First time buyer help in NSW
If you are buying or building your first home, you may also be eligible for benefits under the NSW's Governments First Home Plus Scheme. Both the First Home Owner Grant and the First Home Plus Schemes are administered by the Office of State Revenue and Mates Rates will manage these applications together with your mortgage application, keeping your experience simple and stress free.
The NSW First Home Plus Scheme includes exemptions or reductions on transfer duty for eligible first time buyers. This also includes vacant land if you intend to build your first home on it! These benefits are in addition to the First Home Owners Grant. The benefits include:
- Exemptions on transfer duty on homes valued up to $500,000 and reductions on duty for a home valued between $500,000 and $600,000
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- If you are buying vacant land to build an owner occupied first home on, there will be no duty on vacant land valued up to $300,000 and you will receive reductions on duty for vacant land valued between $300,000 and $450,000
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NSW First Home Buyer Plus - Are you eligible?
The eligibility criteria for the Federal First Home Owners grant is different to the criteria required for the NSW First Home Buyer Plus Scheme. You can be eligible for one, but not the other. To be eligible for the NSW First Home Buyer Plus grant, you must meet the following criteria:
- the contract and the transfer must be for the purchase of the whole of the property
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- all purchasers must be ‘eligible purchasers’
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- at least one eligible purchaser must occupy the home as their principal place of residence for a continuous period of six months, commencing within 12 months of completion of the agreement
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- an ‘eligible purchaser’ is a natural person (ie not a company or trust) at least 18 years of age who has not, and whose spouse/de facto has not:
- at any time owned (either solely or with some one else) residential property in Australia other than property owned solely as trustee or executor
- previously received an exemption or concession under First Home Plus.
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Note: If all purchasers are not 'eligible purchasers' you may still qualify for a concession under First Home Plus One.
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- From 1 May 2007, First Home Plus One allows eligible purchasers to buy property with other parties and still receive a concession. To qualify the eligible purchasers must buy at least 50 per cent of the property. The value limits and purchasers eligibility criteria of First Home Plus apply.
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Note: if the first home buyer's spouse has previously owned a home or received a benefit under First Home Plus, the first home buyer will not be entitled to First Home Plus One, regardless of whether or not the spouse is also a purchaser
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This is not an extensive list of eligibility criteria or incentives provided under the scheme. You can find out more about your own individual entitlements by arranging to talk to a broker for free or by reading further on the external links provided below.
Related Links
External links:
This information was obtained from the NSW Office of State Revenue on 17th June 2008.
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