Off-the-Plan Duty Concession

Buying off the plan in Victoria can lower your stamp duty. The State Revenue Office takes construction costs incurred after you sign the contract off the price, then charges duty on the lower value. It is one of several grants and incentives available to Geelong home buyers.

There are two versions of the concession. Which one applies depends on the property and whether you will live in it.

Temporary Concession for Apartments, Units and Townhouses

• Who can use it: all buyers, including investors, companies and trusts. You do not need to be a first home buyer or live in the property.
• Property: a lot in a strata subdivision with common property, such as a shared driveway. It does not cover house and land packages outside a strata subdivision.
• Price cap: none.
• Contract dates: signed on or after 21 October 2024 and before 21 April 2027. The settlement date does not matter.
• Foreign purchasers: the concession does not reduce foreign purchaser additional duty.

Ongoing Concession for Home Buyers

If you do not qualify for the temporary concession, the ongoing concession still applies. It covers land and building packages, apartments and townhouses, and refurbished lots.

• Eligibility: you must qualify for the first home buyer duty exemption or concession, or the principal place of residence concession. You must be over 18 and not buying through a company or trust.
• Thresholds after construction costs are taken off: $750,000 for first home buyers and $550,000 for other buyers purchasing a home to live in.
• Living requirement: at least one buyer must move in within 12 months of settlement and live there for 12 months in a row.

Using It With First Home Buyer Benefits

First home buyers can use the off-the-plan concession, the first home buyer duty exemption or concession and the First Home Owner Grant on the same purchase. The grant only applies if the full contract price, including construction, is $750,000 or less.

How the Concession Is Applied

Your vendor works out the construction costs and gives your conveyancer the reduced dutiable value about 6 months before settlement. Your conveyancer, solicitor or lender then claims the concession through the State Revenue Office’s Duties Online system.

Source: State Revenue Office Victoria, off-the-plan duty concession. This page was last reviewed on 1 October 2026.