Stamp duty on commercial and industrial property is one of the largest single-line costs in any acquisition, and the calculation differs from residential transfers in several ways that matter for buyers. There are no first-home concessions, there is no off-the-plan relief in most states, and landholder duty can apply to entity-level transactions even where no land formally changes hands.
This guide covers commercial stamp duty across the five largest state markets — New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, and South Australia — and summarises the landholder duty thresholds, GST interaction, and reform timetables that currently matter most.
Commercial property buyers pay the same headline duty rates as residential buyers in most states. The differences sit in what is not available to commercial purchasers — first home relief, off-the-plan concessions, and owner-occupier exemptions — and in the entity-level landholder duty regime that only applies at scale.
How Commercial Stamp Duty Works
Stamp duty (formally transfer duty) is a state tax calculated on the greater of the purchase price or the market value of the property. In every state, the duty is payable by the purchaser and must be settled within a set period after settlement — typically 30 to 90 days depending on the jurisdiction.
For commercial transfers, three features distinguish the calculation from residential:
- No owner-occupier concessions. First home exemptions, principal-place-of-residence concessions, and off-the-plan relief are generally unavailable to commercial buyers, regardless of whether the asset is strata suite, retail strip, warehouse, or office.
- GST interaction. If the sale is not a going-concern supply (see the GST section below), stamp duty is calculated on the GST-inclusive price. A $2 million sale plus GST can therefore attract duty on $2.2 million, adding roughly $11,000 in NSW.
- Landholder duty. Acquiring shares or units in an entity that holds Australian land above the state-specific threshold can trigger duty as if the underlying land had been bought directly. This applies to many mid-market commercial transactions structured through trusts or companies.
1 New South Wales
Commercial transfer duty in NSW is administered by Revenue NSW, using the same general rate brackets that apply to residential transfers. Premium duty (7% flat) applies only to residential property above $3,505,000, so high-value commercial acquisitions are not caught by the premium rate.
Duty Rate Brackets (Commercial & Industrial)
| Dutiable Value | Duty |
|---|---|
| $0 -- $16,000 | $1.25 per $100 |
| $16,001 -- $35,000 | $200 + $1.50 per $100 over $16,000 |
| $35,001 -- $93,000 | $485 + $1.75 per $100 over $35,000 |
| $93,001 -- $351,000 | $1,500 + $3.50 per $100 over $93,000 |
| $351,001 -- $1,168,000 | $10,530 + $4.50 per $100 over $351,000 |
| Over $1,168,000 | $47,295 + $5.50 per $100 over $1,168,000 |
Worked Example
A $2,500,000 Sydney retail freehold attracts approximately $120,555 in transfer duty ($47,295 + $5.50 per $100 on the amount over $1,168,000).
Landholder Duty
NSW applies landholder duty where the entity holds NSW land with an unencumbered value of $2,000,000 or more, and an acquirer obtains a significant interest (generally 50% or more for a private unit trust or company; 90% or more for a widely held landholder). The duty rate applied mirrors the transfer duty scale on the proportionate land value — it is not a flat rate.
Foreign Purchaser Surcharge
The 8% surcharge applies to residential land only. Commercial and industrial acquisitions by foreign persons do not attract the surcharge in NSW, though Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval and application fees still apply for acquisitions above the relevant thresholds.
2 Victoria
Victoria charges transfer duty through the State Revenue Office (SRO). The rate table below applies to commercial and industrial property. Victoria has separate, slightly different brackets for principal-place-of-residence transfers that are not relevant to a commercial buyer.
Duty Rate Brackets (Commercial & Industrial)
| Dutiable Value | Duty |
|---|---|
| $0 -- $25,000 | 1.4% of dutiable value |
| $25,001 -- $130,000 | $350 + 2.4% over $25,000 |
| $130,001 -- $960,000 | $2,870 + 6% over $130,000 |
| $960,001 -- $2,000,000 | 5.5% flat of dutiable value |
| Over $2,000,000 | $110,000 + 6.5% over $2,000,000 |
Commercial and Industrial Property Tax (CIPT) Reform
From 1 July 2024, Victoria began the transition from one-off stamp duty to a recurring Commercial and Industrial Property Tax (CIPT) on commercial and industrial land. Under the reform, the final payment of transfer duty on a commercial or industrial property is the trigger that moves that parcel permanently into the CIPT regime — after 10 years, an annual 1% CIPT applies based on unimproved land value, and transfer duty is no longer charged on subsequent transactions of that parcel.
This is a material change for commercial investors in Victoria. Buyers purchasing a property that has already transitioned (i.e., acquired by the current vendor on or after 1 July 2024) do not pay transfer duty at all — they inherit the CIPT liability.
Landholder Duty
Victoria applies landholder duty where an entity holds Victorian land with an unencumbered value of $1,000,000 or more. The trigger interest is 50% for private landholders and 90% for listed entities. A trust acquisition surcharge of 50% applies to residential trust interests but does not apply to pure commercial landholders.
Windfall Gains Tax
Separate from duty, Victoria imposes a Windfall Gains Tax where a planning decision (rezoning) creates an uplift in land value above $100,000. The rate is 50% on the uplift above $500,000, with a graduated rate between $100,000 and $500,000. This is a development and rezoning cost, not a transfer cost — but any commercial investor considering a site with rezoning potential needs to factor it in.
3 Queensland
Queensland transfer duty is administered by Queensland Revenue Office (QRO). Commercial acquisitions use the same general rate brackets as residential, without the owner-occupier concessions.
Duty Rate Brackets (Commercial & Industrial)
| Dutiable Value | Duty |
|---|---|
| $0 -- $5,000 | Nil |
| $5,001 -- $75,000 | $1.50 per $100 over $5,000 |
| $75,001 -- $540,000 | $1,050 + $3.50 per $100 over $75,000 |
| $540,001 -- $1,000,000 | $17,325 + $4.50 per $100 over $540,000 |
| Over $1,000,000 | $38,025 + $5.75 per $100 over $1,000,000 |
Landholder Duty
Queensland applies landholder duty where a private landholder holds Queensland land with an unencumbered value of $2,000,000 or more. The 50% significant-interest threshold is the same as NSW. Queensland is one of only two states (alongside WA) that apply AFAD on landholder acquisitions by foreign persons where the underlying land is residential — commercial land remains out of scope.
AFAD and Commercial Property
The Additional Foreign Acquirer Duty of 8% applies only to residential land. Commercial, industrial, and primary production land acquisitions by foreign purchasers in Queensland are not caught by AFAD. FIRB approval requirements still apply.
4 Western Australia
WA applies transfer duty through the Office of State Revenue. WA uses a separate general rate schedule for non-residential property and a residential schedule with concessions for owner-occupiers. The general rates below apply to commercial and industrial purchases.
Duty Rate Brackets (General Schedule — Commercial)
| Dutiable Value | Duty |
|---|---|
| $0 -- $80,000 | $1.90 per $100 |
| $80,001 -- $100,000 | $1,520 + $2.85 per $100 over $80,000 |
| $100,001 -- $250,000 | $2,090 + $3.80 per $100 over $100,000 |
| $250,001 -- $500,000 | $7,790 + $4.75 per $100 over $250,000 |
| Over $500,000 | $19,665 + $5.15 per $100 over $500,000 |
Landholder Duty
WA applies landholder duty where an entity holds WA land with an unencumbered value of $2,000,000 or more, and an acquirer obtains 50% or more (private) or 90% or more (listed). WA's rules also capture chattels on the land — plant, equipment, and goods used in the enterprise — which can materially increase the dutiable amount in an industrial acquisition.
Foreign Purchaser Surcharge
WA's 7% foreign purchaser surcharge applies only to residential land. Commercial and industrial transactions are outside scope, subject to FIRB approval.
5 South Australia
South Australia phased out stamp duty on most non-residential real property transfers from 1 July 2018. The effect is that standalone commercial and industrial freehold purchases in SA no longer attract transfer duty — the reform applied to qualifying non-residential real property where the contract was entered into on or after that date.
What Still Attracts Duty in SA
- Residential property transfers continue to attract duty under the standard SA schedule.
- Mixed-use property is apportioned — the residential portion attracts duty; the qualifying non-residential portion does not.
- Landholder acquisitions (entity-level) can still attract duty where the underlying land is residential or includes residential land.
Landholder Duty
SA retains landholder duty for entity-level acquisitions where the entity holds South Australian land valued at $1,000,000 or more, with the 50% / 90% interest thresholds consistent with other states. Where the underlying land is purely non-residential, the 2018 reform generally extends — meaning no duty applies to the dutiable component.
No Foreign Surcharge
South Australia does not impose a foreign purchaser surcharge on residential or commercial property, though FIRB approval requirements continue to apply.
Landholder Duty: What Commercial Buyers Miss
Landholder duty catches acquirers who buy the entity that holds the land rather than the land itself. In practice this is common in commercial transactions structured to transfer a single-asset company or unit trust that owns the property.
The state-by-state threshold values and key triggers:
| State | Land Value Threshold | Significant Interest (Private) | Significant Interest (Listed) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $2,000,000 | 50% | 90% |
| VIC | $1,000,000 | 50% | 90% |
| QLD | $2,000,000 | 50% | 90% |
| WA | $2,000,000 | 50% | 90% |
| SA | $1,000,000 | 50% | 90% |
Once triggered, the duty is generally calculated on the proportionate land value as if the underlying land had been transferred — at the normal transfer duty rate for that state. There is no "landholder discount" in any jurisdiction.
GST and Stamp Duty Interaction
GST sits alongside stamp duty rather than replacing it, and the interaction can add materially to the cost of a commercial acquisition.
Going-Concern Supply
If the commercial property is sold as a going concern — that is, with the existing tenancy and management arrangements transferring to the purchaser — the sale can qualify as a GST-free supply. This requires the purchaser to be GST-registered and the parties to agree in writing that the sale is of a going concern. Where this structure is used, GST is not added to the purchase price.
Margin Scheme
Where the vendor has held the property since before 1 July 2000 or acquired it outside the GST net, the margin scheme can apply. GST is then calculated only on the margin (sale price minus cost base), not on the full sale price. Stamp duty is calculated on the actual purchase price paid, which includes any margin-scheme GST.
Standard Sale (GST-inclusive)
If the transaction is a standard taxable supply, GST of 10% applies to the sale price. Stamp duty is then calculated on the GST-inclusive amount. On a $5,000,000 sale, this adds $500,000 to the dutiable value and — in NSW — approximately $27,500 in additional transfer duty.
For commercial buyers, whether the sale is structured as a going concern, under the margin scheme, or as a standard taxable supply can change the total cost of acquisition by hundreds of thousands of dollars on mid-market transactions. Contract structure is a pre-settlement negotiation, not just a tax question.
FIRB and the Foreign Investor Interaction
Foreign persons acquiring Australian commercial property are generally outside the residential foreign purchaser surcharge regimes but are subject to Foreign Investment Review Board approval and application fees. Commercial application fees are scaled by purchase price and can exceed $1 million on the largest transactions. FIRB approval is required before the contract becomes unconditional — failing to obtain it carries significant penalties.
Vacant commercial land, developed commercial real estate, and agricultural land each have different notification thresholds and fee scales. The fees sit alongside stamp duty and are additive, not alternative, costs of acquisition.
Cost-of-Acquisition Checklist
A complete commercial acquisition cost analysis should cover:
- Transfer duty on the dutiable value (GST-inclusive where applicable).
- Landholder duty if the transaction is structured as an entity acquisition.
- CIPT in Victoria (annual) once the property transitions out of the transfer duty regime.
- GST treatment and its impact on dutiable value.
- FIRB approval fees and timing for foreign acquirers.
- Land tax (ongoing) — a separate state tax levied annually on the site value of the land; surcharges apply to foreign landholders in most states.
- Legal and advisory costs — due diligence, contract review, financing, and closing costs.
State Revenue Office Calculators
Each state revenue office publishes calculators and current rate tables. Use these official tools for acquisition modelling, since brackets and thresholds change periodically.
- NSW: Revenue NSW — revenue.nsw.gov.au
- VIC: State Revenue Office — sro.vic.gov.au
- QLD: Queensland Revenue Office — qro.qld.gov.au
- WA: Department of Finance — wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-finance
- SA: RevenueSA — revenuesa.sa.gov.au
Duty rates, landholder thresholds, and FIRB fee scales change periodically. Always verify current rates with the relevant state revenue office and FIRB before making commitments based on the figures in this guide.
If you are running numbers on a commercial or industrial acquisition — across one or more states — we are happy to model the total cost of acquisition alongside the yield, WALE, and structuring analysis as part of our commercial buyer's advocacy engagement.