Commercial transfer duty

A commercial property transaction is a transaction where the relevant property will be used, wholly or partly, for commercial purposes. Commercial purposes include industrial, business or retail use of property, including property with mixed uses. Examples of commercial properties and non-commercial properties include:

Commercial purposeNon-commercial
  • warehouses (industrial use)
  • factories (industrial use)
  • offices (business use)
  • restaurants (business use)
  • cafes (business use)
  • hotels (business use)
  • commercially-run accommodation (e.g. student accommodation) (business use)
  • caravan parks (retail use)
  • shops (retail use)
  • shopping centres (retail use)
  • retail outlets (retail use)
  • two-storey building with commercial office on the ground floor and residence on the first floor (mixed-use)
  • farm land with part of it used for a bed and breakfast business (mixed-use).

Commercial purposes don’t include:

  • properties being used only for residential purposes
  • properties being used only for primary production (rural land)
  • home businesses being run in accordance with the Planning Act 2023 (external site).

Examples include:

  • houses (residential)
  • residential units (residential)
  • apartments bought off-the-plan (residential)
  • farm land (primary production)
  • bookkeeping conducted from a home office (home business)
  • florist working from home (home business).

Meaning of ‘used or will be used’, ‘partly and wholly’

This refers to the purchaser’s proposed use of the property, and whether the property will be fully, or only partly used for a particular purpose.

The use or proposed use may not necessarily be the permitted use as specified in a Crown lease.

The following scenarios are examples where a property is used or will be used by the purchaser, partly or wholly, for commercial purposes. In each of these scenarios, the new Commercial Transfer duty rate will be used in calculating the duty amount payable.

  1. Mr Smith buys land on which there is an existing office building.
  2. Mr Jones buys land on which there is an existing building comprised of a suite of offices on the ground floor, and three levels of apartments on levels one, two and three.
  3. Ms Chen buys land on which there is an existing farm. She plans to build chalets on part of the land from which to run her bed and breakfast business, while retaining the remainder of the land as a farm.
  4. Baker Pty Ltd buys an old warehouse with the intention of converting it into an apartment tower and shopping complex.

Declaring your land use

You have (and your agent has) 14 days to lodge your transfer instrument for title registration with Access Canberra. On the transfer instrument you’ll need to tick the ‘Commercial’ box under ‘Land Use’.

This will be your declaration to the ACT Revenue Office that the land will be used wholly or partly for commercial purposes.

Remember that we will charge you the commercial rates if you declare a commercial land use. Giving false or misleading information is a serious offence.

Commercial duty rates

Updates for 2024-25

From 1 July 2024, the commercial conveyance duty tax free threshold will increase from $1.8 million to $1.9 million.

Value of Commercial Property

Duty Payable

Up to $1,900,000Nil
More than $1,900,000A flat rate of $5.00 per $100 applied to the total transaction value

Value of Commercial Property

Duty Payable

Up to $1,800,000Nil
More than $1,800,000A flat rate of $5.00 per $100 applied to the total transaction value

Value of Commercial Property

Duty Payable

Up to $1,700,000Nil
More than $1,700,000A flat rate of $5.00 per $100 applied to the total transaction value

Value of Commercial Property

Duty Payable

less than or equal to $1,600,000nil
More than $1,600,000A flat rate of $5.00 per $100 applied to the total transaction value

Value of Commercial Property

Duty Payable

less than or equal to $1,500,000nil
More than $1,500,000A flat rate of $5.00 per $100 applied to the total transaction value

Value of Commercial Property

Duty Payable

up to $200,000$20 or $0.70 per $100 or part thereof, whichever is greater
$200,001 to $300,000$1,400 plus $1.20 per $100 or part thereof by which the value exceeds $200,000
$300,001 to $500,000$2,600 plus $1.90 per $100 or part thereof by which the value exceeds $300,000
$500,001 to $750,000$6,400 plus $2.39 per $100 or part thereof by which the value exceeds $500,000
$750,001 to $1,000,000$12,375 plus $3.15 per $100 or part thereof by which the value exceeds $750,000
$1,000,001 to $1,499,999$20,250 plus $3.40 per $100 or part thereof by which the value exceeds $1,000,000
$1,500,000 and overA flat rate of $5.00 per $100 applied to the total transaction value

Transactions before 18 September 2017

Different rules apply to transactions where you signed the contract before 18 September 2017. See the Transactions before 18 September 2017 page for more information.

Relevant links