It is a great time to purchase Alpine Property

Property Law: 16 March 2021

Now is a great time to purchase an alpine property as there are currently stamp duty savings on both commercial and industrial property and residential property.

Commercial & Industrial Property

There are stamp duty concessions available if you entered into a contract to purchase commercial or industrial alpine property:

• on or after 1 July 2019. The reductions range from 10% to 50%, and/or
• there is a 50% reduction of stamp duty if you enter/ed into a contract on or after 1 January 2020.

You should note that this reduction may also apply if you purchase a residential property in an alpine resort and you lease the property as a holiday rental.

Further information and relevant dates can be found here: Regional commercial, industrial and extractive industries property concession | State Revenue Office (sro.vic.gov.au)

Residential Property

Alpine residential properties also benefit from these savings. There is a 50% stamp duty waiver for new residential properties and a 25% stamp duty waiver for existing residential properties. To be eligible for the waiver your purchase will need to meet the following criteria:

• the purchase must be for residential property;
• the price must be $1 million or less;
• the contract must be signed on or after 25 November 2020 and before 1 July 2021; and
• the property cannot be gifted - adequate money must be paid for it.

More information in relation to these benefits can be found here: Land transfer duty waiver for residential property transactions of up to $1 million | State Revenue Office (sro.vic.gov.au)

Refund of duty already paid

If you have already purchased an alpine property and you did not receive a waiver of stamp duty you should check if you are entitled to one. If you missed out and are entitled to the waiver, there is a process to obtain a refund from the State Revenue Office.

Please note: The information in this article is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is not intended to be comprehensive or to apply to any specific circumstances. You should seek independent legal advice before acting on any information contained in this article.