Transfer Duty

QBM Lawyers > Conveyancing > Transfer Duty

Our Gold Coast conveyancing lawyers can assist in advising as to your transfer duty obligations and whether any exemption or reduction is available to you.  QBM Lawyers are registered self assessors so that most contracts are stamped by our Gold Coast conveyancing lawyers as agents for the Office of State Revenue.

Generally, transfer duty is payable for most property transfer transactions in Queensland. The amount of transfer duty can be dependent upon whether you buy as an investor or a home owner and whether you have previously owned land in Queensland. A useful resource for the payment of transfer duty is the transfer duty estimator which can be found at the following link:

https://www.qld.gov.au/housing/buying-owning-home/estimate-transfer-duty

Transfer duty is generally payable within 30 days from the date of the contract or from it becoming unconditional, subject to some qualifications and exceptions. Other state government charges in respect of the acquisition of property include registration fees on the transfer of the property. The registration fee for the transfer also varies according to the price of the property, and can be found at the following link:

https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/building-property-development/titles-property-surveying/titles-property/fee-calculator

If you are buying a commercial property, transfer duty is payable on the GST inclusive amount of the purchase price.  As a result, where GST is payable in addition to the purchase price the buyer will pay a tax (namely the transfer duty) on a tax (namely the GST).

While by the terms of the contract the obligation to pay transfer duty usually falls on the buyer, under the Duties legislation the seller is also responsible.  As a consequence, if the buyer does not pay the seller can be forced to.  If duty is not paid on time, then there is also the obligation to pay unpaid tax interest (“UTI”) on the unpaid amount and the failure to lodge can be an offence.

Please note that we generally do not stamp contracts or agreements in matters where we have not acted.  As assessors we have a number of obligations to the Office of State Revenue, and having regard to those obligations and the inherent risks of becoming involved in transactions and the need to retain records and be ready to meet audit requirements, we would not be able to stamp documents without being fully instructed in relation to the transaction and being satisfied that there is no risk to us.  Because of the time taken to verify those matters, it is not cost effective for us to be appointed for the purpose of stamping documents only.

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