Surcharge Purchaser Duty (“surcharge duty”) came into effect on 21 June 2016. It applies to purchases of residential related property in NSW by “Foreign persons”.
For purchase contracts entered into from 1 July 2017 to now the surcharge duty is calculated to be 8% of the “dutiable value” which is usually the purchase price, and it is payable in addition to any usual transfer duties.
It is important to note that individuals, corporations, trust and governments can all be “Foreign persons” for the purposes of surcharge duty liability.
The surcharge is calculated on the dutiable value and is paid in addition to the transfer duty payable on the acquisition of residential-related property.
Generally speaking, you are not a “Foreign person” if you are a:
- citizen of Australia or
- person who is ordinarily resident in Australia.
Due to International Tax Treaties, it was previously considered that citizens of New Zealand, Finland, Germany, India, Japan, Norway, South Africa and Switzerland were exempted from paying surcharge duty. This is now no longer the case and citizens of all the abovementioned countries who enter into a Contract for Sale of land to purchase residential related property in NSW on or after 8 April 2024 will be liable for surcharge duty.
If you are a foreign person wanting to know if surcharge duty is applicable to you give us a call today on 4627 3333.
This article was published on 4/06/24 and the information is valid only to the date of publishing. This article should be considered merely general and non-specific on the subject matter and is not and should not be considered or relied on as legal, advice. Meehans Solicitors is not responsible in the event this information is relied upon by the reader in the absence of specific legal advice.
