Land tax in each state and territory, 2026–27

Land tax is a yearly state tax on the land you own. The home you live in is generally exempt, so for most households it arrives with the first investment property. Every state but the Northern Territory charges it, each on its own scale, and the same land can be taxed very differently on either side of a border.

How it is worked out

• On land value, not price. The tax is on the land’s value as the valuer-general assesses it, without the house. For a house that is often a half to two-thirds of its price; for an apartment, usually far less.
• All your land in the state, together. Most states add up the taxable land you own in the state and apply the scale to the total, so a second property can push both into a higher band. The ACT taxes each property on its own.
• On a set date. New South Wales and Victoria tax a calendar year on what you own at midnight on 31 December before it. Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia tax a financial year on what you own at 30 June; Tasmania on 1 July. The ACT charges each quarter, on what you own on its first day.
• Individuals’ rates. The scales below are the general ones for individuals. Companies and trusts often pay more, and most states add a surcharge for foreign owners.

New South Wales

For the 2027 land tax year, nothing up to a threshold of $1,075,000, then $100 plus 1.6% of the value above it. Above the premium threshold of $6,571,000 it is $88,036 plus 2%. Both thresholds have been frozen since the 2025 land tax year.

Victoria

Victoria’s threshold is the lowest of any state: $50,000 (the ACT has none). From 2024 to 2033 a temporary measure adds flat amounts at the bottom of the scale and 0.1 percentage points to every rate.

Queensland

An individual pays nothing below $600,000, then $500 plus 1% over $600,000; $4,500 plus 1.65% over $1 million; $37,500 plus 1.25% over $3 million; $62,500 plus 1.75% over $5 million; and $150,000 plus 2.25% over $10 million.

South Australia

For 2026–27, nothing up to $936,000, then 0.5% over $936,000; $2,840 plus 1% over $1,504,000; $9,680 plus 2% over $2,188,000; and $36,000 plus 2.4% over $3,504,000. South Australia raises its thresholds each year with site values.

Western Australia

Nothing up to $300,000; a flat $300 from there to $420,000; then $300 plus 0.25% over $420,000; $1,750 plus 0.9% over $1 million; $8,950 plus 1.8% over $1.8 million; $66,550 plus 2% over $5 million; and $186,550 plus 2.67% over $11 million. Land in the Perth metropolitan region also pays the Metropolitan Region Improvement Tax, 0.14% of the value over $300,000, which My Runway doesn’t add.

Tasmania

Nothing below $125,000, then $50 plus 0.45% over $125,000, and $1,737.50 plus 1.5% over $500,000.

Australian Capital Territory

The ACT charges land tax on a residential property that isn’t the owner’s home, with no tax-free threshold, on each property’s average unimproved value. For 2026–27 it is a fixed $1,778 plus 0.54% of the value up to $150,000, 0.64% from there to $275,000, 1.24% to $1 million, 1.25% to $2 million and 1.26% above. The fixed charge rises 5% a year.

Northern Territory

The Territory charges no land tax.

Side by side

One individual owning one investment property, on its own, with the land values below, on the general scales for 2026–27:

A property owned jointly, or through a company or trust, can be assessed differently, and a second property in the same state is added to the first. Land tax on a rental is deductible against its rent.

In a projection

Land tax is paid every year a property is held, and grows as land values do, so over a long hold it can add up to more than the stamp duty paid to buy. My Runway charges each state’s scale for individuals every year on the property you own there, with your home exempt, joint owners assessed the way each state assesses them, and holdings counted on the state’s own date; the ACT, which charges by the quarter, is charged for a whole year on what is held on 1 July. It uses the land value you enter. Without one it takes a share of the property’s value: for a house in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland or Western Australia, the land share of a house in that state’s capital from a Reserve Bank study, and 60% for any other property. A property with no state set is charged at the estimated rate in Settings instead (see Household and settings).