Taxes, duties, levies and royalties
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Deceased estate transfers

If you have received property from a deceased estate “in accordance with the terms of the will”  you will pay transfer duty at a concessional rate of $50.

Beneficiary of the will

"In accordance with the terms of the will " means you’re entitled to the property as the beneficiary (inheriting money or other property) either

  • under the terms of the will or
  • if the person died without leaving a valid will, under the rules of intestacy.

If a will is contested, the duty chargeable will be determined based on any court orders made. This is because a court order acts as an addition (codicil) to the will, any transfer made under the orders is considered to be a transfer in accordance with the terms of the will of the person who has died.

Transfers not in conformity to the will

The beneficiaries of a will often decide to vary their entitlements.

For instance, one beneficiary may decide to gift or sell part of a property they inherit to another beneficiary. When this happens, the normal rate of transfer duty applies to any part of the property receives that varies from the terms of the will.

If you vary the entitlements under a will this way, you must provide a valuation report as evidence of the value of the property, so that we can assess duty.

Here are some common examples of how transfer duty applies when you vary the terms of the will.

Example: One beneficiary becomes owner of property left to another

Under the terms of the will, equal shares in the family home are left to Jo and Lee by their parent.

  • The family home is valued at $500,000.
  • Lee agrees to pay $250,000 to Jo in exchange for Jo's half share of the home.
  • The 50% of the home Lee was entitled to under the will attracts no duty.
  • However, the 50% bought from Jo attracts duty at the standard rate or $7,240.

Example: Beneficiaries agree to become owners of different properties

Under the terms of the will a parent leaves a family home and holiday home to Sandy and Alex to hold equal shares in both properties.

  • The family home is valued at $400,000 and the holiday home is valued at $500,000.
  • The two properties are left in equal shares to the two children.
  • It is agreed that Sandy will become the sole owner of the family home while Alex will become the sole owner of the holiday home.
  • As a result, Sandy must pay duty on the 50% of the family home that was left to Alex and transferred to Sandy. The duty payable on the $200,000 half share is $5,490.
  • Alex must pay duty on the 50% of the holiday home left to Sandy and transferred to Alex. The duty payable on the half share valued at $250,000 is $7,240.

Surcharge purchaser duty exemptions

You do not have to pay Surcharge Purchaser Duty when you

  • are classified as a foreign person and
  • inherit property in accordance with the terms of the will.

However you will have to pay Surcharge Purchaser Duty if you receive

  • property in another way, such as having it transferred from another beneficiary
  • part of a property via a will and part of it another way, in which case Surcharge Purchaser Duty is payable on any proportion of the property you didn’t receive in accordance with the terms of the will.

Lodging an application for duty assessment

Your solicitor or conveyancer can lodge your application for duty assessment when you supply them with the information required including:

  • the original executed transmission application or transfer
  • Purchaser/transferee declaration
  • proof of your identity and
  • a full copy of Probate and the will together with the schedule of inventory owned by the deceased or
  • a full copy of the letter of administration confirming the assets owned by the deceased.

Depending on how you acquire the property, you may also need to include:

  • a full copy of the deed of family arrangement (if an agreement has been made to vary the terms of the will)
  • a full copy of any court orders (if a will has been successfully contested)
  • evidence of value of the dutiable property being transferred if section 63(2) applies (parties are not dealing with each other “at arm’s length”).