Residential land used for a commercial purpose

Generally, commercial property in NSW is exempt from surcharge purchaser duty. If you’re buying residential land used for a commercial purpose it too may be exempt.

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Commercial properties that are exempt

For properties purchased after 1 June 2016, foreign buyers won’t generally have to pay surcharge purchaser duty on certain types of commercial property, including:

hotels, motels and inns
hostels and boarding houses
student accommodation
aged care and other care facilities
bed and breakfast accommodation
caravan and home parks
separately titled rooms, apartments, serviced apartments, cottages and villas.

To qualify, your property must meet specific requirements.

Other exemptions

If the property you’re buying is not included in one of these categories, you can still apply to be exempt from surcharge purchaser duty if the dwellings on your property are used for commercial purposes.

How to apply

To apply, you must submit a written application to us, explaining how your property is used.

You will need to show that no part of the property is used as a dwelling and reference the criteria outlined in section 104I(2) of the Duties Act 1997.

Your application and supporting documentation must be lodged through the eDuties portal.

We’ll then send you more information as we process your application.

Supporting documents

As part of your application, you should also send us

an original copy of the Contract for the Sale of Land
a copy of the Transfer
a completed purchaser/transferee declaration for an individual or a non-individual (corporation or government). Note: New interactive forms with declaration tick boxes in place of statutory declaration.

You will also need to provide supporting documents showing the type of business you run and proving any dwellings on the property aren’t used for residential purposes. These can include a

Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) application, submission or approval for the acquisition of the property
planning authority permission, such as a planning and zoning restrictions or approval.

Additional documents

You will need some additional supporting documents specific to each business category to support your application.

Hotels, motels, inns and bed and breakfast accommodation

Management agreements
Insurance policies
Statutory licences, such as hotel liquor licence or food licence
Banking and finance documents, such as valuations and loan agreements mentioning the type of business and how it’s operated

Hostels and boarding houses

Official boarding house registration
Boarding house licence if the boarding house is an ‘assisted boarding house’
Occupancy agreements

Student accommodation

Lease agreements
Contracts or agreements with educational institutions

Aged care and other care facilities

Official registration as an ‘approved provider’ of care in NSW
Lease/occupancy agreements that detail the nature of the business

Caravan and home parks

Document(s) that prove you offer short-term accommodation, i.e. less than 90 days

Separately titled rooms, apartments, serviced apartments, cottages and villas

Management agreements
Body corporate by-laws that detail how the property is used

Applying for a refund

If you have already paid Surcharge Purchaser Duty but your property qualifies for the exemption as commercial property, you can apply for a reassessment.

You must apply within five years of the land’s initial assessment.
We will assess the property and if it meets the commercial requirements we will refund the purchaser surcharge.

To apply for a refund, follow the same process for standard applications and include the same supporting documentation, including

an original stamped copy of the Contract for the Sale of Land
a copy of the stamped instrument of Transfer.