Land Tax Calculator — Will You Pay, and How Much?
Estimate annual land tax in any state from your taxable land value. Thresholds, trust and company scales, foreign-owner surcharges and a transparent breakdown — using each state's current published rates.
Land tax details
Before you start
Use your land value, not the property price
Combined taxable value of all your land in this state
Owner type
Choose Trust for a special or discretionary trust — these get no tax-free threshold. Fixed trusts keep the threshold, so use Individual.
Land Tax Summary
New South Wales — ownership at midnight 31 December
Annual land tax
$0
NSW general scale
Enter your taxable land value to see your bill
- Tax-free threshold
- $1,075,000
- Value over threshold
- $0
- Assessed on
- 31 December
Calculations run in your browser — your property details are never sent to a server.
Land tax thresholds and rates by state
Every state sets its own tax-free threshold, scale and taxing date. The same landholding can be tax-free in one state and cost thousands in another. Click a state for its dedicated calculator and rate table.
General/individual scales shown. The Northern Territory levies no land tax. ACT land tax applies only to homes that aren't owner-occupied and adds a fixed charge.
Example: an $800,000 investment property block
The same $800,000 of taxable land value produces very different bills depending on the state — and on whether the value sits above the threshold at all:
Victoria — $800,000 land value
- Tax-free threshold
- $50,000
- Value over threshold
- $750,000
- Annual land tax
- $3,450
NSW — same value, under the threshold
- Tax-free threshold
- $1,075,000
- Tax on $800,000
- $0
- Tax at $1,500,000
- $6,900
Examples use each state's current general scale. Enter your own figures in the calculator above.
How land tax works
A tax on land value, not property price
Land tax is a state tax on the unimproved or site value of land — what the block is worth without the buildings on it. The valuer-general sets this value and it appears on your assessment or council valuation notice. Because your principal place of residence is exempt in every state, land tax is mostly a cost of property investing — alongside the financing and gearing decisions covered in the negative gearing guide and the returns you can model with the investment calculator.
Each state aggregates the taxable land you own within its borders and applies a progressive scale above a tax-free threshold. Owning across state lines resets the clock: a $600,000 holding in two states is assessed as two separate $600,000holdings, each against that state's own threshold.
For investors, land tax is a deductible holding cost while the property earns income — see where it lands in your return with the tax return calculator. When you sell, it's the capital gains tax calculator you'll want instead.
Key concepts
Taxing date
Your whole year's bill is set by what you own at midnight on one date — 31 Decemberin NSW and Victoria, 30 June in QLD, WA and SA, 1 July in Tasmania and the ACT. There's no pro-rating for selling mid-year.
Aggregation
States assess the combined value of all your taxable land, not each property separately. Two $500,000 blocks are taxed as $1,000,000 — often pushing you over the threshold together when neither would alone.
Trust & company scales
Victoria and SA apply surcharge scales with lower thresholds to land held on trust; Queensland gives companies and trustees a lower threshold than individuals. The calculator switches scales with the owner type.
Foreign-owner surcharges
NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and the ACT add a surcharge for foreign or absentee owners on top of the base scale — in NSW it applies even below the general threshold. WA and SA levy none.
This is an estimate, not an assessment
State revenue offices apply exemptions, joint-ownership rules, grouping provisions and special trust elections this calculator can't see. Figures follow each state's published scale — confirm your liability with the relevant revenue office before acting on it.
State land tax calculators
Each state page pre-selects the state, shows its full rate table and answers the questions specific to that scale:
Land Tax FAQs
How is land tax calculated?
Each state taxes the combined taxable value of the land you own there — the unimproved or site value from your valuation notice, not the property's market price. Once the total passes the state's tax-free threshold, a progressive scale applies: a fixed amount at the threshold plus a marginal rate on the value above it. This calculator applies each state's current published scale, including separate trust and company scales where they exist.
Is my home exempt from land tax?
Generally yes. Every state exempts your principal place of residence, so most owner-occupiers pay no land tax at all. The tax mainly affects investment properties, holiday homes, commercial land and vacant land. Because the exemption applies before assessment, enter only the value of your taxable (non-exempt) land in the calculator.
Is land tax tax-deductible?
Yes — for income-producing property. Land tax on a rental or commercial investment property is a deductible holding cost against your rental income in the year it's incurred, like council rates and insurance. It is not deductible for your own home or a holiday house you don't rent out. See how the deduction flows through your return with the tax return calculator.
When is land tax assessed and payable?
There is no monthly land tax — your bill for the whole year is set by what you own on the state's taxing date. NSW and Victoria assess ownership at midnight 31 December; Queensland, WA and SA at midnight 30 June; Tasmania and the ACT from 1 July. Selling the day after the taxing date still leaves you liable for that year's assessment.
What is the land tax threshold in NSW?
The NSW general threshold is $1,075,000 of combined taxable land value, with a premium rate above $6,571,000. NSW thresholds are currently frozen rather than indexed. Below the threshold you pay nothing; above it, tax starts at $100 plus 1.6% of the excess. Use the NSW land tax calculator for your exact figure.
Do you pay land tax on apartments and units?
Yes, if the property isn't your home. Apartments carry a share of the land value of the whole development — usually a much smaller land value than a house on its own block, which is why many unit investors stay under their state's threshold. Your share of land value appears on your land tax assessment or valuation notice.
Do trusts pay more land tax?
In several states, yes. Victoria and South Australia publish separate trust surcharge scales with much lower thresholds — Victoria's trust scale starts at just $25,000 of land value. Queensland gives companies and trustees a $350,000 threshold versus $600,000 for individuals. Switch the owner type in the calculator to compare scales.
How can I reduce land tax?
Legitimate levers are structural: keep your principal place of residence exemption intact, check eligibility for primary production or other exemptions, and remember each state assesses only the land within its borders — a portfolio spread across states gets a separate threshold in each. Ownership structure matters too, but trust surcharge scales can cut the other way. Get advice before restructuring; anti-avoidance rules apply to artificial splitting.
Does the Northern Territory have land tax?
No. The NT is the only Australian jurisdiction with no land tax on any property. Every state and the ACT levies it in some form. If you hold land in the NT and elsewhere, only the land outside the NT is assessed — by the state it sits in.
Is land tax based on property value or land value?
Land value only. The state valuer-general assesses the unimproved or site value of the land — what the block would be worth without the house, units or other improvements on it. An apartment carries only a small share of its development's land value, while a house on a large block can have most of its price sitting in the land itself. That's why two properties with the same purchase price can have very different land tax bills.
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