- When transfer duty applies
- Who pays transfer duty
- Concessions
- Exemptions
- Calculating
- Lodging
- Reassessing duty
You may be able to claim an exemption from transfer (stamp) duty for transactions involving
- the Family Law Act 1975 (Cwlth)
- the Property Law Act 1974
- divorce orders, decree of nullity or decree of nisi.
If you are a transfer duty self assessor, you can:
- refer to the Family Law Act toolkits or the De facto relationship instruments exemption (s.424) toolkit for help with matrimonial exemptions
- view a list of all self-assessed transactions, concessions and exemptions, and their related toolkits.
Family Law Act
You don’t pay transfer duty on transactions that give effect to a court order or financial agreement made under sections 90, 90L or 90WA of the Family Law Act.
The sealed court order or financial agreement must:
- be a valid order or agreement
- pre-date the transaction
- specify the property being transferred
- clearly state who the property is to be transferred to.
Court orders must be made under the provisions of Part VIII of the Family Law Act. Financial agreements must be made under the provisions of Part VIIIA or Part VIIIAB of the Family Law Act, as applicable. An order or agreement made under another jurisdiction is not exempt under these provisions.
Example
A husband and wife who are divorcing own an investment property. Consent orders are made in the Federal Court of Australia, under Part VIII of the Family Law Act, for a property settlement between the husband and the wife.
Under the terms of the consent order, the wife transfers her share of the property to the husband’s trustee company.
The instrument (document) transferring the wife’s interest in the property to the husband’s trustee company is exempt from duty under section 90(1)(a) of the Family Law Act.
How to claim
To claim an exemption, you need to lodge:
- a copy of the sealed court order or financial agreement
- a dutiable transaction statement (Form D2.2)
- an identity details annexure for each non-Australian transferor and transferee, when transferring real property (e.g. homes, apartments, business premises and vacant land)
- Form 1 Transfer and Form 24 from Titles Queensland.
For help completing the Titles Queensland forms, read part 1 (transfer) of the Land title practice manual and the guide to Form 24.
When lodging documents, make sure you include a covering letter with your name, address and details of what you have lodged. If you also give us an email address or mobile number, we will confirm when we’ve received your documents.
Transferring an interest in property may affect the transferee’s land tax liability.
Property Law Act
You don’t pay transfer duty on transactions relating to de facto relationship property that gives effect to:
- a recognised agreement made under section 266 of the Property Law Act
- an order of a court under Part 19 of the Property Law Act.
The recognised agreement or court order must:
- be a valid agreement or order
- pre-date the transaction
- specify the property being transferred
- clearly state who the property is to be transferred to.
The parties must have lived in a de facto relationship for at least 2 years.
This exemption does not apply to a property settlement made outside of Queensland if it has no reference to section 266 of the Property Law Act.
Example—exemption applies
A de facto couple own a property as joint tenants and are separating.
A recognised agreement is made under section 266 of the Property Law Act that contains a statement of all significant property. The agreement is signed by the couple and witnessed by a solicitor.
The agreement states that the couple has lived together in a de facto relationship on a genuine domestic basis for 1 year and 7 months before separating, and for a further 6 months after reconciling. An instrument is executed to transfer the property from one partner to the other.
The instrument is exempt under section 424 of the Duties Act 2001 because the parties to the separation agreement have lived together as a couple for at least 2 years.
Example—exemption does not apply
Consider the same case of the de facto couple in the above example, except that the signed and witnessed agreement states that the couple has lived together in a de facto relationship on a genuine domestic basis for 18 months.
An instrument is executed under the agreement to transfer property from one partner to the other.
The instrument is not exempt under section 424 of the Duties Act because the parties to the recognised agreement haven’t lived together for at least 2 years. This instrument must be assessed for transfer duty on the dutiable value of the entire property.
See section 424 of the Duties Act for more information on the exemption for de facto relationship instruments.
How to claim
To claim an exemption, you need to lodge:
- a copy of the recognised agreement or court order
- a dutiable transaction statement (Form D2.2)
- an identity details annexure for each non-Australian transferor and transferee, when transferring real property (e.g. homes, apartments, business premises and vacant land)
- Form 1 Transfer and Form 24 from Titles Queensland.
For help completing the Titles Queensland forms, read part 1 (transfer) of the Land title practice manual and the guide to Form 24.
When lodging documents, make sure you include a covering letter with your name, address and details of what you have lodged. If you also give us an email address or mobile number, we will confirm when we’ve received your documents.
Transferring an interest in property may affect the transferee’s land tax liability.
Matrimonial instrument—divorce order, decree of nullity or decree nisi
Transfer duty is exempt under section 424 of the Duties Act if:
- your marriage has been dissolved or annulled
- the property is being transferred from your former spouse to you
- the property is your principal place of residence
- the transfer is dated after the start of proceedings to dissolve or annul the marriage.
How to claim
To claim an exemption, you need to lodge:
- a copy of either a divorce order, decree of nullity or decree nisi
- a statutory declaration for the transfer of an interest in property from a former marital partner
- a dutiable transaction statement (Form D2.2)
- an identity details annexure for each non-Australian transferor and transferee
- Form 1 Transfer and Form 24 from Titles Queensland.
For help completing the Titles Queensland forms, read part 1 (transfer) of the Land title practice manual and the guide to Form 24.
When lodging documents, make sure you include a covering letter with your name, address and details of what you have lodged. If you also give us an email address or mobile number, we will confirm when we’ve received your documents.
Last updated: 5 July 2024 Jump to page- Transfer duty
- When transfer duty applies
- Who pays transfer duty
- Concessions
- Exemptions
- Calculating
- Lodging
- Reassessing duty
