How is stamp duty calculated on a property in Queensland?

Stamp duty can be a significant cost when buying a property, and it’s important to make sure you’ll be able to pay it – so how much is stamp duty in Queensland, and what else do you need to know?

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Key points:

Stamp duty, or transfer duty, is a tax that commonly applies when property gets transferred from one person to another.
Each state and territory has its own method of calculating stamp duty, and the QLD government has its own specific rules.
There are some circumstances in which concessions are available to offset the cost of stamp duty.

There can be a number of key costs associated with buying a property in Queensland, but stamp duty is a major one. If you’re in the market for a property, then it’s very important to know when stamp duty is payable and what kind of cost you’ll be up for.

What is stamp duty?

Stamp duty, or transfer duty, is a government tax that commonly applies when property gets transferred from one person to another. It applies to transactions that involve dutiable property, including commercial and investment property. It can also apply for dutiable transactions such as partnership acquisitions, creating or terminating a trust of dutiable property and trust acquisitions and surrenders.

Stamp duty is charged by state and territory governments, so the rules on how it’s calculated will vary from place to place. However, a general rule is that the more expensive your property is, the more stamp duty you’ll need to pay.

Stamp duty is primarily determined by three major factors: the state or territory you’re buying the property in, the value of the property, and whether you’re eligible for any concessions or exemptions.

If you are buying a property in Queensland, you may well be interested to know how stamp duty is calculated in the state, and what you’ll potentially have to pay.

How is stamp duty calculated in Queensland?

The Queensland Office of State Revenue (OSR) calculates how much stamp duty you owe by applying a set transfer duty rate to the ‘dutiable value’ of your property. Usually your property’s dutiable value will be its market value or the amount you agreed to pay for the property, whichever one is higher. This means that even if you didn’t purchase the property (e.g. if it was a gift or no money was paid), you may still need to pay stamp duty based on the property’s market value.

The QLD government says that it calculates stamp duty using the following formula:
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Property value	Stamp duty rate
$0 – $5,000	No stamp duty
$5,001 – $75,000	$1.50 for each whole or part $100 over $5,000
$75,001 – $540,000	$1,050 plus $3.50 for each whole or part $100 over $75,000
$540,001 – $1,000,000	$17,325 plus $4.50 for each whole or part $100 over $540,000
$1,000,001+	$38,025 plus $5.75 for each whole or part $100 over $1,000,000

Source: QLD government, figures accessed January 2025

How much stamp duty will I pay in Queensland?

If you are thinking of purchasing a property in Queensland and want to know how much stamp duty you’ll have to pay, you can get an idea by using Canstar’s Stamp Duty Calculator. Select QLD from the dropdown menu to get started.

Do foreign buyers pay more stamp duty in Queensland?

If you’re a foreign buyer acquiring residential land, the Queensland government says it imposes an additional duty on top of the standard transfer duty rate, as what’s known as an additional foreign acquirer duty (AFAD). At the time of writing, this additional rate is 7%.