief Commissioner of State Revenue is satisfied that you are using and occupying the land as your home on the taxing date.

Moving between homes

If you still own your previous home on 31 December after buying a new one, you may get a concession on both for one land tax year. The conditions include taking ownership of the new home between 1 July and 31 December, moving in before 31 December of the next year, and not earning income from the old home in the meantime, apart from two listed exceptions.

Building or renovating first

If you plan to build or renovate before moving in, a concession can apply for up to 4 years after you take ownership, provided you meet all of its conditions, including living there continuously for at least six months once construction is complete and earning no income from the property once the work starts.

Before settlement: the clearance certificate

Unpaid land tax is a first charge on land, which means a new owner can become responsible for a previous owner’s unpaid land tax, with interest and penalties. A buyer can be protected from that by a clearance certificate under section 47 of the Land Tax Management Act 1956.

The seller must give the buyer a current certificate at least 14 days before settlement. Revenue NSW says a buyer should make sure the certificate relates to the property being transferred, shows no outstanding charge at settlement or is matched by evidence that any land tax is paid as part of settlement, and is for the land tax year in which settlement happens. If it is for the previous year, Revenue NSW recommends the buyer apply for a certificate for the current year. Your solicitor or conveyancer usually handles this.

Surcharge land tax for foreign owners

A foreign person who owns residential land in NSW must pay surcharge land tax unless an exemption applies. There is no tax-free threshold. As at October 2026 the rate is 5% of the land value, calculated on each piece of residential land and in proportion to the ownership share. For this tax, a permanent resident counts as a foreign person if they spend 165 days or more overseas in a calendar year (166 or more in a leap year). The duty foreign buyers pay at purchase is on sheet 4.