The 2024-25 State Budget, handed down on 6 June 2024, announces the following taxation measures:
- Removal of the property value cap for stamp duty relief for eligible first home buyers and the First Home Owner Grant who enter into an eligible contract on or after 6 June 2024.
- Tightening of previous ownership criteria for both the stamp duty relief for eligible first home buyers and the First Home Owner Grant who enter into an eligible contract on or after the date of assent of the Statutes Amendment (Budget Measures) Bill 2024.
- Removal of relief from the foreign ownership surcharge for transfers eligible for stamp duty relief for eligible first home buyers who enter into a contract to purchase a new home or vacant land on or after the date of assent of the Statutes Amendment (Budget Measures) Bill 2024.
- Introduction of an exemption from payroll tax on the wages of general practitioners related to bulk billed services from 1 July 2024.
Legislative amendments to implement the above measures are contained in the Statutes Amendment (Budget Measures) Bill 2024 which was introduced into Parliament on Thursday, 6 June 2024. Removal of the property value cap will come into effect from 6 June 2024, whilst the operation of the other stamp duty and FHOG legislative measures is subject to the Bill coming into force as an Act.
Additionally, the Bill makes amendments to allow for an existing amnesty on certain wages paid to general practitioners and other approved health service providers, which expires on 30 June 2024, to be included in regulations.
Stamp Duty
The property value caps for stamp duty relief for eligible first home buyers will be removed for contracts entered into on or after 6 June 2024 to purchase a new home or vacant land to build a new home on.
For contracts entered into on or after 6 June 2024, full stamp duty relief applies on the purchase of all eligible new homes and vacant land used to build a new home.
Additional measures have also been introduced, effective for contracts entered into on or after the date of assent of the Statutes Amendment (Budget Measures) Bill 2024. These measures:
- tighten the previous home ownership criteria such that first home buyers (and/or their spouse/domestic partner) who own or have previously owned a residential property in Australia will not be eligible for stamp duty relief. This includes where the first home buyer and/or their spouse/domestic partner did not occupy the residential property, or occupied it for less than 6 months.
- remove relief for first home buyers from the foreign ownership surcharge. To be eligible for stamp duty relief, at least one owner must be an Australian citizen or a Permanent Resident. Previously, full or partial relief of the foreign ownership surcharge would be available for first home buyers who were eligible for stamp duty relief. The full foreign ownership surcharge will now liable on the interest being transferred to foreign persons.
For more information see our stamp duty first home buyer relief page.
First Home Owner Grant
The property value cap for the First Home Owner Grant will be removed for contracts entered into on or after 6 June 2024 to purchase a new home or comprehensive building contract.
If the commencement date of an eligible transaction:
- is on or after 6 June 2024, the First Home Owner Grant will be available, regardless of the value of the home.
- was between 15 June 2023 and 5 June 2024, the First Home Owner Grant will be available where the market value of the home is equal to or below $650,000.
- was prior to 15 June 2023, the First Home Owner Grant will be available where the market value of the home is equal to or below $575,000.
An additional measure has also been introduced where the commencement date of an eligible transaction is on or after the date of assent of the Statutes Amendment (Budget Mesaures) Bill 2024. This measure tightens the previous home ownership criteria such that first home buyers (and/or their spouse/domestic partner) who own or have previously owned an interest in residential property in Australia will not be eligible for a First Home Owner Grant. This includes where the first home buyer and/or their spouse/domestic partner did not occupy the residential property, or occupied it for less than 6 months.
The commencement date is determined as follows:
| in the case of: | the commencement date is: |
|---|---|
| a contract for the purchase of a home | the date the contract is made. |
| a comprehensive building contract with a builder | the date the contract is made. |
| the building of a home by an owner builder | the date when laying the foundations for the home commences, or another date the Commissioner of State Taxation (the “Commissioner”) considers appropriate in the circumstances of the case. The Commissioner considers that laying the foundations occurs on the date the concrete slab is laid. |
For more information see our first home owner grant page.
Payroll tax
A payroll tax amnesty for medical practices with contracted general practitioners is in place between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2024, where the general practice registered for the amnesty by 30 November 2023 and registered for payroll tax by 30 June 2024.
As part of the amnesty, medical practices with wages above the payroll tax threshold (currently $1.5 million) are required to register for payroll tax for the 2024-25 financial year.
When an organisation registers for payroll tax they are required to declare wages for each of the previous five years (or less if not in operation for five years). Given participating medical practices are receiving an amnesty on their wages paid between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2024, a waiver of this requirement will be legislated for those medical practices that have registered and are participating in the amnesty. Medical practices, with Australia wide wages of $1.5 million or above, who are not participating in the amnesty are still required to provide their wage details for previous financial years.
An exemption from payroll tax on the wages of general practitioners related to bulk billed services will also be introduced from 1 July 2024.
The exemption will be calculated based on the proportion of bulk billed items relative to the total number of billed items by general practitioners. This percentage deduction will then be applied against the medical practices’ total annual general practitioners wages bill.