About this calculator
First-home assistance in Australia is not one scheme but sixteen: eight duty regimes and eight grant settings, each with its own definition of "new". The duty side can be worth more than the grant. NSW forgives duty entirely to $800,000; South Australia and Queensland abolish it for first-home buyers of new homes at any price; the ACT charges eligible home buyers nothing at all since July 2026; Tasmania and the NT, at the other extreme, currently offer no duty relief at all. The table under the calculator runs your exact price through every state’s first-home rules so you can see the spread — on a $650,000 new build it runs from $0 of duty in four jurisdictions (NSW, Queensland, SA and the ACT) to nearly $25,000 in Tasmania, with Victoria and WA in between on their phase-in scales.
The grants are simpler but smaller, and they share one rule: new homes only, everywhere. Queensland pays $30,000 (continued for four more years in the 2026-27 budget), the Northern Territory’s HomeGrown grant pays $50,000 for first-home new builds to September 2027, Tasmania pays $20,000 in 2026-27, South Australia $15,000, and NSW, Victoria and WA $10,000 with price caps ($600,000 in NSW, $750,000 in Victoria, $800,000 in WA south of the 26th parallel; Queensland’s cap is just under $750,000). The ACT pays no grant — its nil duty is the assistance. Every figure here is from the state revenue offices, current October 2026, and grants are paid through your lender at settlement or first drawdown, which is why the calculator nets them off the cash you must assemble.
How to use it
- Pick your state and enter the price you are aiming at.
- Tick "brand-new home" if you are buying or building new — grants and two states’ duty abolition switch on it.
- Set your target deposit percentage (20% avoids LMI; 5–10% is where grants and guarantees matter most).
- Enter what you have saved and what you can save monthly, plus an allowance for conveyancing and fees.
- Read the net cash target and the months left to save it — then check the state table to see what the same purchase would cost across the border.
The formula
Duty uses the same verified state engines as the mortgage calculators on this site (Revenue NSW, SRO Victoria, Queensland Revenue Office, RevenueWA, RevenueSA, SRO Tasmania, ACT Revenue Office, Territory Revenue Office). Grants follow each state’s published FHOG settings; LMI is estimated from published insurer-estimator data and shown separately because it is normally capitalised into the loan rather than paid in cash.
Worked example
A $650,000 new build in Queensland with a 10% deposit target: the deposit is $65,000, duty is $0 (Queensland abolishes it for first-home new builds at any price — a $15,100 saving on the standard home-concession duty), and the First Home Owner Grant pays $30,000. With $5,000 of other costs, total upfront is $70,000 and the grant cuts the cash target to $40,000. A buyer with $25,000 saved and $1,500 a month going aside is 10 months away. The catch is LMI: at 90% LVR it adds an estimated $10,706 to the loan — unless the federal First Home Guarantee covers them instead.
Sources: State revenue office duty schedules and FHOG settings current October 2026: QLD grant $30,000 (continued in the 2026-27 budget), NT HomeGrown $50,000 to September 2027, TAS $20,000 for 2026-27, SA $15,000, NSW/VIC/WA $10,000 with price caps; ACT has no grant — its Home Buyer Concession Scheme charges eligible buyers nil duty since 1 July 2026. Last updated: October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How much grant do first home buyers get in each state?
For new homes, October 2026 settings: Queensland $30,000 (price under $750,000 including land); NT $50,000 via the HomeGrown Territory grant (new homes, contracts to 30 September 2027, no price cap); Tasmania $20,000 for 2026-27 transactions; South Australia $15,000 with no price cap; NSW $10,000 (homes to $600,000, or land-plus-build to $750,000); Victoria $10,000 (to $750,000); WA $10,000 (to $800,000 south of the 26th parallel since May 2026). The ACT has no grant — its assistance is nil duty under the Home Buyer Concession Scheme. Established homes attract no grant in any state.
Which states charge first home buyers no stamp duty?
At the right price or property type: NSW (homes to $800,000, sliding to $1 million), Victoria (to $600,000, sliding to $750,000), Queensland (established to $700,000; new builds at any price), WA (to $600,000, sliding to $800,000), SA (new homes at any price), and the ACT (any home, for eligible buyers, since 1 July 2026). Tasmania’s exemption ended 30 June 2026 and the NT has no concession — first-home buyers there currently pay full duty.
Can I get the grant and the duty concession together?
Yes — they are separate schemes and stack. The classic stack is Queensland or South Australia on a new build: $0 duty plus the grant ($30,000 or $15,000). In the ACT the stack is nil duty but no grant. What you generally cannot do is receive the grant twice, or claim it if you or your partner have owned a home before (the ACT concession is the exception in spirit: it re-opens after five years out of the market).
Does the grant count toward my deposit?
Lenders differ. The grant is usually paid at settlement (or first drawdown on a build), so it reliably reduces the cash you need — but many lenders will not count it as part of your deposit for LVR purposes when assessing the loan, and most want to see some genuine savings of your own (often 5% for high-LVR loans). This calculator nets the grant off the cash target, which is how it arrives in practice; confirm the deposit treatment with your lender.
What about the federal 5% deposit scheme?
The First Home Guarantee (Housing Australia) lets eligible first-home buyers purchase with a 5% deposit and no LMI, because the government guarantees up to 15% of the value. It does not change the duty or grant figures here — it changes the LMI line, potentially to $0, and lets a 5% deposit behave like 20% for insurance purposes. It was expanded from 1 October 2025; check Housing Australia for current price caps by location.
What formula does this first home buyer calculator — deposit, fhog & duty calculator use?
Net cash needed = (price × deposit%) + stamp duty under your state’s first-home rules + other costs − grant. Months to save = the shortfall after your current savings ÷ monthly saving, rounded up. Duty uses the same verified state engines as the mortgage calculators on this site (Revenue NSW, SRO Victoria, Queensland Revenue Office, RevenueWA, RevenueSA, SRO Tasmania, ACT Revenue Office, Territory Revenue Office). Grants follow each state’s published FHOG settings; LMI is estimated from published insurer-estimator data and shown separately because it is normally capitalised into the loan rather than paid in cash. The worked example on this page applies the formula step by step with real numbers, so you can verify the result by hand.