Land Tax by State Australia — 2026-27 Thresholds, Rates & Foreign Surcharges

Land tax is the second-largest state-level property tax in Australia after stamp duty, but unlike stamp duty (a one-off transaction tax) it’s recurrent — assessed each year on the unimproved value of land you hold above a free threshold. The rules, thresholds, and surcharge regimes vary dramatically across the 8 Australian jurisdictions, and two of them (ACT and NT) sit completely outside the standard model.

This article aggregates the current land tax settings for all 8 jurisdictions — the 2026 land tax year for calendar-year states and the 2026-27 financial year where that is the assessment basis — with cross-state comparison, principal place of residence (PPR) exemption notes, and foreign owner surcharge rates. All 8 jurisdictions were re-verified in July 2026 against official revenue office sources: only South Australia (thresholds indexed up) and the ACT (fixed charge) changed for 2026-27; every other schedule carried over unchanged.

What is land tax?

Land tax is a recurrent state-level property tax in Australia, assessed each year on the unimproved value of the land you hold above a free threshold. It is the second-largest state property tax after stamp duty, but unlike stamp duty’s one-off charge it recurs annually. Rules, thresholds and surcharges vary across the eight jurisdictions — the Northern Territory levies none.

Quick reference — general land tax threshold + foreign surcharge

Per-state detail

New South Wales (Revenue NSW)

NSW land tax is assessed on a calendar year basis using a three-year average of the land’s unimproved value.

2026 land tax year (thresholds unchanged from 2025 — NSW paused indexation):

Surcharge Land Tax for foreign persons: 5% of the taxable value of residential land from the 2025 land tax year onwards (4% in 2023-2024, 2% in 2018-2022), with no free threshold — it applies from the first dollar.

PPR exemption: Land used and occupied as the owner’s principal place of residence is generally exempt. Primary production land exemption also available.

Source: Revenue NSW — Land tax thresholds and rates.

Victoria (State Revenue Office Victoria)

Victoria has the lowest general threshold in Australia at $50,000, making land tax a much broader-based tax than in other states.

2024-2033 land tax year schedule (still in force):

Absentee Owner Surcharge: materially increases liability. Example: $50,000–$99,999 bracket becomes $2,500 + 4% of amount over $50,000 (versus the $500 flat fee for residents).

Source: SRO Victoria — Land tax current rates.

Queensland (Queensland Revenue Office)

Queensland land tax is assessed at 30 June each year on ownership of all freehold land.

Individuals (unchanged for the 2026-27 year):

Companies and trusts have lower thresholds and steeper rates — see QRO companies & trusts page.

Surcharges:

• Foreign individual / company / trust: 2% on the full taxable value of residential land
• Absentee owner: 3% on land above $350,000

Source: QRO — Land tax rates for individuals.

Western Australia (RevenueWA / WA Treasury)

WA uses a flat-fee bracket at the low end, then progressive percentages.

2026-27 schedule (unchanged — no land tax changes in the WA 2026-27 Budget):

Assessment: financial year basis (1 July to 30 June), using land value at 30 June.

Source: RevenueWA / WA Department of Treasury and Finance. Verify current schedule with RevenueWA directly.

South Australia (RevenueSA)

SA indexes its land tax thresholds each year to movements in site values determined by the Valuer-General. The 2026-27 thresholds were released in the South Australian Government Gazette on 4 June 2026 and apply from 1 July 2026: Threshold A $936,000, Threshold B $1,504,000, Threshold C $2,188,000, Threshold D $3,504,000 — a 12.4% jump in the tax-free threshold from $833,000 in 2025-26. RevenueSA confirmed there has been no change to the rates applied to these thresholds.

2026-27 general rates (base amounts derived from the gazetted thresholds and unchanged rates — RevenueSA publishes the formal scale as “$X for every $100 or part of $100”):

Land held on trust starts at a much lower $25,000 threshold before the standard scale applies. Principal place of residence is exempt and primary production land attracts concessional treatment.

Foreign surcharge: SA levies no foreign surcharge on land tax — its 7% Foreign Ownership Surcharge applies to stamp duty on acquisition instead (see the stamp duty data article).

Source: RevenueSA — Land tax rates and thresholds and 2026-27 land tax rates and thresholds announcement.

Tasmania (State Revenue Office Tasmania)

Tasmania has one of the simplest land tax structures in Australia — just two brackets above the threshold:

Foreign Investor Land Tax Surcharge (FILTS): 2% on residential land, no threshold — applies from the first dollar. Acquired on or after 1 July 2022.

PPR exemption: principal residence land is not subject to land tax or FILTS.

Assessment date: ownership at 1 July each year.

Source: SRO Tasmania — Land tax.

Australian Capital Territory (ACT Revenue Office)

The ACT has the most unusual land tax regime in Australia — there is no threshold, all investment property is subject from the first dollar, and land tax is assessed quarterly (1 July, 1 October, 1 January, 1 April).

2026-27 schedule (Taxation Administration (Amounts Payable—Land Tax) Determination 2026, DI2026-152, commencing 1 July 2026):

• Fixed charge: $1,778 per year (up from $1,693 in 2025-26)
• Plus marginal rates on Average Unimproved Value (AUV) — unchanged from 2025-26:

Foreign Owner Surcharge: additional 0.75% of AUV (also confirmed in DI2026-152).

Scope: investment property only — principal place of residence is exempt. Includes rented properties, vacant investment properties, trust-held property, and rented secondary dwellings (granny flats).

Source: ACT Revenue Office — Land tax and DI2026-152 (PDF) on the ACT Legislation Register.

Northern Territory (Territory Revenue Office)

The Northern Territory does not impose a general land tax on landowners. Council rates and other land-related charges apply at the local government level, but there is no NT-wide land tax equivalent to the schedules above.

Source: NT Department of Treasury & Finance.

Cross-state observations

• Lowest entry threshold: Victoria ($50,000) — land tax bites at a far broader range of holdings than other states. The ACT effectively has zero threshold but only applies to investment property.
• Highest entry threshold: NSW ($1,075,000) — most residential investors with one or two properties stay below.
• No general land tax: Northern Territory only.
• Quarterly assessment: ACT is unique. All other jurisdictions assess annually.
• Calendar year vs financial year: Most states assess on calendar year (1 January threshold), NSW uses 3-year averaging, WA uses 30 June, QLD uses 30 June, Tasmania uses 1 July. Always check the relevant assessment date for your jurisdiction.
• Foreign surcharge spread: From 0% (NT, WA and SA on land tax) to 5% (NSW, from 2025) — an annual recurring cost on top of standard land tax, on residential land with no threshold in NSW, VIC and TAS.

Where independent valuation fits in the land tax workflow

Land tax is assessed on land values published by each state’s Valuer-General, but those values can sometimes overstate the open-market position — particularly in falling markets, on properties with planning or title encumbrances, or where the published valuation date predates a material market shift. Three points where an independent valuation can be material:

1. Land tax objection — most states allow landowners to object to a Valuer-General land value within a defined window (typically 60–90 days from the notice). An independent commercial property valuation or industrial property valuation supporting a lower land value is the strongest evidentiary base for an objection. For residential portfolios, residential property valuation work performs the same role.
2. Trust and entity restructure planning — moving land between related entities (family trust to discretionary trust, related companies, SMSF rollovers) triggers reassessment events under both stamp duty and land tax regimes. A contemporaneous related party transfer valuation establishes the arm’s-length market value that revenue offices accept for both purposes simultaneously.
3. Annual financial reporting on landed assets — ASX-listed entities, large corporates, and APRA-regulated funds carrying property must mark to fair value under AASB 140 (Investment Property) or AASB 116. Land tax obligations are a recurring cost feeding into the income statement; a defensible financial reporting valuation supports both the balance sheet position and the deferred tax calculation around land tax provisions.

For SMSF trustees specifically, annual SIS Act valuation obligations also feed land-tax-relevant evidence — see the SMSF property valuation flagship for the SIS Act trigger events.

Methodology

This article aggregates current land tax data from official state revenue offices, re-verified across all 8 jurisdictions in July 2026. NSW thresholds were confirmed on the Revenue NSW rates page, the SA 2026-27 thresholds against the RevenueSA gazette announcement (4 June 2026), the ACT fixed charge and rates against the legislated determination DI2026-152 read directly on the ACT Legislation Register, and NT’s no-land-tax position against NT government sources. The SA intermediate base amounts ($2,840 / $9,680 / $36,000) are derived by applying RevenueSA’s unchanged rates to the gazetted 2026-27 thresholds; RevenueSA publishes the formal scale in “per $100 or part of $100” form.

All figures are AUD and apply to general residential / mixed land holdings unless otherwise stated. Principal place of residence exemptions, primary production concessions, and pensioner exemptions are not modelled in the headline rates — refer to each revenue office for the specific exemption mechanics.

Frequently asked questions

Which Australian state has the highest land tax threshold?

New South Wales has the highest general threshold at $1,075,000, so most residential investors with one or two properties stay below it. Victoria has the lowest at $50,000, making its land tax far broader-based. The ACT effectively has no threshold at all, but only applies land tax to investment property, not to a principal place of residence.

Which Australian jurisdictions have no land tax?

The Northern Territory is the only jurisdiction with no general land tax; council rates and other local charges still apply, but there is no NT-wide land tax. The ACT is the other outlier — it has no threshold and taxes all investment property from the first dollar, assessed quarterly, though a principal place of residence remains exempt.

Do foreign owners pay a land tax surcharge in Australia?

Yes, in most jurisdictions. New South Wales levies a 5% surcharge (from the 2025 land tax year) and Victoria 4%, both on residential land with no free threshold. Queensland applies 2% for foreign owners and 3% for absentee owners, Tasmania charges 2% under its FILTS regime, and the ACT adds 0.75% of the Average Unimproved Value. Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory levy no land tax surcharge — SA instead charges its 7% Foreign Ownership Surcharge on stamp duty at acquisition.

Is my home exempt from land tax?

In most states, land used and occupied as your principal place of residence is generally exempt, and primary production land often attracts a concession too. The exemptions are not modelled in the headline rates, so the specific mechanics vary by jurisdiction — check your state revenue office for how the principal place of residence exemption applies to your situation.

When is land tax assessed each year?

The assessment date varies by jurisdiction. Most states assess on a calendar year basis with a 1 January threshold, but NSW uses a three-year average of the land’s unimproved value, Western Australia and Queensland assess on ownership at 30 June, Tasmania uses 1 July, and the ACT is assessed quarterly. Always check the relevant assessment date for your jurisdiction.

Sources

• Revenue NSW — Land tax thresholds and rates
• State Revenue Office Victoria — Land tax current rates
• Queensland Revenue Office — Land tax for individuals and Land tax for companies & trusts
• WA Department of Treasury and Finance — Land tax
• RevenueSA — Land tax rates and thresholds and 2026-27 announcement
• SRO Tasmania — Land tax and FILTS factsheet (PDF)
• ACT Revenue Office — Land tax and Taxation Administration (Amounts Payable—Land Tax) Determination 2026 (DI2026-152)
• Revenue NSW — Surcharge land tax

See also

• Property Taxes in Australia — The Total Cost by State 2026-27 — stamp duty + land tax + council rates combined into one comparison
• Stamp Duty Rates by State Australia — 2026-27 Comprehensive Data — companion data article on the one-off transaction tax
• First Home Buyer Assistance by State Australia — 2025-26 Matrix — grants + concessions across all 8 jurisdictions
• Foreign Buyer Rules and Surcharges Australia — 2025-26 — comprehensive FIRB + state surcharge breakdown
• Australian Property Valuation Statistics 2026 — Market, Industry & Cost Data — the market data land tax thresholds sit within

Last verified: 16 July 2026. Land tax schedules change with each annual state budget cycle — verify the current rate at the linked source before acting on any figure. For property valuations supporting land tax objections or trust restructure work, request a quote.