Transfer duty (also known as stamp duty) is a state government tax payable when purchasing property. Curia Contract Review automatically calculates the estimated transfer duty and any applicable surcharges or concessions based on information in your contract review, and includes this in the report for your client.

What is the Transfer Duty calculation?

The Transfer Duty calculation is a feature that automatically:

• Calculates the estimated transfer duty based on the purchase price and property state.
• Identifies applicable first home buyer concessions.
• Calculates foreign buyer surcharges where applicable.
• Generates plain language explanations for your client in the contract report.
• Updates as you enter or change relevant information.

The calculation uses the duty rates that apply on the exchange date (or report generation date if the contract hasn't been exchanged).

What information does the calculation use?

The automatic calculation considers:

• Purchase price - The contract purchase price.
• Property state - Automatically detected from the property address.
• Exchange date - The contract exchange date (uses the report generation date if not yet exchanged).
• Buyer residency - Whether the buyer is an Australian resident, foreign buyer, or unknown.
• First home buyer - Whether the buyer qualifies for the first home buyer assistance scheme.
• Investment property - Whether the property will be owner-occupied or an investment.
• Vacant land - Automatically detected from the contract details.

Where do I see the transfer duty calculation?

The estimated duty appears in an "Estimated Duty" information box on the Exchange tab, directly below the Purchase Price field. This box shows:

• Transfer Duty amount.
• Possible First Home Buyer Concession (if applicable).
• Possible Surcharge Duty (for foreign buyers).
• Total duty payable.
• Calculation date.

The calculation updates automatically whenever you change any of the relevant fields.

What appears in the contract report?

The report includes automatically generated explanations tailored to your client's situation. The text varies depending on residency status and applicable concessions.

Can I manually change the transfer duty amount?

No, the transfer duty amount is calculated automatically and cannot be changed within Curia Contract Review. If you need to make changes to the transfer duty text, you can do so in Microsoft Word after downloading the report.

What if I don't know my client's residency status?

If you don't know your client's residency status, select "Unknown" for the client residency status field. The report will show a range of possible duty amounts covering both Australian resident and foreign buyer scenarios, allowing your client to determine the applicable amount based on their residency status. See Example 4 below for how this appears in the report.

Examples

Example 1: Australian resident purchasing $800,000 property in NSW

Buyer residency: Australian resident
First home buyer: No
Purchase price: $800,000

Shown in Curia:

Example 2: First home buyer purchasing $650,000 property in NSW

Buyer residency: Australian resident
First home buyer: Yes
Purchase price: $650,000

Shown in Curia:

Example 3: Foreign buyer purchasing $1,000,000 property in NSW

Buyer residency: Foreign buyer
Purchase price: $1,000,000

Shown in Curia:

Example 4: Unknown residency purchasing $500,000 property in NSW

Buyer residency: Unknown
Purchase price: $500,000

Shown in Curia:

Example 5: No purchase price entered, foreign buyer

Buyer residency: Foreign buyer
Purchase price: Not entered

Generated text in report:

Important notes

• Duty calculations are estimates only and should be confirmed with the relevant state revenue office.
• Rates and thresholds are based on the exchange date and may change over time.