First Home Owners Grant - Vic

First time buyer help in Victoria

The First Home Owners Grant is administered by the State Revenue Office of Victoria for all first time buyers making purchases in Victoria.

Unlike any other state or territory, Victoria has two state based incentives that may apply to first time buyers. These schemes are additional to the $7,000 grant paid as a part of the Federal Governments First Home Owners Grant. Subject to eligibility, first home buyers are able to apply for one or the other, but not both. These schemes are called the First Home Bonus and the First Home Owner with family exemption or concession.

First Home Bonus

First time buyers who qualify for the First Home Owner Grant may also be eligible for an additional payment known as the First Home Bonus. To be eligible to receive the bonus, the value of the property must not exceed $500,000. The First Home Bonus is:

Contract date	First Home Bonus Amount	Conditions
From 1 January 2007 to 30 June 2009	$5000	New homes only
	$3000	Established homes only

A new home is a home that is:

• built under a home building contract;
• built by an owner builder;
• purchased off the plan, or
• sold for the first time as a residential premises.

First Home Owner with family exemption or concession

The SRO requires to qualify, you must:

be purchasing the house and land for market value and intend to live in the home as your principal place of residence; have a dependant child at the date of – the contract of sale or within 11 months of that date if there was a home on the land when the contract of sale was entered into the building contract or the date on which building commenced whichever is the earlier), or within 11 months of that date if there was no home on the land when the contract was entered into. Not have previously owned a home anywhere in Australia which was used as your principal place of residence. If you purchased a home with your spouse/partner, the exemption or concession is available only if each of you satisfies the eligibility criteria.

Which is worth more?

If you qualify for both the bonus and the first home owner with family exemption or concession, you have the choice of receiving one or the other. You cannot receive both.

If you choose to receive the bonus, you will not receive the:

• pensioner exemption or concession,
• first home owner with family exemption or concession; or
• duty concession for a principal place of residence.

Depending on the value of the property, it may be better to receive the bonus than the exemption or concession. As a guide, we have made the following calculations on the basis that a house exists at the time of transfer.

Contract date	Amount of Bonus	Value of purchase	Which is worth more?
From 1 January 2007 to 30 June 2009	$5000 for new residential premises	Any value to less than $200,000	First Home Bonus
	$3,000 for established homes	$0 to $123,790 and $165,198 to less than $200,000	First Home Bonus
		$123,811 to $165,197	First Home Owner with family exemption or concession
		$123,791 to $123,810	First Home Owner with family exemption is equal to First Home Bonus

You are encouraged to seek advice from a qualified adviser as to which option is better for you. The above figures may be slightly different for an eligible first home owner who purchased a vacant block and built a house on it within three years of the transfer.

Related Links

• The Federal First Home Owners Grant Scheme

External links:

• FHOG Online
• State Revenue Office (administrators of FHOG in Victoria)

This information was obtained from the State Revenue Office of Victoria.