Homebuyers in the ACT will not pay stamp duty on flats and townhouses bought off-the-plan up to $800,000 under an extension of the territory government's waiver scheme.
The threshold will rise from $700,000 and will apply to contracts signed and exchanged for off-the-plan townhouses or apartments on or after November 27.
The government said it would mean a homebuyer stands to save $22,704 on an $800,000 property.
Chief Minister and Treasurer Andrew Barr said the new threshold aligned with the stamp duty exemption for dual occupancies on suburban residential blocks, announced as part of changes to the planning system.
"Stamp duty can be a significant barrier to home ownership. Further increasing the concession threshold for off-the-plan unit purchases will support more prospective homebuyers, including downsizers, to purchase an apartment or townhouse in Canberra," Mr Barr said.
Unit-titled dwellings built on RZ1 blocks will be conditionally exempt from stamp duty for their first transfer, worth up to $800,000, until June 30, 2026. The scheme was announced in October and will come into effect later this month.
Mr Barr said the changes to off-the-plan dwellings was part of the government's two-decade long program of tax changes, and would encourage more housing supply in the territory.
"The change further accelerates the territory's tax reform program. Since tax reform commenced in 2012, the government has cut stamp duty every year," he said.
"This is just one of a range of measures we are delivering to increase housing supply, affordability and choice."
The ACT government is halfway through a program designed to replace stamp duty with higher general rates, but total stamp duty revenue has continued to exceed government expectations.
Stamp duty rates have been cut each year since the changes to the tax system were announced in 2012, but the growth in the number of properties in the ACT has meant the overall value of collected duties has increased.
