The full cost on top of the purchase price.
Stamp duty is the big state tax that most buyers underestimate by around $5,000. Every state and territory taxes property differently, and most calculators only show one fee at a time. This one adds them all up — stamp duty, transfer fee, and mortgage registration — and shows you the same property priced across all eight states.
Want to see the LMI piece too? Run the LMI break-even calculator →
Your numbers
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How we got this
Working out the math…
Why stamp duty matters more than borrowers think
Most upfront-cost-of-buying narratives treat stamp duty as "yeah, there's a fee" — but on a typical $750,000 owner-occupier purchase, the figure ranges from about $17,500 (ACT) to about $40,000 (VIC) depending on which state you're buying in. That's a $22,000 spread for the same property, on top of which transfer fees and mortgage registration add another $300–$700. Three things make stamp duty more strategically interesting than its boring reputation:
- It's progressive AND state-specific. Each state's bands and marginal rates are different — and they update annually around July 1. The "stamp duty calculator" you used 18 months ago may give a number that's $1,000–$5,000 off current published rates. We rebase this calculator with each budget; check the methodology page for the current source date.
- FHB concessions can wipe it entirely. NSW has the most generous: full exemption for first home buyers under $800k (new or established), partial concession to $1M. VIC's threshold is $600k. WA's is $430k. The savings are real money — on an $800k NSW purchase, FHB exemption saves roughly $31,000 of duty plus stamp duty on the foreign surcharge if applicable.
- Foreign purchaser surcharges are brutal at the high end. 8% in NSW/VIC/TAS, 7% in QLD/WA/SA. On a $1.5M Melbourne apartment, the foreign surcharge alone is $120,000 — on top of standard duty of $82,000 — for a duty bill of over $200,000. Worth knowing before you go to auction.
What this calculator is not
- An eligibility check. FHB concession depends on more than property value — residency, occupancy duration, prior property ownership history (including spouse's), in some states income tests. The calculator applies the value threshold; your conveyancer or lender confirms the rest.
- Off-the-plan / new-build aware. Most states have separate concessional schedules for off-the-plan and new builds (especially VIC's temporary off-the-plan stamp duty exemption for owner-occupiers). v1 returns standard residential transfer duty only — flag the off-the-plan aspect with your conveyancer.
- A vacant land calculator. Some states schedule vacant land separately. v1 treats all purchases as established residential.
- The full settlement bill. What we surface = stamp duty + transfer fee + mortgage registration. What we don't = LMI premium (use the LMI break-even calc), conveyancing fees ($1–3k typical), building & pest, lender legal fees, council rate adjustments. The "true" total upfront cost is typically $3,000–$5,000 higher than the figure above once those layer in.
How to use the result
Settlement budgeting: take the figure above, add an estimate for conveyancing + building/pest + LMI (if your deposit is under 20%), and that's your "settlement day cash needed" number. Adding stamp duty into the loan reduces it but most lenders cap LVR around 95% even with capitalised LMI, so capitalising stamp duty isn't always available. Worth confirming with your broker before assuming.
Interstate comparison: if you're buying interstate, the comparison panel above tells you what the same purchase would cost in each jurisdiction. Useful for relocators and for investors weighing where to deploy. Just remember stamp duty is one input — rental yields, vacancy rates, growth profile, land tax, and council rates all differ across states too.