How it's assessed
A few rules hold across the four states we cover, with local variations:
- It's on land value, not the price. The tax is based on the value of the land alone, as set by the state's valuer, not what you paid for the house and land together. On an established house, land is often most of the value, but not all of it.
- Your landholdings are added together. Each state adds up the taxable land you own in that state and applies its rates to the total. Holdings in other states aren't counted.
- Your own home is exempt. The land you live in as your principal place of residence is generally exempt. Investment properties aren't.
- It's charged on a snapshot. Each state looks at what you own on a set date and charges for the year. Queensland, for example, looks at what you own at 30 June.
- Who owns it matters. Trusts, companies and foreign owners can face different thresholds, rates or surcharges. Ownership structure is a question for your accountant and solicitor before you buy.
The rates for individuals, as at October 2026
| State | Tax-free threshold (individual) | Rate just above the threshold |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales (2026 land tax year) | $1,075,000 | $100 plus 1.6% above $1,075,000 |
| Victoria (from the 2024 land tax year) | $50,000 | $500 flat from $50,000; $975 flat from $100,000; $1,350 plus 0.3% above $300,000 |
| Queensland | $600,000 | $500 plus 1c per $1 above $600,000 |
| South Australia (2026/27) | $936,000 | 0.5% above $936,000 |
Each state's rates step up further at higher values; the full tables are in the sources below. NSW also has a premium rate above $6,571,000.
Victoria is the outlier. As part of its COVID debt repayment plan, Victoria cut its general tax-free threshold from $300,000 to $50,000 from 1 January 2024, added the $500 and $975 fixed charges, and added 0.1% to the rates on holdings above $300,000. The measures were announced as temporary, for around ten years. The practical effect: in Victoria, almost any investment property now pays some land tax.
One house with a $400,000 land value
An illustrative example: one investment house, owned by an individual, with a taxable land value of $400,000 and no other taxable land in that state.
| State | Land tax a year | About a week |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | $0 | $0 |
| Victoria | $1,650 | $32 |
| Queensland | $0 | $0 |
| South Australia | $0 | $0 |
Victoria: $1,350 plus 0.3% of the $100,000 above $300,000 = $1,650.
On our example house in what a property really costs to hold each week, that takes the holding cost from about $248 to about $280 a week if the house were in Victoria.
When it bites: three houses in one state
Now the same investor owns three houses, each with a $400,000 land value, all in one state. Their total holding is $1,200,000.
| State | Land tax a year | About a week |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | $2,100 | $40 |
| Victoria | $6,450 | $124 |
| Queensland | $7,800 | $150 |
| South Australia | $1,320 | $25 |
Queensland jumps from nil to $7,800 because the total crosses $1 million, where the rate rises to 1.65c per dollar ($4,500 plus 1.65% of $200,000). These are our calculations from the published rates, not assessments.
Land tax is a portfolio cost, not a property cost. The third house in a state can carry a land tax bill the first one never did, because it's charged on the total.
Why spreading across states can matter
Because each state only counts land in that state, the same three houses spread across three states can attract much less land tax than three in one. In the example above, one house each in NSW, Queensland and South Australia would attract none, each sitting below its state's threshold.
That's a real effect, but it shouldn't drive the decision on its own. A house in the wrong market to save a few thousand a year in tax is a bad trade. We look at suburbs on demand, supply and risk first, and treat land tax as one cost among several. It's also general information, not advice: thresholds change, ownership structure changes the answer, and your accountant can tell you how it applies to you.
Practical points
- Check the land value, not just the price, before you buy. The valuer's figure is usually on the council rates notice or the state's valuation site.
- Include land tax in your holding cost, especially in Victoria or when adding to a portfolio in one state.
- Model the portfolio, not the property. The next purchase changes the tax on the ones you already own.
How we choose where to look is set out in how to choose a suburb and a pocket, and the cashflow calculator on our calculators page has a land tax line so you can add it to your numbers.
Sources
- Revenue NSW, "Land tax thresholds and rates", March 2026
- State Revenue Office Victoria, "Land tax general rates from 2024", accessed October 2026
- State Revenue Office Victoria, "Land tax (current rates)", September 2026
- State Revenue Office Victoria, "COVID debt repayment plan", September 2026
- Clayton Utz, "The Victorian Government walks a delicate tightrope in the 2023-2024 Budget", May 2023
- Queensland Revenue Office, "Land tax rates for individuals", accessed October 2026
- RevenueSA, "Land tax rates and thresholds", July 2026
- RevenueSA, "2026-27 land tax rates and thresholds", June 2026
General information only. Nothing on this site takes into account your objectives, financial situation or needs, and it is not financial, credit, tax or legal advice. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance.