A transitional period is provided so that eligible purchasers/transferees who have paid transfer duty and completed the acquisition of their property, can apply to retrospectively opt into property tax.
To be eligible to retrospectively opt into property tax, the following criteria must be satisfied:
- At the time the application is made, all eligibility criteria to opt into property tax has been met, and
- At the time of making the application, the eligible purchasers/transferees are still the owners of the home or vacant land, and
- The application to retrospectively opt into property tax is submitted to Revenue NSW by 30 June 2023.
The transaction is one of the following:
- A transaction entered into between 11 November 2022 and 15 January 2023, or
- An off the plan purchase contract entered into between 11 November 2021 and 15 January 2022 which did not settle before 11 November 2022, or
- An off the plan purchase contract entered into on or after 16 January 2022 and settled between 11 November 2022 and 15 January 2023 (inclusive).
How to make a retrospective application to opt into property tax
The application to retrospectively opt into property tax is included in Section 7 of the First Home Buyer Choice – Property Tax Application form and Lodgement guide (ODA 083) (PDF, 1062.76 KB) and must be submitted to Revenue NSW for approval with all proof of identity documents and evidentiary requirements.
There will be two methods in which the application can be submitted the Revenue NSW.
- A conveyancing professional can submit an online application on behalf of their client via eDuties using application type “First Home Buyer Choice Retrospective Application”, or
- An eligible purchaser/ transferee can submit their own application directly via a separate online portal.
Instructions on how an eligible purchaser/transferee can submit an application are provided on the Revenue NSW First Home Buyer Choice web page.
Dealing with transactions executed between assent and commencement
The table below provides information on how to manage transactions first executed between 11 November 2022 and 15 January 2023.
This table does not apply to off the plan purchase contracts. Information on off the plan purchase contracts is located in Chapter 6 – Off the plan purchase contracts.
| If the execution date was | And... | Then |
|---|
Before
11 November 2022 | | The transaction is not eligible to opt into property tax. |
Between
11 November 2022 – 15 January 2023 | The land will be settled/transferred on or after 16 January 2023. | - Transfer duty does not need to be paid. -The transaction can be opted into property tax prior to settlement. - Process on EDR by using document type “First Home Buyer”.
For complex FHBC transactions identified in the Duties Document Matrix, an application for assessment must be submitted in eDuties using application type “First Home Buyer Choice – Assessment Application”.
Important note: If the transaction has already been assessed for transfer duty on EDR, and transfer duty has not been paid, cancel the assessment via the (CSP) using the cancel duties assessment option and reprocess on EDR as above.
If the transaction has already been assessed for transfer duty in EDR and duty has been paid, however settlement has not occurred, an application for reassessment must be submitted in eDuties using application type “First Home Buyer Choice – Assessment Application”. |
Between
11 November 2022 – 15 January 2023
| Settlement/transfer occurred after
16 January 2023 and transfer duty was paid.
| An application to retrospectively opt into property tax and apply for a refund may be submitted to Revenue NSW. Applications for approval must be received on or before 30 June 2023. |
Between
11 November 2022 – 15 January 2023
| The land was settled/transferred before 16 January 2023. | Transfer duty must be paid. An application to retrospectively opt into property tax and apply for a refund must be submitted to Revenue NSW between 16 January 2023 and 30 June 2023. |
Approved applications and refunds
A determination on an application to opt into property tax will usually be completed within 10 days of receiving the application if all required documents are supplied at the time of submitting the application.
Any transfer duty to be refunded to the eligible purchasers/transferees, will be paid into the nominated account in the application form.
Once the application for retrospective opt in is approved, the date for commencement of property tax will be backdated to the day after the residential land or vacant land was transferred to the purchasers or transferees.
Revoking a retrospective application
An application to retrospectively opt into property tax may be revoked by the eligible purchasers/transferees before the assessment has been finalised by Revenue NSW. Once the assessment is complete, the land will be subject to property tax and revocation of the application will not be possible.
If required, an applicant, or their conveyancer or solicitor, should contact us immediately to discuss revoking an application to retrospectively opt into property tax.
