How the FIRB fee works for new dwellings, off-the-plan homes and vacant land

Which fee scale applies

Treasury's schedule has two residential scales. The lower one is called "residential land (no established dwellings)". It covers the purchases most foreign buyers are allowed to make:

Treasury's guidance defines the terms:

• New dwelling: one that will be, is being or has been built on residential land, has not previously been sold as a dwelling, and has not been occupied.
• Near-new dwelling: a dwelling in a development of at least 50 self-contained dwellings (other than townhouses) that was sold by the developer, but the sale failed to settle, and which has not been occupied for more than 12 months in total.
• Vacant residential land: land on which fewer than 10 dwellings could reasonably be built, and which is not used wholly and exclusively for a primary production business.

Two situations fall back to the established scale. A renovated or refurbished established dwelling is not a new dwelling. Nor is a single dwelling built to replace a demolished one. Land that previously had a dwelling is generally not treated as vacant residential land either. Those purchases face the higher fee and the ban on foreign purchases of established dwellings, which Treasury's guidance says runs from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029 with limited exceptions.

What price the fee is based on

The fee is set by the consideration for the purchase, which Treasury's key concepts guidance says includes any GST. Generally it is the price written in the contract, as long as the parties are dealing at arm's length.

Treasury also lists examples of a reasonable assessment of consideration where a contract is not yet signed. For land, it can be the price advertised by or for the vendor. For a house and land package, it is the advertised price for the package.

The worked amounts are in the worked fee examples. In short, $15,600 applies up to $1 million, $31,300 up to $2 million, and a further $31,300 for each extra $1 million band.

Off the plan: your own application or the developer's certificate

There are two routes for an off-the-plan apartment:

Treasury's example shows how reconciliation works. A developer sells three new dwellings at $600,000 each and one at $1.2 million. The developer pays $15,600 for each of the three and $31,300 for the fourth, a total of $78,100.

Treasury's residential guidance adds that developers are nominally liable for the fees, but a developer and a foreign buyer can agree who pays. If the buyer agrees to pay the ATO directly, the payment reference number on the certificate is used. Read the contract for any clause that passes the fee on to you. The exemption certificates page explains how these certificates work, and the guide to buying off the plan covers the buying side.

House and land packages are different. Treasury's guidance says a "development" for developer certificates does not include house and land packages, so those buyers generally apply for their own approval.

Vacant land

Vacant residential land uses the same fee scale as a new home. Approval is generally subject to conditions that are not part of the fee, such as building at least one dwelling and completing construction of all dwellings within four years from the date of the approval notice. They are covered in the guide to vacant land and building a home.

If you do not yet know which block you will buy, you can apply for a residential land exemption certificate instead. Treasury's guidance says a residential land exemption certificate generally covers one vacant title, and that its fee is the same as the fee for buying residential land of that kind without a certificate. Check the ATO's fees page for the figure that applies to the value limit you ask for.

Fees that come later

• Vacancy fee: if the home sits empty for too long, the annual vacancy fee is double the application fee you would have paid. That applies to dwellings under a developer certificate as well, using the fee you would have paid without it. At $15,600, the fee is $31,200. See the vacancy fee guide.
• Variation fee: a standard variation costs $31,300, capped at the original application fee. Treasury says a variation that only updates the land description because it has changed since the original application, such as a new lot number, will generally have its fee waived.

Frequently asked questions

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