Land tax thresholds compared: NSW vs VIC vs QLD

The bottom line on land tax thresholds across three states

NSW offers the highest tax-free threshold at $1,075,000 for land held by individuals and companies, Victoria charges land tax on trust holdings above just $50,000 (and $300,000 for individuals), and Queensland sits in the middle at $600,000 for all structures. If you own investment property in more than one of these states, each jurisdiction aggregates your holdings separately—so you can't pool a $500,000 Sydney unit with a $400,000 Brisbane townhouse to stay under NSW's threshold. The structure you choose—personal name, family trust, company, or SMSF—materially changes your land tax bill in Victoria and to a lesser extent in Queensland, while NSW treats individuals, companies and trusts the same for threshold purposes.

NSW land tax: $1,075,000 threshold and progressive rates

Revenue NSW applies a tax-free threshold of $1,075,000 for the 2024 land tax year (based on land value as at 1 July 2023). This threshold applies to individuals, companies and complying trusts holding investment land. Once your total taxable land value exceeds $1,075,000, you pay $100 plus 1.6% on the excess up to $6,571,000, then 2% above that.

For special trusts—typically discretionary family trusts—NSW uses a flat $100 + 2% rate on the entire taxable value with no threshold. This punitive rate disappeared for most trusts in 2024 following the NSW Government's decision to harmonise trust and individual rates, but it still applies to certain non-complying arrangements. Check Revenue NSW's PTA 003 determination if your trust was settled before 12 June 2024 and you're unsure whether you qualify for the standard threshold.

NSW does not aggregate interstate land. If you own a $900,000 property in Sydney and a $400,000 unit in Melbourne, NSW taxes only the Sydney holding—which falls under the threshold—so your NSW land tax is nil. Victoria will separately assess the Melbourne property against its own rules.

Principal place of residence (PPOR) is exempt. So is land used for primary production if it meets the Revenue NSW definition—broadly, land larger than 2 hectares generating at least $20,000 of agricultural income in a financial year.

For detailed NSW stamp duty and land tax interplay, see our stamp duty NSW calculator.

Victoria: $50,000 threshold for trusts, $300,000 for individuals

Victoria's State Revenue Office imposes the lowest trust threshold in Australia: just $50,000 of taxable land value. Trusts pay $975 plus 0.375% on land value from $50,000 to $100,000, then the rate steps up. For land between $100,000 and $300,000, the marginal rate is 0.575%; from $300,000 to $600,000 it's 0.875%, and it climbs to 1.3% for land between $600,000 and $1,000,000.

Individuals, companies and complying superannuation funds enjoy a $300,000 threshold. Above that, they pay $500 plus 0.2% on the band from $300,000 to $600,000, then higher marginal rates that eventually reach 2.25% for holdings over $3,000,000.

This structure penalty is severe. A family trust holding a single $400,000 rental property in Melbourne pays roughly $2,600 in Victorian land tax for 2024. The same property in an individual's name pays around $700. Over ten years the trust structure costs an extra $19,000 in land tax—enough to justify unwinding the trust or switching to a unit trust with fixed entitlements, which qualifies for the individual rate if all unit-holders are natural persons.

Victoria also applies an absentee owner surcharge of 4% (2024 rate) on the total taxable value if the owner is a foreign person or absentee trust. This sits on top of the base land tax.

PPOR and primary production land are exempt. If you run a build-to-rent scheme with at least 50 dwellings under 10-year leases, you may qualify for a concessional 50% land tax discount under Victoria's BTR framework introduced in 2023.

Compare your Victorian holding structure with our trust vs personal calculator, which models land tax alongside CGT and income distribution.

Queensland: $600,000 threshold for all structures

Queensland Revenue Office uses a single $600,000 threshold for individuals, companies, trusts and super funds—no structure penalty. Above $600,000, you pay $500 plus 1% on the band from $600,000 to $999,999, then 1.65% from $1,000,000 to $2,999,999, 1.25% from $3,000,000 to $4,999,999, 1.75% from $5,000,000 to $9,999,999, and 2.25% on land value above $10,000,000.

Unlike Victoria, Queensland aggregates all land held by associated persons. If you own a $500,000 unit in Brisbane personally and your spouse owns a $400,000 house in Cairns personally, QRO treats the combined $900,000 as a single holding. You lose the threshold and pay land tax on $300,000 of excess value. This associated-person rule also captures land held by your family trust, any company you control, and entities in which you or your family hold more than 50% voting rights.

Queensland offers a home concession rather than a blanket PPOR exemption. If the property is your principal place of residence and you've owned it for at least six months, the first $600,000 of site value is exempt and the next $2,400,000 is taxed at concessional rates (0% on the first $600,000, effectively). Investors who convert a former PPOR into a rental lose the concession immediately—QRO does not allow a grace period.

Queensland also imposes a foreign person surcharge of 2% on the total taxable value, in addition to the base land tax.

Primary production land is exempt if it's at least 2 hectares, used for intensive animal husbandry or more than 0.8 hectares used for plant cultivation.

For QLD-specific stamp duty costs, see our stamp duty QLD calculator.

Multi-state portfolios: aggregation rules and interaction

Each state assesses land tax independently. There is no national aggregation—NSW doesn't count your Queensland land, Victoria doesn't count your NSW land. But within each state, local aggregation rules apply.

NSW: Aggregates all land you hold in NSW across entities you control. If you personally own one Sydney property and your discretionary trust (where you're appointor and beneficiary) owns another, Revenue NSW sums both.Complying SMSFs are generally assessed separately unless you're also a member and the fund holds non-SMSF land in associated entities.

Victoria: Aggregates all Victorian land held by you, your spouse, and entities you control. SRO uses the "beneficial ownership" test—if you're the trust appointor or control a corporate trustee, the land is attributed to you for aggregation.

Queensland: The broadest aggregation. QRO links you to your spouse, dependent children, any company where you hold >50% shares, any trust where you're a beneficiary with >50% entitlement, and any entity controlled by those associated persons. Holding land through multiple entities rarely quarantines the threshold.

Practical example: You own a $1,200,000 investment property in Sydney in your personal name, a $350,000 Melbourne unit in a family trust, and a $500,000 Brisbane townhouse personally.

• NSW: $1,200,000 exceeds the $1,075,000 threshold by $125,000. Tax = $100 + (1.6% × $125,000) = $2,100.
• Victoria: Trust holds $350,000. Exceeds the $50,000 trust threshold. Tax ≈ $2,350 (marginal rates apply).
• Queensland: You hold $500,000 personally, under the $600,000 threshold. Tax = $0.
• Total: $4,450 land tax annually.

If you'd held all three properties in a single discretionary trust, the NSW trust would pay the higher 2% rate (or $100 + 1.6% if it's a complying trust post-June 2024), Victoria would still charge trust rates, and Queensland would aggregate all three values—likely pushing the Brisbane holding into taxable territory under association rules.

Use our rental cashflow calculator to model after-tax cash returns across states, incorporating land tax, council rates and strata levies.

Structure choice: when trusts cost you thousands

Victoria's $50,000 trust threshold makes family trusts expensive for even modest holdings. A single $250,000 vacant block in Geelong triggers roughly $1,475 in annual land tax for a trust versus $350 for an individual. Over 20 years that's a $22,500 gap—more than enough to justify holding the property personally or via a unit trust.

When to use a discretionary trust despite the land tax cost:

• You plan to distribute rental income to adult children or a lower-income spouse, saving 30–47% marginal tax.
• You want asset protection from professional indemnity or business creditors (remembering that a trust doesn't shield against ATO debts or family law claims).
• You expect to sell within 5–10 years and the income tax savings exceed the land tax impost.

When to hold in personal names:

• Your marginal tax rate is already low (≤32.5%).
• You're building a long-term hold portfolio in Victoria or Queensland and the land tax drag compounds annually.
• You qualify for the main residence exemption or plan to move into the property within six years (NSW allows backdated PPOR exemption under certain conditions).

SMSF ownership: Super funds pay the individual threshold in NSW ($1,075,000) and Victoria ($300,000), and the standard $600,000 threshold in Queensland. Because super fund income is taxed at 15% (10% on capital gains held >12 months), an SMSF can be land-tax efficient for Victorian holdings. However, SMSFs must satisfy the sole purpose test—you can't let a related party live in the property rent-free, and rental income must be at arm's length.

Compare ownership structures and borrowing capacity with our borrowing capacity calculator, which accounts for different lender serviceability rules for trusts and companies.

Exemptions, concessions and traps

All three states exempt principal place of residence—but definitions vary:

• NSW: You must occupy the dwelling as your main residence. Renting out a room under the "board and lodging" exemption is permitted if you still live there.
• Victoria: Full exemption for your PPOR. If you move out and rent the property, you lose the exemption from the next land tax year.
• Queensland: Home concession applies only if you occupy the property for at least six months in the tax year. Moving interstate for work but keeping the property as your Australian PPOR may still qualify, but QRO often disputes this during audit.

Primary production: Broadly similar tests—land must be used for commercial agriculture, minimum 2 hectares in Victoria and Queensland, no minimum in NSW if income exceeds the $20,000 threshold.

Build-to-rent concessions: Victoria offers 50% land tax discount for qualifying BTR projects. NSW introduced a 50% land tax discount for BTR developments with ≥50 dwellings and 15-year leases (commencing 2024). Queensland has no BTR land tax concession as of 2024.

Vacant land surcharge: Victoria charges an additional 1% if residential land in metropolitan Melbourne or Geelong has been vacant for more than six months in the preceding calendar year. This is separate from the vacant residential land tax and applies regardless of whether the owner is local or foreign.

Trusts settled pre-2000: Older discretionary trusts in NSW may still attract the 2% flat rate unless you applied for complying trust status. Check PTA 010 and PTA 003 determinations or contact Revenue NSW.

Retirement villages and caravan parks: Usually exempt in all three states if the land is owned by a not-for-profit or meets specific use tests.

Tax planning: minimising land tax across three states

If you're assembling a multi-state portfolio, timing and structure matter:

1. Buy Victorian property personally, not in trust. The $250,000 threshold difference saves $1,500–$3,000 annually. Refinance or restructure older trust-held properties before land values rise.
2. Use the NSW threshold. Sydney and regional NSW properties benefit from the highest threshold. Consider concentrating higher-value holdings in NSW and holding smaller assets in Queensland.
3. Quarantine Queensland holdings. Because QLD aggregates associated persons, use separate ownership—one property in your name, one in your spouse's name, avoiding joint tenancy. This preserves two $600,000 thresholds if you can prove you're not "associated" under QRO's definition (difficult if you're married or have shared financial interests).
4. SMSF for Victoria. If you're over 60 and in pension phase, an SMSF holding a Victorian rental can shield income at 0% tax and pay the $300,000 individual land tax threshold, not the $50,000 trust rate.
5. Time settlements. Land tax is assessed on ownership as at 31 December (Victoria), 30 June (Queensland), and 31 December (NSW—but based on 1 July valuation). Deferring settlement by a few weeks can push the first land tax bill into the following year, giving you 12 extra months before the threshold bites.
6. Consider unit trusts. A unit trust with fixed entitlements held by natural persons qualifies for individual thresholds in Victoria and avoids the trust surcharge. It still offers asset protection and income splitting (via varied unit classes) without the discretionary trust land tax penalty.

For depreciation and cashflow modelling across structures, use our depreciation calculator and negative gearing calculator.

What this means for your portfolio

Land tax thresholds reshape after-tax returns—especially if you hold property in Victoria through a discretionary trust or own multiple titles across state borders. InvestorJoint tracks entity-level land holdings and surfaces your aggregated taxable land value in each state, so you see threshold exposure before you settle the next purchase. The platform imports council valuation notices, reconciles registered proprietors against your trust deeds and company ASIC records, and flags when you're approaching the threshold in NSW, Victoria or Queensland.

If you're managing a mixed portfolio—some properties in your name, others in a family trust, one in your SMSF—InvestorJoint consolidates tax positions by entity, not just by state. You'll see exactly how much NSW land tax your personal holdings will incur versus how much your trust pays in Victoria, and whether restructuring or selling one asset drops you back under the threshold. That visibility matters when the difference between $50,000 and $300,000 in Victoria is $1,500 in annual tax—compounded over a 20-year hold, that's $30,000 less to reinvest.

For accountants preparing your FY2024 tax pack, InvestorJoint auto-generates the state land tax summaries and entity attribution schedules that auditors and revenue offices expect. You're not piecing together spreadsheets from three different council portals; everything lives in one entity-first ledger. Explore pricing or review our family trust guide and SMSF property guide for structure-specific detail.