The temporary concession was due to close to new contracts this month. It now covers contracts signed before 21 April 2027, with no price cap and no requirement to live in the property.
Buyers of off-the-plan apartments, units and townhouses in Victoria have six more months to sign a contract and claim a stamp duty concession. Those who had used it since October 2024 saved an average of $24,517, the state government said in May 2025.
The concession had been due to close to new contracts on 20 October 2026. The State Revenue Office (SRO) now says it applies to contracts entered into before 21 April 2027, so there is no gap for buyers signing from 21 October.
The extension was announced in the Victorian Budget on 5 May 2026 and is now law. It was legislated through the Building Legislation and Treasury Legislation (Tax Relief) Amendment Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 23 June 2026.
How the concession works
Stamp duty is normally calculated on the full contract price. Under the concession, buyers deduct the construction costs incurred on or after the contract date, and duty is calculated on the reduced amount, according to the SRO.
A 2025 government example put duty on a $620,000 apartment bought before construction starts at about $4,000 under the concession, down from about $32,000.
The earlier a buyer signs, the larger the deduction. A buyer who signs before construction starts deducts the full construction cost. A buyer who signs when the building is half finished deducts half of it.
The vendor enters the percentage of construction completed in the SRO's Digital Duties Form, which calculates the concession. The buyer's conveyancer or solicitor then claims it through the SRO's Duties Online system.
Because the saving depends on how much of the building is finished, buyers should ask the vendor for the construction cost and the percentage of construction completed before signing.
Who qualifies
The property must be a lot in a strata subdivision that has common property, such as a shared driveway. Apartments, units and townhouses of any value are eligible. There is no price threshold.
The concession is open to all purchasers, including investors, companies and trusts. Buyers do not need to be first home buyers or live in the property, the SRO said.
The separate off-the-plan concession for owner-occupiers and first home buyers also continues to apply, according to the SRO. It is narrower: buyers must live in the property and cannot be a company or trust, and the dutiable value after construction costs are deducted must be no more than $750,000 for first home buyers or $550,000 for other owner-occupiers.
Eligibility depends on the date the contract is signed. The settlement date does not affect eligibility.
What it does not cover
House-and-land packages that are not part of a strata subdivision with common property are excluded.
Foreign buyers still pay foreign purchaser additional duty on the full value of the property, before the concession is applied.
Second extension in two years
The concession began with contracts signed from 21 October 2024 and was originally set to run for 12 months. The 2025-26 Victorian Budget allocated $61 million to extend it for another year.
The latest extension drew criticism in the Legislative Council on 16 June. "This is now the third time that this house has been asked to vote on the same tax concession in less than two years," Greens MP Aiv Puglielli said. The Greens sought to limit the extended concession to buyers who would live in the property.
Jaclyn Symes, who was Treasurer at the time, said the extension responded to industry feedback. "We are concerned that the interest rates will cause a slowdown in some of the developments getting underway, and we are wanting to continue to incentivise the market," she said.
The Greens amendment did not pass. The SRO's current guidance confirms the concession remains open to investors.
Symes said at the time that the six-month extension gave her more time to review the concession. "If we were wanting to do something similar again, looking at potential caps and the like is something that I am very open to," she said. Colin Brooks replaced her as Treasurer in August.
