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Land Tax by State Australia — 2025 Thresholds, Rates & Foreign Surcharges

Landmark Valuations EditorialRICS-Regulated Firm27 May 202610 min read

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 2025 (and where applicable, 2025-26 financial year) land tax data for all 8 jurisdictions, with cross-state comparison, principal place of residence (PPR) exemption notes, and foreign owner surcharge rates. Data is anchored to official revenue office sources; where current bracket tables were not programmatically accessible (anti-bot WAFs on some state revenue sites), figures are sourced from each jurisdiction’s most recently published schedule via secondary calculators with explicit "verify with linked source" discipline.

Quick reference — general land tax threshold + foreign surcharge

Jurisdiction	General threshold	Top marginal rate	Foreign / absentee surcharge	Source
New South Wales	$1,075,000	2% above $6,571,000 (premium)	4% (Surcharge Land Tax)	Revenue NSW
Victoria	$50,000	2.65% above $3M	4% (Absentee Owner Surcharge)	SRO Victoria
Queensland	$600,000 (individuals)	2.25% above $10M	2% (foreign) / 3% (absentee)	QRO
Western Australia	$300,000	2.67% above $11M	None on land tax (verify)	RevenueWA
South Australia	Verify (2025-26 gazetted 5 June 2025)	top marginal verify	Surcharge applies (verify)	RevenueSA
Tasmania	$125,000	1.5% above $500,000	2% (FILTS, residential)	SRO Tasmania
Australian Capital Territory	No threshold (investment property only)	1.26% above $2M (+ $1,693 fixed)	0.75%	ACT Revenue Office
Northern Territory	No general land tax	n/a	n/a	NT Treasury

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.

From 1 January 2025 onwards:

Taxable land value	Tax payable
Up to $1,075,000	Nil
$1,075,001 – $6,571,000 (general)	$100 + 1.6% of value above $1,075,000
Over $6,571,000 (premium)	$88,036 + 2% of value above $6,571,000

Surcharge Land Tax for foreign persons: 4% of the taxable value of residential land, with no free threshold (applies from the first dollar). Verify current rate.

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):

Taxable value	Tax payable
Under $50,000	Nil
$50,000 – $99,999	$500
$100,000 – $299,999	$975
$300,000 – $599,999	$1,350 + 0.3% above $300,000
$600,000 – $999,999	$2,250 + 0.6% above $600,000
$1,000,000 – $1,799,999	$4,650 + 0.9% above $1,000,000
$1,800,000 – $2,999,999	$11,850 + 1.65% above $1,800,000
$3,000,000+	$31,650 + 2.65% above $3,000,000

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 (2025):

Total taxable value	Tax payable
Under $600,000	Nil
$600,000 and above	$500 + 1.0% above $600,000, escalating progressively up to 2.25% above $10,000,000

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.

2025-26 schedule (no changes announced for the year):

Unimproved value	Tax payable
Up to $300,000	Nil
$300,001 – $420,000	$300 (flat fee)
$420,001 – $1,000,000	$300 + 0.25% above $420,000
$1,000,001 – $11,000,000	progressive up to 2.67%
Over $11,000,000	2.67% top marginal

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)

The 2025-26 South Australia land tax rates and thresholds were officially published on 5 June 2025. Exact bracket figures should be verified directly at RevenueSA — 2025-26 land tax rates and thresholds.

SA continues to apply a progressive scale on aggregate site value, with exemption for principal place of residence and concessional treatment for primary production land. A foreign ownership surcharge applies.

Tasmania (State Revenue Office Tasmania)

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

Land value	Tax payable
Under $125,000	Nil
$125,000 – $499,999	0.45% of total value
$500,000 and above	1.5% of total value

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).

2025-26 schedule:

Fixed charge: $1,693 per year (from 1 July 2025)
Plus marginal rates on Average Unimproved Value (AUV):

AUV bracket	Rate
First $150,000	0.54%
$150,001 – $275,000	0.64%
$275,001 – $1,000,000	1.24%
$1,000,001 – $2,000,000	1.25%
Above $2,000,000	1.26%

Foreign Owner Surcharge: additional 0.75% of AUV.

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 How land tax is calculated.

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 on land tax) to 4% (NSW, VIC) — a 4% annual recurring cost on top of standard land tax, on residential land with no threshold in those states.

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:

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.
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.
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 published 2025 / 2025-26 land tax data from official state revenue offices. For NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, TAS, and ACT, key thresholds and bracket structures were verified from official sources or recent reliable secondary references. SA exact figures should be verified at the RevenueSA 2025-26 publication. NT confirmed via NT Treasury and PwC Australia tax summary as having no general land tax.

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.