The sticker price isn't what you'll pay. This article shows you exactly what lands on top — for your state, your price point, your situation.
The "price + 5%" myth
You've heard budget 5% for costs. It's wrong in both directions.
- First home buyer under your state's threshold? Costs can land at 1–2% of the purchase price.
- No concession + LMI on an $900K–$1M purchase? Try 8–9%.
Three things decide where you land:
- Your state's FHB concession — does stamp duty apply or not?
- Your deposit size — under 20% means LMI, unless you get a guarantee scheme.
- Fixed costs — conveyancing, inspections, insurance, moving (same for everyone).
The rest of this article walks each one. Skip to your state when you're ready.
The 60-second answer
🎯 If you're a first home buyer, your number is mostly about two questions:
- Is the purchase price under your state's FHB stamp duty threshold? → If yes, $0 duty
- Is your deposit under 20%? → If yes, either LMI ($15K–$35K+) or the First Home Guarantee ($0)
The answers to those two questions are usually the difference between $8K of extras and $60K of extras on the same purchase.
The two big levers
If you can move either of these, you can move your number by tens of thousands.
Lever 1: FHB concession — and the cliffs
FHB stamp duty isn't a sliding scale all the way up. VIC $750K and QLD $800K are sharp cliffs — $1 over and the concession is gone. NSW is different: it tapers from $800K to $1M, but the slide is steep enough that by $999K you're already paying ~$39K (close to full duty). Practical takeaway: the valuable NSW range is $800K–$900K, not $800K–$1M.
⚠️ If you're negotiating near a VIC or QLD cliff, the cliff matters more than the price. A $751K VIC purchase costs more out of pocket than $749K. Get under the threshold if you can.
🗺️ What FHB stamp duty actually costs (2025/26)
🏗 QLD new builds: $0 duty at every price. Contracts from 1 May 2025 — no cap, no cliff. The table below covers existing homes only.
📐 Each cell shows purchase price + stamp duty (the total cash you commit on the price + duty side). Grants and LMI are handled separately further down.
Price + stamp duty across NSW, QLD & VIC (existing homes, FHB)
| Purchase price | 🟦 NSW FHB (price + duty) | 🟧 QLD FHB (price + duty) | 🟪 VIC FHB (price + duty) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $500K | $500,000 | $500,000 | $500,000 |
| $600K | $600,000 | $600,000 | $600,000 (VIC sweet spot) |
| $700K | $700,000 | $700,000 (QLD sweet spot) | ~$724,700 |
| $750K | $750,000 | ~$760,900 | ~$790,070 (VIC cliff) |
| $800K | $800,000 (NSW sweet spot) | ~$821,850 (QLD cliff) | ~$843,070 |
| $900K | ~$915,700 | ~$926,350 | ~$949,070 |
| $950K | ~$979,801 | ~$978,600 | ~$1,002,070 |
| $1M | ~$1,039,400 | ~$1,030,850 | ~$1,055,000 |
⚠️ Red rows are cliffs. NSW tapers instead. $1 over a threshold and VIC $750K / QLD $800K lose the concession entirely. NSW slides from $800K to $1M — by $950K most of the concession is already gone, and by $1M it's worth nothing. The valuable NSW range is $800K–$900K.
💡 Quick takeaways. NSW clears existing homes to $800K (highest threshold). VIC's $600K threshold bites hard — every dollar between $600K and $750K adds duty fast. Buying new in QLD? $0 duty at any price point (see callout above).
Grants and Guarantee caps (separate from duty above):
| 🟦 NSW | 🟧 QLD | 🟪 VIC | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FHOG (new only) | $10K (≤ $600K / H+L ≤ $750K) | $30K (≤ $750K, to 30 Jun 2026) | $10K (≤ $750K) |
| First Home Guarantee cap | $1.5M Sydney · $800K rest | $1M Bris/Coast · $700K rest | $950K Melb/Geelong · $650K rest |
Lever 2: LMI — and how to skip it
LMI (Lenders Mortgage Insurance) applies when your deposit is under 20%. It's typically 1–5% of the loan — often $15K–$35K+ on a 5–10% deposit.
💡 The First Home Guarantee (expanded 1 October 2025) wipes LMI entirely: no income caps, unlimited places, 5% deposit, no LMI. Price caps apply by postcode — check before you sign.
⚠️ LMI is often capitalised into the loan — you don't see it at settlement, but you pay it with 30 years of interest.
Lender pays vs you pay
🏦 Lender pays (built into the rate)
- Property valuation
- Title search at settlement
- Mortgage discharge fee on seller's side
💼 You pay (cash on the day)
- Deposit (5–20%)
- Transfer duty
- Title + mortgage registration
- Conveyancing + disbursements
- Building & pest inspection
- LMI (unless using First Home Guarantee)
- Home & contents insurance
- Council rates adjustment
- Moving + connections
What everyone pays
Duty is the big variable. Everything else is roughly the same regardless of state, regardless of price point.
| Cost | Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Conveyancing | $1,000–$2,500 | "Fixed fee" often excludes disbursements — add $300–$600 |
| Building & pest inspection | $450–$700 | Strata reports add $250–$500 |
| Home & contents insurance | $1,200–$2,500/yr | Required from settlement, not move-in |
| Council rates adjustment | $300–$1,200 | Reimburse seller for prepaid rates/water |
| Body corporate adjustment | $200–$1,500 | Strata only. Special levies can add thousands — ask for a current levies certificate |
| Moving costs | $1,200–$2,500 | Local 2–3 bed move |
| Connection fees | $100–$300 | Electricity, gas, internet |
| Loan application fee | $0–$600 | Often waived |
State-based examples
Each block below is self-contained — concession, worked example, what to watch.
🟦 NSW — the headline
FHB concession: $0 duty up to $800K, sliding to $1M. The slide is steep — by $999K you're paying ~$39K (only ~$150 less than full duty). Above $1M, no concession.
Title fees: flat $175 transfer + $175 mortgage registration. Cheapest in the country.
Vacant land: $0 to $350K, taper to $450K.
Watch the slide, not the cliff: unlike VIC/QLD which jump at one number, NSW's concession bleeds out across $800K–$1M. The valuable range is $800K–$900K — above that, you're paying close to full duty anyway.
Worked example: $700K established home in Western Sydney, 5% deposit, First Home Guarantee
| Line item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Transfer duty (FHBAS, ≤ $800K) | $0 |
| Title transfer + mortgage registration | ~$350 |
| Conveyancing + disbursements | $1,800 |
| Building & pest inspection | $600 |
| LMI | $0 (First Home Guarantee) |
| Home & contents insurance (year 1) | $1,500 |
| Council rates adjustment | $700 |
| Moving + connections | $2,000 |
| Total upfront extras | ~$6,950 |
| Deposit (5%) | $35,000 |
| Cash needed at settlement | ~$41,950 |
About 1% on top. Without FHBAS, duty alone would add ~$25,900.
Revenue NSW: FHBAS · NSW LRS fees
🟧 QLD — the headline
FHB concession (existing): $0 duty up to $700K, sliding to $800K.
FHB concession (new build): $0 duty, no price cap for contracts from 1 May 2025.
First Home Owner Grant: $30K for new homes ≤ $750K, contracts to 30 Jun 2026.
Title fees: scale with price — $2,200–$3,000 at $500K–$1M (highest of the three states).
Watch the cliff: existing homes above $800K lose the concession entirely.
Worked example: $600K established home in Brisbane, 10% deposit, First Home Guarantee
| Line item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Transfer duty (FHB concession ≤ $700K) | $0 |
| Transfer registration (Titles QLD) | ~$2,470 |
| Mortgage registration | ~$230 |
| Conveyancing + disbursements | $1,800 |
| Building & pest inspection | $600 |
| LMI | $0 (First Home Guarantee) |
| Home & contents insurance (year 1) | $1,500 |
| Council rates adjustment | $700 |
| Moving + connections | $2,000 |
| Total upfront extras | ~$9,300 |
| Deposit (10%) | $60,000 |
| Cash needed at settlement | ~$69,300 |
About 1.5% on top.
🏗 Buying new in QLD? Contracts from 1 May 2025: $0 duty, no price cap, plus $30K grant for new homes ≤ $750K. A $700K new build here is among the most subsidised purchases in the country.
QRO: first home concession · QRO: first home new home · Titles QLD calculator
🟪 VIC — the headline
FHB concession: $0 duty up to $600K, sliding to $750K. Lowest threshold of the three states.
Title fees: $101.50 + $2.34 per $1,000 (electronic) — $600K ≈ $1,505.
Off-the-plan concession: extended to 21 October 2026 — generous, worth checking if buying new.
Vacant land: $0 to $400K, taper to $500K.
Watch the cliff: $750K — $1 over and you lose the concession entirely. Duty jumps to ~$40K.
Worked example: $650K established home in Melbourne, 10% deposit, First Home Guarantee
Middle of the sliding scale — between $600K full exemption and $750K cliff.
| Line item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Transfer duty (sliding concession at $650K) | ~$11,300 |
| Title transfer registration | ~$1,623 |
| Mortgage registration | ~$126 |
| Conveyancing + disbursements | $1,800 |
| Building & pest inspection | $600 |
| LMI | $0 (First Home Guarantee) |
| Home & contents insurance (year 1) | $1,500 |
| Council rates adjustment | $700 |
| Moving + connections | $2,000 |
| Total upfront extras | ~$19,650 |
| Deposit (10%) | $65,000 |
| Cash needed at settlement | ~$84,650 |
About 3% on top — duty is most of it.
⚠️ VIC's $600K threshold bites hard. At $600K exactly, duty would be $0 and extras would be ~$8,500 (~1.4%). Every dollar between $600K and $750K adds duty fast.
SRO Vic: FHB duty · Land Use Vic fees
Most-forgotten line items
The ones that catch buyers out — not because they're hidden, but because they're not on the bank's calculator.
- LMI — and that First Home Guarantee can wipe it.
- Council rates adjustment — out of pocket at settlement, not from the loan.
- Body corporate adjustment on strata — special levies can run thousands.
- Conveyancer's disbursements — a "$990 fixed fee" often becomes $1,500–$1,800.
- Insurance from settlement day, not move-in day.
- Title registration fees — separate from stamp duty; scale with price in QLD and VIC.
- State cliffs — $1 over can cost tens of thousands.
- First Home Guarantee price caps by postcode — check Housing Australia's tool before you sign.
What's next
- Grants & concessions deep dive — FHOG and stamp duty concessions for your state.
- Get a Zettle conveyancing quote — fixed fee, itemised disbursements, no settlement surprises.
Sources
NSW — Transfer duty · FHBAS · FHOG new homes · NSW LRS 2025/26 fees
QLD — Transfer duty rates · First home concession · First home (new home) concession · FHOG · Titles QLD calculator
VIC — Land transfer duty current rates · FHB duty · FHOG · Land Use Vic 2025/26 fees
Strata / body corporate / OC — 🟦 NSW Fair Trading · 🟧 QLD BCCM · 🟪 Consumer Affairs Vic
Federal — LMI: Moneysmart · First Home Guarantee · Property price caps