First Home Buyer Stamp Duty Concession Brisbane Southside, QLD, The 2026 Guide
If you're buying your first home in Brisbane Southside, QLD, transfer duty is one of the costs that can quietly add tens of thousands to your upfront bill, or disappear entirely depending on what you're buying and what you're paying. Most first home buyers here qualify for a full or partial exemption, but the rules differ depending on whether the property is new or established, and the established-home threshold sits well below the area's median house prices.
The good news is that for a unit or townhouse, the concession is genuinely accessible. Every unit median across Brisbane Southside sits under $900,000, and most sit comfortably under the $700,000 full-exemption threshold for established homes. For new homes and vacant land, the exemption applies at any price, which makes it the stronger pathway for buyers stretching into higher price points.
Our team helps first home buyers across Brisbane Southside, QLD navigate the duty concessions alongside the deposit, the grant, and the government schemes that stack on top, comparing across 50+ lenders to find the structure that gets the most out of every dollar available to you.
Key takeaways
- New homes and vacant land carry $0 duty at any purchase price.
- Established homes get full exemption up to $700,000, tapering to $800,000.
- From 1 August 2026, concessions apply only to citizens, PRs and specified foreign retirees.
How much stamp duty do first home buyers actually pay in Brisbane Southside, QLD?
Most first home buyers in Brisbane Southside pay $0 in transfer duty. The Queensland first home concession delivers a full exemption on established homes valued up to $700,000, a partial exemption on a sliding scale from $700,001 to $800,000, and a full exemption on new homes and vacant land at any price. The maximum saving on an established home reaches $24,525. From 1 August 2026, the concessions apply only to Australian citizens, permanent residents and specified foreign retirees.
What stamp duty rules apply to first home buyers in Brisbane Southside?
The Queensland transfer duty concession for first home buyers runs on two separate tracks depending on what you're purchasing, and the tracks have meaningfully different price ceilings.
The two concession tracks:
- › New home or vacant land:$0 duty at any purchase price for contracts from 1 May 2025. No price cap applies. This is the stronger pathway for buyers at higher price points across Brisbane Southside.
- › Established home under $700,000:$0 duty under the First Home Concession. The full exemption cuts out above this threshold.
- › Established home $700,001 to $800,000: a partial concession applies on a sliding scale. The saving reduces progressively as the price rises, reaching nil at $800,000.
- › Established home above $800,000: no concession. Full transfer duty applies. Given that most Brisbane Southside house medians sit above $1,200,000, established houses here mostly fall outside the concession band entirely.
The Queensland Revenue Office publishes a transfer duty calculator that gives you the exact figure for your contract price. Use it for the exact figure on your contract price.
Source: Queensland Revenue Office.
We consistently see first home buyers in Brisbane Southside focusing on the duty concession for established homes without realising the new-home exemption removes the price ceiling entirely. For buyers who can stretch to a new build or a house-and-land package, that distinction changes the calculation from the start.
Gundeep Virk · Director, Evergreen Loan Solutions · Chat to Gundeep →
What eligibility criteria apply to the Queensland first home duty concession?
The concession is not automatic. You need to meet a set of conditions, and all of them apply at settlement, not at application.
What the Queensland Revenue Office requires:
- › Residency status: from 1 August 2026, you must be an Australian citizen, a permanent resident, or a specified foreign retiree. Temporary visa holders are no longer eligible for the concession.
- › First home requirement: you must not have previously owned residential property in Australia, either alone or with another person.
- › Occupancy intention: you must intend to occupy the home as your principal place of residence within one year of settlement and live there for a continuous period of at least one year. For vacant land, you have 2 years from settlement to build, move in and live there.
- › All buyers must qualify: where two or more people are buying together, every person on the title must individually meet the eligibility conditions. One ineligible co-purchaser removes the concession for all.
- › Lodgement timing: you claim the concession when you lodge the transfer documents, not at the time of signing the contract. The Queensland Revenue Office can audit the claim and claw back the duty if the conditions are not met.
How much can first home buyers in Brisbane Southside save, and which suburbs does the concession actually reach?
Whether the concession reaches your target property depends on both the price and the property type. CoreLogic data shows that every Brisbane Southside house median across the approved suburb set sits above $830,000, which places established houses beyond the full-exemption threshold in virtually every suburb. The concession's practical reach for established homes here is almost entirely units and townhouses.
Unit medians across Brisbane Southside range from around $720,000 in Macgregor to $890,000 in Sunnybank. Suburbs like Annerley, Coopers Plains and Moorooka carry unit medians in the $800,000 to $850,000 range, which places them in the partial-concession band. A buyer purchasing a unit at $780,000 in one of these suburbs receives a reduced concession rather than the full exemption, and the exact saving depends on the calculator rather than a round figure. For buyers who can stay under $700,000, the full exemption is still achievable in parts of the unit market.
New builds and house-and-land packages carry no price ceiling, which means the duty saving is available at any price point across Brisbane Southside, including in suburbs where the median sits well above the established-home threshold.
Source: CoreLogic (via YIP, mid-2026) and Queensland Revenue Office.
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What government schemes can first home buyers stack with the duty concession?
The duty concession works alongside the federal and state schemes, and combining them is where the full upfront saving is made. Most scheme eligibility runs on the property price rather than the duty calculation, so they apply to overlapping but not identical groups of buyers.
Schemes available to Brisbane Southside first home buyers in 2026:
- › First Home Guarantee: 5% deposit, no LMI, no income test. Brisbane Southside cap $1,000,000. Covers most unit purchases and new-build packages across the area.
- › Family Home Guarantee: single parents and single legal guardians, 2% deposit, no LMI. Same $1,000,000 cap. First home buyer status is not required.
- › First Home Owner Grant:$30,000 for new homes contracted from 1 July 2026, capped at a purchase price under $750,000. Not available on established homes. Owner-builders use the foundations-laid date, not a contract date.
- › Help to Buy: the federal shared-equity scheme, contributing up to 40% on a new home or 30% on an existing one. Income cap $103,000 single or $165,000 joint. Brisbane cap $1,000,000. Australian citizens only.
- › Boost to Buy: the Queensland shared-equity scheme. The South East Queensland allocation is currently exhausted. Not available to any Brisbane Southside buyer at this time. Regional Queensland places remain open.
Help to Buy cannot be combined with any state shared-equity scheme, but it can be combined with the FHOG and the duty concession. State stamp duty concessions are not excluded by Help to Buy eligibility.
Source: Queensland Revenue Office and Housing Australia.
When does the stamp duty concession not make sense for first home buyers?
The concession is worth claiming wherever you qualify, but it doesn't change the underlying decision about property type or price. A buyer who purchases an established house above $800,000 in Brisbane Southside receives no concession, and that outcome doesn't improve by adjusting expectations downward to chase the threshold if the property itself isn't right.
The more useful reframe is property type rather than price. A buyer weighing a $750,000 established unit against a $780,000 new townhouse should factor in that the unit delivers the full concession while the new build also delivers it, plus eligibility for the $30,000 FHOG where the price is under $750,000. The concession is one input, not the deciding one. Where the occupancy requirement is likely to be a problem, as it is for buyers whose work or circumstances may require them to move within the first year, the concession risk is real regardless of price.
Where a buyer has a co-purchaser who hasn't owned property, but a partner who has, I'd always work through the title structure before contracts are exchanged, not after. It's a conversation that takes fifteen minutes before settlement and can avoid a substantial bill once the QRO reviews the claim.
Gundeep Virk · Director, Evergreen Loan Solutions · Chat to Gundeep →
How do you apply for the first home duty concession in Brisbane Southside, QLD, step by step?
Step 1: Talk to us
We work through your eligibility for the concession, the FHOG, and any federal scheme before you sign a contract, so you're buying with the full picture of what's available.
Step 2: Confirm your eligibility and choose the right property type
We confirm your citizenship or residency status, first-home status and occupancy intention, then map the concession against the property type you're targeting so you know exactly which track applies.
Step 3: Structure your loan and apply for pre-approval
We match you to lenders whose policies align with your deposit, income and the purchase type, submit the pre-approval, and confirm the grant or scheme application alongside it.
Step 4: Claim the concession at settlement
Your conveyancer lodges the concession claim with the transfer documents at settlement. We stay across the timeline to make sure the finance side lands cleanly on the same day.
What approval challenges do first home buyers face with the duty concession?
Where the concession claim can go wrong:
- › Co-purchaser ineligibility: if any person on the title has previously owned residential property in Australia, the concession is lost for all purchasers. This is the most common reason a valid claim fails, and it cannot be corrected after settlement.
- › Occupancy breach: the QRO can audit the claim and recover the duty if you fail to occupy the property within one year or move out before the continuous occupancy period is complete. Renting the property before you move in triggers this.
- › Residency condition from 1 August 2026: temporary visa holders are no longer eligible. A buyer who has applied for permanent residency but not yet received it does not qualify under the new rules.
- › Deposit shortfall after the grant timing: the $30,000 FHOG is paid after settlement on new homes, not at the time of purchase. Lenders do not count it as part of the genuine savings deposit, so your upfront deposit needs to be available without it.
- › Conflating the established-home and new-home tracks: buying a newly completed unit that was registered more than twelve months ago can shift a property from the new-home track to the established-home track, removing the price-cap advantage. Your conveyancer should confirm which track applies before you exchange.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I claim the first home duty concession on a unit in Brisbane Southside?
Yes, the concession applies to units on the same terms as houses. The full exemption covers established units under $700,000, with a partial concession to $800,000, and the new-build track carries no price cap at all.
Do I pay stamp duty if I'm buying with a partner who has owned before?
Yes, full duty applies where any person on the title has previously owned residential property in Australia. Both purchasers must individually meet the eligibility conditions for the concession to apply.
Is the $30,000 First Home Owner Grant separate from the duty concession?
Yes, the grant and the concession are separate entitlements and can be claimed together on an eligible new home. The grant requires a purchase price under $750,000; the duty exemption on new homes carries no price cap.
What is the maximum stamp duty saving for a first home buyer in Queensland?
The maximum saving under the First Home Concession on an established home is $24,525, reached at or below $700,000. New homes and vacant land attract $0 duty at any price, so the saving there equals whatever duty would otherwise apply at your purchase price.
Is there a first home vacant land concession in Queensland?
Yes. For contracts from 1 May 2025, first home buyers who buy vacant land to build their first home pay no transfer duty, with no value cap. You must build, move in and live there within 2 years of settlement, and this can't be extended.
Can temporary visa holders claim the first home duty concession in Queensland?
No, not under the rules that took effect from 1 August 2026. The concession now applies only to Australian citizens, permanent residents and specified foreign retirees. Temporary visa holders pay full transfer duty.
Should I use a mortgage broker or go straight to a lender for my first home loan?
A mortgage broker, every time. A broker compares your eligibility and the concession implications across 50+ lenders in one conversation, where a single lender can only show you their own products and cannot advise on scheme stacking.
Your Next Steps
Stamp duty in Brisbane Southside is not a fixed cost for first home buyers. It's a variable that shifts with property type, purchase price and title structure, and getting those three things right before you sign a contract is what keeps the saving on the table.
Ready to find out which lenders will work best for your first home purchase? Contact the Evergreen Loan Solutions team or call 0421 152 859. We'll canvas our 50+ lender panel and find the most suitable options for your circumstances.
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External Resources
Evergreen Loan Solutions, Eight Mile Plains and Brisbane Southside. This is general information only, this article does not constitute financial advice. Please consider your own circumstances and seek professional advice before making any financial decisions. · Last updated October 2026
