Property Taxes in Australia — The Total Cost by State 2026-27

Australian property owners pay three separate property taxes, levied by two different levels of government, on three different valuation bases — and almost nobody adds them up. Stamp duty is charged once, at purchase, on the contract price. Land tax recurs every year on the unimproved or site value of investment land above a threshold. Council rates recur every year on yet another valuation base that varies by state. Each is documented separately (including by us — see the stamp duty, land tax and council rates data articles this comparison is built on), but the number that actually matters to a buyer is the composite: what does the same property cost, in total tax, in each jurisdiction?

This article runs that composite for 2026-27, using a single controlled scenario — a $1,000,000 investment property purchase — across all 8 Australian jurisdictions. The spread is larger than most investors expect: first-year taxes range from about $40,600 in Brisbane to about $59,500 in Melbourne, and the recurring annual bill alone runs from roughly $2,100 a year in Sydney or Darwin to more than $10,000 a year in Canberra.

The three property taxes at a glance

Stamp duty figures are for a standard adult resident buyer (no first home buyer relief, no foreign surcharge), computed from each jurisdiction’s bracket table — full workings and per-bracket sources in the stamp duty data article. The ACT figure is the published owner-occupier sliding scale; non-owner-occupier duty differs — verify with the ACT Revenue Office. Council rates are typical single-dwelling ranges from the council rates article.

Worked example — the same $1M investment property in every capital

To make the jurisdictions comparable, we hold everything constant: a $1,000,000 established investment property, individually owned, in the capital city, with a land (site) value of $600,000. That land value is a modelling assumption — actual land-to-total-value ratios vary by city and property type — but holding it constant is what isolates the tax schedules themselves.

Year-one total (stamp duty + land tax + council rates):

*ACT duty shown at the top of the owner-occupier scale; an investor’s duty will differ. Land tax is the 2026-27 assessment on a $600,000 land value — workings below. Perth land tax includes the 0.14% Metropolitan Region Improvement Tax.

Two things stand out. First, the cheapest and most expensive jurisdictions swap depending on which tax you look at: Melbourne has nearly the cheapest council rates but by far the highest stamp duty and a land tax that starts at just $50,000 of land value. Darwin has zero land tax but one of the steepest duty bills. Second, the one-off versus recurring split matters enormously for holding-period maths — which is where the next table comes in.

The same land value, eight very different land tax bills

Land tax is where the jurisdictions diverge most sharply. Here is the 2026-27 annual land tax on the same $600,000 of taxable land value, held by an individual investor:

The identical asset generates anywhere from $0 to $7,418 a year in land tax depending on where it sits. Over a ten-year hold, that ACT-versus-NSW gap alone compounds to more than $74,000 before indexation — larger than the stamp duty bill that dominates most buyers’ attention. All bracket tables and assessment dates are in the land tax data article.

What changed for 2026-27 — the June 2026 budget round

The composite picture shifted materially at 1 July 2026:

• ACT abolished stamp duty for first home buyers entirely — no price cap, no income test, the first Australian jurisdiction to do so. (Our worked example is an investor, so it doesn’t benefit — but for FHBs the ACT just deleted the largest line in the table.)
• WA lifted its FHB exemption to $600,000 (concessional to $800,000) under the 2026-27 Budget’s Housing Taxation Package, applying to transactions from the 7 May 2026 announcement.
• Tasmania’s $750,000 FHB duty exemption expired on 30 June 2026 without renewal; the new-build First Home Owner Grant continues at a reduced $20,000.
• Queensland excludes temporary residents from the home, first home and vacant land duty concessions from 1 August 2026.
• South Australia indexed its land tax thresholds up 12.4% — the tax-free threshold is now $936,000 — and added a stamp duty exemption for downsizers aged 60+ buying new or off-the-plan homes up to $2.0M (contracts from 25 March 2026).
• The ACT fixed charge rose to $1,778 (from $1,693) under determination DI2026-152; marginal land tax rates were unchanged.

Standard stamp duty brackets did not change in any jurisdiction — every 2025-26 rate table carried over into 2026-27.

Foreign buyers pay two surcharges, not one

A foreign purchaser faces a surcharge at both points: extra stamp duty at purchase, then extra land tax every year. The combined position:

On the $1M example in NSW, a foreign buyer adds $80,000 of surcharge duty at settlement and then — because surcharge land tax has no threshold — roughly $30,000 a year of surcharge land tax on the $600,000 land value, on top of everything in the tables above. Full breakdown in the foreign buyer rules article.

Where valuation fits into the property tax bill

All three taxes rest on a valuation, and two of the three valuations can be challenged:

1. Land tax and council rates are assessed on values published by each state’s Valuer-General. Most jurisdictions allow objections within a defined window (typically 60–90 days from the notice). An independent residential, commercial or industrial valuation supporting a lower land value is the strongest evidentiary base for challenging the assessment — and because land tax is recurrent, a successful objection compounds every year.
2. Stamp duty on non-arm’s-length transactions (family transfers, related companies, trust restructures) is assessed on market value rather than the contract price, and revenue offices require valuation evidence — see related party transfer valuations.
3. Aggregate holding-cost analysis — for portfolio investors, the land tax position across jurisdictions materially changes after-tax yield. A financial reporting valuation that establishes defensible land values across a multi-state portfolio feeds directly into the provisioning for these taxes.

Methodology

Stamp duty figures are computed from each jurisdiction’s published bracket table for a standard adult resident buyer, as documented (with per-bracket sources) in our stamp duty data article; SA, TAS, ACT and NT figures there carry a “verify with source” flag. Land tax figures apply each jurisdiction’s 2026-27 schedule — verified in July 2026 against revenue office pages and, for the ACT, the legislated determination DI2026-152 — to a $600,000 taxable land value; the land tax article documents each scale. Council rates are typical single-dwelling ranges by capital city from our council rates article; variation within each city is wide. The $600,000 land value is a stated modelling assumption held constant across cities to isolate the tax schedules — it is not a claim about actual land-to-value ratios in any market. Figures are rounded and exclude water/sewerage utility charges, the ACT’s consolidated general rates mechanics, emergency services levies, and any concession the buyer may separately qualify for.

Frequently asked questions

Which Australian state has the highest total property taxes?

It depends on the holding period. On first-year totals for a $1M investment property, Melbourne is highest (about $58,750–$59,450, driven by $55,000 of stamp duty on investment purchases). On recurring annual taxes alone, Canberra is highest — roughly $9,600–$10,900 a year once the ACT’s no-threshold land tax ($7,418 on a $600,000 land value) is added to general rates — while Sydney, Adelaide and Darwin investors with the same land value pay only their council rates plus little or no land tax.

How much tax do you pay when buying a $1 million investment property in Australia?

Between roughly $40,600 and $59,500 in the first year, depending on the jurisdiction, once stamp duty, land tax and council rates are combined. Stamp duty is the dominant component everywhere — from $38,025 in Queensland to $55,000 in Victoria on a $1M investment purchase — but the recurring taxes determine how the gap moves over a full holding period.

Which parts of Australia have no land tax?

The Northern Territory levies no land tax at all. In practice, NSW and SA investors also pay nothing on moderate holdings because of high tax-free thresholds — $1,075,000 in NSW and $936,000 in SA for 2026-27 — while Victoria’s $50,000 threshold and the ACT’s no-threshold regime capture almost every investment property.

Do owner-occupiers pay these property taxes?

Owner-occupiers pay stamp duty (unless exempt — from 1 July 2026 all ACT first home buyers are, with no price cap) and council rates, but not land tax: every jurisdiction that levies land tax exempts the principal place of residence. The worked examples above are for investment property, which is where all three taxes apply simultaneously.

What changed in the June 2026 state budgets?

Standard stamp duty and land tax rate tables were left untouched everywhere. The changes target concessions and thresholds: the ACT abolished FHB stamp duty outright, WA lifted its FHB exemption to $600,000 (from 7 May 2026), Tasmania let its $750,000 FHB exemption lapse while keeping a reduced $20,000 new-build grant, Queensland removed duty concessions for temporary residents from 1 August 2026, and South Australia indexed its land tax threshold to $936,000 and added a 60+ downsizer duty exemption.

Sources

• Revenue NSW — Transfer duty and Land tax thresholds and rates
• State Revenue Office Victoria — Land tax current rates and non-PPR duty rates
• Queensland Revenue Office — Transfer duty rates and Land tax for individuals
• WA — Transfer duty assessment and Land tax assessment
• RevenueSA — Land tax rates and thresholds and 2026-27 announcement
• SRO Tasmania — Land tax and Property transfer duties
• ACT Revenue Office — Land tax, Conveyance duty and DI2026-152
• NT Treasury — Stamp duty

See also

• Stamp Duty Rates by State Australia — 2026-27 Comprehensive Data — the full bracket tables behind the purchase-tax column
• Land Tax by State Australia — 2026-27 Thresholds, Rates & Foreign Surcharges — every land tax scale, threshold and surcharge
• Council Rates by Capital City Australia 2026 — how each capital’s rating system works
• Foreign Buyer Rules and Surcharges Australia — 2025-26 — FIRB fees plus both surcharge layers
• First Home Buyer Assistance by State Australia — 2025-26 Matrix — the concession side of the ledger
• Australian Property Valuation Statistics 2026 — the market data these taxes sit within

This article is general information, not tax or financial advice. Property tax outcomes depend on your entity structure, residency, aggregation across holdings, and each revenue office’s current schedule — confirm your position with the relevant revenue office or your adviser before acting.

Last verified: 16 July 2026. Land tax settings were re-verified against 2026-27 sources in July 2026; stamp duty brackets confirmed carried over from 2025-26. For a valuation supporting a land tax objection or stamp duty assessment, request a quote.