First home Buyers Grant- The Facts In Brief

Originally introduced to Australian states on the 1^st of July 2000, the First Home Owners Grant scheme was intended to offset the burden of the of the GST on first home buyers.

It is a $15,000 one-off grant payable to first home buyers who satisfy the criteria. According to the Queensland Governments ‘Great Start Grant’ website (Great Start Grant being the name of the First Home Owners Grant in Queensland) the home must be brand new and valued at less than $750,000.

In order for a home to be considered a new home it must be a house, unit or townhouse that has not been previously sold or lived in or, has been substantially renovated to the point of being considered as a brand new home (within stricter guidelines).

Some good points on the First Home Owners Grant:

• If you have owned an investment property that was used solely for investment purposes, you may still be eligible for the ‘Great Start Grant’ provided you can prove your first property is solely for investment.

• If your spouse has previously owned a home they have lived in, you will not be eligible for the grant.

• To be eligible for the grant, all applicants must live in the home for a period of 6 months with that period commencing within 1 year after the contract date of the purchase.

• If building your own home: Before the grant can be paid, you must provide a final inspection report.

• buying or building your new home with financial help from a related person (who is not eligible for the grant) who will also stay in the home often or live in the home for long periods of time may make you not eligible for the grant.

First home owners and Stamp Duty

In many cases a first home buyer may be eligible for a significant concession in the cost of stamp or transfer duty.

If you are buying up to about $500,000 you may end up not needing to pay transfer duty at all.  There are available concessions in stamp duty payable for those transferring ownership of a property they intend to live in, this is called the ‘home concession’ and discounts the rate of stamp duty calculation in the first $350,000. There is also a ‘first home concession’ which is available up to $550,000.

Have a look at this quick calculator on the Queensland Great start grant website to get an idea on how much stamp duty you might have to pay.

Of course there other factors which may influence the result of your First home Buyers Grant application. For more information visit the Queensland Great Start website or for other states, the federal first home buyers grant website.