How the QLD government can help

There are two different incentives on offer from the QLD government, valued at $28,750 in total, and both are covered below.
 
You could be eligible for one or both incentives. These are:
  • First Home Owner’s Grant (up to $20,000) – for those building or buying a new home;
PLUS/or
  • First Home Owner’s Stamp Duty Rebate (up to $8,750) – for all first home owner’s who are buying an existing home or building a new home, when the value of the property is less than $550,000.
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First Home Owner’s Grant

How much is the QLD First Home Buyer’s Grant?
The QLD First Home Owner’s Grant is a one-off payment of up to $20,000, available for people who are building or buying a NEW home in QLD.
If you are buying an existing home (one that is already built), you are not eligible for the First Home Owner’s Grant unless your will be the first to live in the home. If not you may be eligible for the stamp duty rebate which is also covered below.
 
Can I use the $20,000 First Home Buyer’s Grant as my deposit? 
Yes, you can use the first home owner’s grant for your deposit with some lenders, allowing you to buy or build your new home sooner.
Some buyers also decide to take out a loan as they don’t have the money saved to buy the land and pay for the building. This is called a construction loan.
The First Home Owner’s Grant can be used as all or part of your deposit to get the construction loan.
There are additional things to consider, such as the timing for when you get access to the grant and when you need to pay your deposit.
 
What are the ‘rules’ to get the First Home Owner’s Grant?
There are a number of criteria you’ll need to be aware of to be eligible to get the full grant

    Type of property – you must be either:
  • Building your own home,
  • Buying off the plan (buying usually a unit / townhouse off the plan from a developer before it is actually built),
  • Buying a new home that hasn’t been lived in previously,
  • Substantially renovating (and that means almost a knock down).
​    Purchase price of the property to be under $750,000
  • The value of the property needs to be under $750,000. This is easy enough to work out if you’re buying off the plan or purchasing a newly built property as it’s the purchase price.
  • However, when you’re building a new home it works like this: the property value of your home is the cost of the land + the construction costs for the building. For example, let’s say you’re buying a block of land for $300 000 and then spending $410 000 on the building contract and $25 000 on fences / landscaping and solar panels then the total value of the property is $735 000. 
     Live in the property
  • You’ll need to live in the property for a period of at least 6 consecutive months, and commencing within 12 months of the purchase.
  • If you don’t you’ll need to pay back either part or all of your grant and you may be charged a penalty.
      Ownership of previous property
  • You can’t have owned or part owned any property in the past in your personal name.
  • If you are buying with a partner who has owned property before you won’t be eligible for the grant (but you may be able to claim the stamp duty rebate – see below).
      Age and Citizenship / residency
  • You must be at least 18 years old from the date of the purchase,
  • You must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident,
  • If you’re buying with a partner/ spouse / friend then at least one applicant needs to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident to qualify.
      Not previously received the Grant
  • You must not have previously received a first home owner grant in any state or territory of Australia.
 
When do you get paid the First Home Owners Grant?
The full grant is paid at different times depending on how and when you applied and what type of property you’re buying / building, it may be paid at settlement or in the last phase of construction.
It is faster to apply through your Citrus Finance mortgage broker who can arrange for your lender to pay the funds into your account.
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First Home Owner’s Stamp Duty Rebate

What is the First Home Owner’s Stamp Duty Rebate?
Stamp duty is one of the costs of buying a home. Stamp duty is a tax paid by the buyer of a property. It can be a substantial additional cost of buying a property, so the QLD government has decided to help first home owner’s out by giving them a rebate on all or part of the cost of the stamp duty.
 
How much do I get from the First Home Owner’s Stamp Duty Rebate?
The amount of money you get back differs by if you are buying an existing dwelling or you are buying vacant land / building.
 
a. If you’re buying an existing dwelling and:
  • Purchase price is up to $500,000 – you’ll get the maximum full rebate. You won’t need to pay the normal stamp duty (on a $500,000 purchase this is saving of $8,750).
  • Purchase price is between $500,000 to $550,000 – you will pay some stamp duty. For example, on a $505,000 purchase the stamp duty is $1,050 (a saving of $7,875), at $525,000 it increases to $5,250 (a saving of $4,375) and then at $545,000 purchase it’s $9,500 (a saving of $875).
  • Spending $550,000 or more – once the purchase price is $550,000 or higher, the first home buyer rebate cuts out so you’ll be charged the same stamp duty as you would if you were buying a home as a normal owner occupier (on a $550,000 purchase this is cost to you of $10,600).
 
b. If you’re buying vacant land and:
  • Purchase price of up to $250,000 – the full rebate applies and you won’t be charged the stamp duty providing your application is approved (on a land purchase of $250,000 this is and immediate saving of $7,175).
  • Spending more than $250,000 – there is reduced rebate so you will pay some stamp duty. On a land purchase of $260,000 this will be $825 (a saving of $6,700), on a $300,000 land purchase it will increase to $4,125 (a saving of $4,800) and then at $400,000 or more you pay the full stamp duty applicable.
 
c. If you are building a home, you’ll only need to consider the stamp duty on the land purchase as stamp duty isn’t payable on the value of the building contract.
 
When do you get the First Home Owner’s Stamp Duty rebate?
Once the contract on your property has been exchanged, your solicitor will prepare for settlement (the settlement date is the date on which the property officially becomes yours). This involves calculating the extra costs of buying, such as stamp duty, so your rebate is taken into account here. If you do need to pay stamp duty, it is your solicitor’s responsibility to notify you of this and the amount prior to settlement so that it can be handed over by them at settlement.

Your solicitor or conveyancer will complete the forms with you to claim the rebate.

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