First-home buyers will be able to trial a new land tax without strings attached as the state government looks to reform stamp duty.
The NSW government has launched a new calculator on Service NSW to help buyers choose between paying stamp duty or a $400 annual fee plus 0.3 per cent of the land’s value when they purchase a property.
People can search a specific address and see what they would pay in stamp duty compared with the land tax using data from the Valuer General.
Properties between $650k and $1.5m are eligible for the scheme.
As early as January, first-home buyers will be able to trial the First Home Buyer Choice scheme.
An $830,000 apartment with a land value of $265,000 would attract a $1195 payment in the first year compared with $32,440 in stamp duty.
A $1.35m house with a land value of $810,000 would require $58,450 to be paid in stamp duty compared with a $2830 first-year payment.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said the scheme was designed to put keys in the hands of more new homeowners sooner by shaving years off the time it took them to save for a deposit.
“Home ownership is the investment that starts paying dividends from the moment you walk through your front door for the first time and we don’t want people to have to wait an extra couple of years to reap those benefits,” Mr Perrottet said.
Treasurer Matt Kean said half of all owner-occupiers sell their home within 10.5 years, with first-home buyers likely to sell even sooner.
“That means for the majority of first-home buyers that don’t already receive stamp duty assistance, First Home Buyer Choice will not only allow them to break into the property market earlier but pay less overall,” Mr Kean said.