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Calculate land tax for investment properties in every Australian state and territory, with current thresholds, progressive rates and foreign owner surcharges.
Updated: 5 August 2026 · Reviewed by Mohsin Iqbal · 15 min read
Your Property
State / Territory
Is this your principal residence?
Land value (unimproved)
$
Owner type
Ownership %
%
Land tax aggregates all your land in a state — enter each property's land value below to auto-total them into the field above.
Property 1
$
Property 2
$
Property 3
$
Land Tax Result
Annual Land Tax
—
Item
Value
Estimates only, based on published thresholds and rates for a single landholding — not financial or tax advice. Land tax aggregates ALL your land in a state; if you own multiple properties, confirm your exact combined liability with your state or territory revenue office.
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💰 Investor Cost Summary
🗺️ State Comparison (Same Land Value)
🔗 Your State Revenue Office
⏱️ Last reviewed: 5 August 2026 · Written and reviewed by Mohsin Iqbal under our editorial policy and calculation methodology. Land tax rates and thresholds change — always confirm your exact liability with your state or territory revenue office.
📖 Approx. 15 min read🗺️ All 8 states & territories🔄 Updated 5 August 2026
Land tax thresholds vary enormously by state — from $50,000 in Victoria to $1,075,000 in NSW — so identical properties can face vastly different bills depending on location.
The Northern Territory levies no land tax at all — the only Australian jurisdiction with none.
Your principal place of residence is exempt in every state and territory that charges land tax.
Land tax is assessed on all your taxable land in a state combined, not property by property — a second investment property can push your whole holding into a higher bracket.
Foreign owners pay significant additional surcharges — 5% in NSW, 4% in Victoria, 3% in Queensland, on top of standard rates.
Quick Answer
Land tax is an annual state or territory tax on the unimproved value of land you own above a threshold that varies significantly by jurisdiction — from $50,000 in Victoria to $1,075,000 in NSW, with the Northern Territory charging none at all. Your home is generally exempt everywhere. On $800,000 of land value in Victoria, an individual owner pays approximately $3,450 a year; the same value in NSW or Queensland below their thresholds pays nothing. Select your state and enter your details above for an exact estimate.
What Is Land Tax?
Land tax is a state and territory government tax on the unimproved (site) value of land you own — the land alone, not any buildings or other improvements on it. It's assessed annually by each state's revenue office and applies primarily to investment properties, holiday homes and vacant land. Because it's a state tax rather than a federal one, there are effectively eight separate systems across Australia, each with its own threshold, rate structure and rules.
ℹ️ Land value (site value) ≠ property market value. Land tax is calculated on the unimproved land value alone, set by the state valuer-general — not on the total market value of your property, which includes the house, landscaping and other improvements. A $1.2 million property might have a taxable land value of only $500,000, with the rest attributed to the building. Always use your land value (shown on your rates notice or valuation), not your property's sale price or market appraisal, when entering a figure into the calculator above.
Land Tax by State — Thresholds and Rates
State
Threshold (Individual)
Top Rate
Foreign Surcharge
NSW
$1,075,000
2.0%
5%
VIC
$50,000
2.65%
4%
QLD
$600,000
1.75%
3%
WA
$300,000
2.67%
—
SA
$833,000
2.4%
—
TAS
$125,000
1.5%
—
ACT
No threshold (fixed charge + rate)
Variable
—
NT
No land tax
—
—
⚠️ Victoria's threshold was reduced from $300,000 to $50,000 in 2024 as part of the state's COVID Debt Repayment Plan, dragging hundreds of thousands of previously-exempt property owners into land tax. If you're comparing older information, this is the single most likely figure to be out of date.
The Northern Territory Exception
The Northern Territory is the only Australian jurisdiction that doesn't levy land tax at all — a genuine structural advantage for property investors holding land there, and one reason some investors specifically build portfolios in Darwin and Alice Springs. Every other state and territory applies land tax to non-exempt land above their respective threshold.
Principal Residence Exemption
Your home — the property you live in as your main residence — is exempt from land tax in every Australian state and territory that charges it. This exemption generally requires you to actually occupy the property, hold sufficient ownership interest (some states require at least 25%), and not use it to produce income. A second property you don't live in — an investment property, holiday home, or vacant land — doesn't qualify and counts toward your taxable land.
Foreign Owner Surcharges
Foreign individuals, companies and trusts face substantial additional surcharges on top of standard land tax rates in several states, applied to the full land value with no threshold in most cases:
NSW: 5% surcharge (increased from 4% effective 1 January 2025)
Victoria: 4% absentee owner surcharge, applying from the first dollar of land value
Queensland: 3% surcharge on land valued at $350,000 or more
Company and Trust Ownership
Companies and trusts often face lower thresholds and different rate schedules than individual owners. In Victoria, trusts face a $25,000 threshold instead of $50,000. In Queensland, companies and trustees share a $350,000 threshold instead of the individual $600,000 threshold, with a different (generally steeper) rate scale. If you're considering holding property through a company or trust structure partly for land tax reasons, model both ownership types using the calculator above and consult a registered tax agent, since the structure has broader implications beyond land tax alone.
Aggregation of Multiple Properties
This is one of the most misunderstood aspects of land tax: you're not taxed property by property — you're taxed on the combined value of all your taxable land in a given state. Owning three Victorian investment properties with $200,000 land value each means you're assessed on $600,000 combined, not three separate $200,000 amounts each falling below the threshold. This calculator estimates land tax on a single entered land value; if you own multiple properties in the same state, add their unimproved values together and enter the combined total for an accurate aggregated estimate.
Land Tax as a Tax Deduction
For investment properties, land tax is a fully deductible expense against your rental income, claimed in the year it's paid. For your principal place of residence, land tax doesn't apply in the first place (since it's exempt), so the deduction question doesn't arise there. See our Rental Property Calculator to model land tax alongside your other investment property holding costs.
Worked Examples
State
Land Value
Owner Type
Annual Land Tax
Victoria
$500,000
Individual
$1,950
Victoria
$750,000
Individual
$3,150
NSW
$1,200,000
Individual
$2,100
Queensland
$800,000
Individual
$2,500
Queensland
$400,000
Company/Trust
$2,300
Tasmania
$500,000
Individual
~$1,738
Common Mistakes
Assuming land tax rules are the same everywhere. Thresholds range from $50,000 to $1,075,000 across states — what triggers a bill in Victoria might be entirely exempt in NSW.
Forgetting properties are aggregated within a state. Multiple properties combine to determine your bracket, not each assessed separately.
Using outdated Victorian figures. The $300,000 threshold many older articles cite was reduced to $50,000 in 2024 — a huge, easy-to-miss change.
Confusing land tax with council rates or stamp duty. These are three separate charges with different bases, timing and purposes.
Not accounting for company/trust threshold differences. Structuring ownership without checking the applicable threshold can produce a surprising result.
Who Should Use This Calculator?
📈 Property investors estimating ongoing holding costs before purchasing.
🗺️ Investors comparing states for where to build a portfolio, given how differently thresholds and rates are set.
🏠 Holiday home owners who don't qualify for the principal residence exemption.
🏢 Company and trust structures checking their specific threshold and rate schedule.
🌏 Foreign owners needing to factor in surcharges on top of standard rates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Investment property owners, holiday home owners, and owners of vacant land above their state's threshold. Your principal place of residence is generally exempt in every state and territory that charges land tax.
No — each state and territory sets its own thresholds, rates and exemptions independently. Victoria's threshold is $50,000 while NSW's is $1,075,000, and the Northern Territory charges no land tax at all.
The Northern Territory is the only Australian jurisdiction that levies no land tax at all, on any property type.
Yes, for investment properties — land tax paid is fully deductible against rental income in the year it's paid. It doesn't apply to your principal residence in the first place, since that's exempt.
Each state's valuer-general determines land value using market-based assessments of comparable land sales, representing the unimproved value — the land alone, without buildings or other improvements. Assessments are typically updated annually.
No — your principal place of residence is exempt from land tax in every state and territory that charges it, provided you meet the occupancy and ownership requirements.
Yes — land tax is assessed on the combined value of all your taxable land in a state, not each property separately. Multiple properties can push your total into a higher bracket even if each individually would fall below the threshold.
$50,000 for individuals and companies, and $25,000 for land held in trust — reduced from $300,000 in 2024 as part of Victoria's COVID Debt Repayment Plan.
$1,075,000 for the general threshold, with a premium threshold of $6,571,000 for the higher rate band. Both have been frozen since 1 January 2025 and will be reviewed by 1 June 2027.
Yes, significantly more in several states — an additional 5% surcharge in NSW, 4% in Victoria (from the first dollar, no threshold), and 3% in Queensland, on top of standard rates.
Often yes — Victoria applies a lower $25,000 threshold for trusts, and Queensland applies a lower $350,000 threshold with a different rate scale for companies and trustees, compared to individual owners.
Land tax is a state government tax on land value above a threshold, applying mainly to investment properties. Council rates are a local government charge on all properties (including your home) funding local services, calculated differently and payable regardless of land tax status.
Stamp duty is a one-off tax paid when you purchase property. Land tax is an ongoing annual tax on land value above a threshold, paid every year you hold non-exempt land.
Figures for NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory are individually verified against multiple current sources. WA, SA's upper band and the ACT's fixed-charge structure are based on published thresholds with some detail not fully re-verified — always confirm your exact liability with your state or territory revenue office, especially for large or complex holdings.
Land tax varies enormously across Australia's eight states and territories — from Victoria's low $50,000 threshold to NSW's $1,075,000, with the Northern Territory charging none at all. Your home is exempt everywhere, but investment properties, holiday homes and land held through companies or trusts face genuinely different rules state by state. Use the calculator above with your own figures, and remember that multiple properties in the same state are assessed together, not individually.