Every scheme, one number
First Home Buyer Calculator - ACT
A Canberra home buyer at $750,000 who qualifies for the Home Buyer Concession Scheme needs about $40,900 up front: 5% deposit, zero duty at any price, no LMI. From 1 July 2026 the HBCS has no income test and no price cap - the broadest duty relief in the country.
- Rates verified
- 2026-08-03
- Source
- ACT Revenue Office
- Scheme cap
- $1,000,000
Your purchase
ACT: one $1,000,000 scheme cap applies everywhere.
Total cash to buy
$40,900
With the 5% Deposit Scheme: 5% deposit, no LMI.
- Deposit (5%)
- $37,500
- Transfer duty
- $0
- Duty concession applied
- saves $19,208
- Conveyancing, inspections, loan setup
- $3,400
- LMI avoided via the scheme
- saves ~$24,225
Want duty on its own, across investor, owner-occupier and first-home scales? That's the full ACT transfer duty calculator.
Scheme caps per firsthomebuyers.gov.au; duty and grants from ACT Revenue Office (source). Eligibility criteria apply to every scheme - confirm before committing. General information only.
Every benefit a Canberra first home buyer can claim in 2026
Status chips update live against the price, location and build type set above.
Home Buyer Concession Scheme
Zero duty, any price
From 1 July 2026: no income test, no price cap. Eligibility turns on one thing - no buyer (or their partner) has owned property in the last 5 years, and one buyer lives in the home for a year. New, established or vacant residential land.
Official sourceOff-the-plan duty exemption
Uncapped from Jul 2026
Owner-occupiers buying an off-the-plan unit pay zero duty with the price cap removed from 1 July 2026 - not restricted to first home buyers. A new Newly Unit Titled exemption covers new units not sold off the plan.
Official sourceWhy no ACT grant?
FHOG ceased 2019
The ACT stopped paying a First Home Owner Grant on 1 July 2019 and put the money into duty relief instead. At $750,000 the HBCS is worth about $19,208 - roughly double a typical state grant.
Official source5% Deposit Scheme
5% deposit, no LMI
Buy with 5% down and the government guarantees the rest - no lenders mortgage insurance, no income cap, unlimited places. Cap here: $1,000,000.
Official sourceHelp to Buy
Up to 40% shared equity
The government co-buys up to 40% of a new home (30% existing) with a 2% deposit. Income caps $103,000 single / $165,000 couple; 10,000 places a year.
Official sourceFirst Home Super Saver
Up to $50,000 from super
Release up to $15,000 of voluntary super contributions a year ($50,000 total per person, plus earnings) for the deposit, taxed at your marginal rate less a 30% offset.
Official sourceHow the Canberra first home buyer stack works
The ACT plays a different game: no grant, no price caps, no income tests - just the country's broadest duty relief. From 1 July 2026 the Home Buyer Concession Scheme zeroes conveyance duty at any price for anyone who has not owned property in 5 years and will live in the home. The old FHOG money went here, and at Canberra prices the trade favours buyers roughly two-to-one.
The stack is correspondingly simple: HBCS handles the duty, the federal 5% Deposit Scheme (single $1,000,000 territory-wide cap) handles the deposit, and Help to Buy or the uncapped off-the-plan exemption cover the edges. The 5-year test also makes the ACT unusual in a second way - you do not have to be a literal first home buyer, just five years out of the market.
The deposit is only the entry ticket - if the home ever becomes an investment property, the new-build-vs-established choice also decides its tax treatment under the 2026 negative gearing reform, and the repayment calculator shows what the loan itself costs from day one.
Frequently asked questions
Do first home buyers pay stamp duty in the ACT?
No - and from 1 July 2026 that is true at any price. The Home Buyer Concession Scheme dropped its income test and price cap, so any buyer who has not owned property in the previous 5 years (nor their partner) and will live in the home for a year pays zero conveyance duty. At $750,000 that saves about $19,208; at $1,500,000 about $68,100.
Is there a First Home Owner Grant in the ACT?
No - the ACT ceased FHOG payments on 1 July 2019, choosing duty relief over cash grants. The trade runs in buyers' favour at Canberra prices: the uncapped Home Buyer Concession Scheme is worth $19,208 on a $750,000 home, roughly double the $10,000 grants paid in NSW or Victoria, and it applies to established homes as well as new.
Who is eligible for the ACT Home Buyer Concession Scheme?
All buyers must be individuals over 18; no buyer or their partner can have owned residential property in the previous 5 years (anywhere, not just the ACT); and at least one buyer must live in the home for 12 continuous months, starting within a year of settlement. From 1 July 2026 there is no income test and no property price cap.
What is the 5% deposit scheme cap in the ACT?
$1,000,000 across the whole territory - the ACT is the only jurisdiction with a single all-areas cap. No income caps, unlimited places. Stacked with the HBCS, an eligible $750,000 buyer needs about $40,900: a $37,500 deposit, no duty, no LMI, plus roughly $3,400 in conveyancing and setup costs.
Are these figures official?
They are calculated from the ACT Revenue Office conveyance duty tables and the official firsthomebuyers.gov.au caps, current as at the date shown. The HBCS eligibility rules (the 5-year test, the residence requirement) have detail worth reading in full - confirm with the ACT Revenue Office before committing.