Every scheme, one number
First Home Buyer Calculator - WA
A Perth first home buyer at $650,000 needs about $44,000 up front: 5% deposit under the federal scheme, concessional duty of $8,075 under the 7 May 2026 first home owner rate, no LMI. To $600,000 the duty is zero - statewide, established or new.
- Rates verified
- 2026-08-03
- Source
- RevenueWA
- Scheme cap
- $850,000
Your purchase
Total cash to buy
$43,975
With the 5% Deposit Scheme: 5% deposit, no LMI.
- Deposit (5%)
- $32,500
- Transfer duty
- $8,075
- Duty concession applied
- saves $16,815
- Conveyancing, inspections, loan setup
- $3,400
- LMI avoided via the scheme
- saves ~$20,995
Want duty on its own, across investor, owner-occupier and first-home scales? That's the full WA transfer duty calculator.
Scheme caps per firsthomebuyers.gov.au; duty and grants from RevenueWA (source). Eligibility criteria apply to every scheme - confirm before committing. General information only.
Every benefit a WA first home buyer can claim in 2026
Status chips update live against the price, location and build type set above.
First home owner rate of duty
Zero duty to $600k
No duty to $600,000, then $16.15 per $100 to the $800,000 ceiling - statewide since 7 May 2026, established and new homes alike. Vacant land: nil to $450,000, ceiling $550,000.
Official sourceFirst Home Owner Grant
$10,000
For new or substantially renovated homes: value cap $800,000 south of the 26th parallel (from 7 May 2026), $1,000,000 north. No income test. Live in 6 continuous months starting within 12 months.
Official sourceKeystart low deposit loan
2% deposit, no LMI
WA's state-backed lender: 2% deposit (minimum $2,000), no LMI, established or new, owner-occupiers only. Price cap $860,000 statewide; income caps $155,000 single / $228,000 couple ($225,000 / $285,000 in the Kimberley and Pilbara).
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: $850,000.
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 WA first home buyer stack works
WA rebuilt its first home buyer settings in the 2026-27 Budget: from 7 May 2026 the duty exemption runs to $600,000 statewide (the old Perth-vs-regional split is gone), phasing to $800,000, and the grant cap south of the 26th parallel rose to $800,000. The result is one of the cleanest stacks in the country - zero duty to $600,000 on any home, established or new, plus $10,000 on new builds.
The distinctive WA layer is Keystart: a state-backed 2% deposit loan with no LMI and no sharp new-build restriction, capped at $860,000 - deliberately just above the federal scheme's $850,000 Perth cap. Between the federal guarantee, Keystart, and the off-the-plan duty concession running to June 2028, most Perth first home purchases under $850,000 can reach settlement with a fraction of the traditional 20% plus duty.
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 WA?
Not up to $600,000 - for contracts from 7 May 2026 the first home owner rate gives a full exemption to $600,000 and a concessional $16.15 per $100 on the value above that, up to an $800,000 ceiling, statewide for established and new homes. A $650,000 first home pays $8,075 instead of $24,890.
How much is the First Home Owner Grant in WA?
$10,000 for buying or building a new or substantially renovated home, with no income test. The unencumbered value caps rose on 7 May 2026 to $800,000 south of the 26th parallel and $1,000,000 north of it - and the grant cap no longer gates the first home owner duty rate, which is assessed separately.
What is Keystart and who qualifies?
Keystart is WA's state-backed lender: a 2% deposit (minimum $2,000) with no lenders mortgage insurance, for owner-occupiers buying established, new or modular homes. The price cap is $860,000 in all regions, with income caps of $155,000 for singles and $228,000 for couples and families - higher in the Kimberley and Pilbara ($225,000 / $285,000). Limits are reviewed periodically.
What is the 5% deposit scheme cap in WA?
$850,000 for Perth and $600,000 for the rest of the state, per the official 1 July 2026 caps - no income caps, unlimited places. Above those caps, Keystart's $860,000 statewide cap makes it the natural fallback for low-deposit Perth buyers.
Are these figures official?
They are calculated from RevenueWA's published first home owner rate fact sheet (7 May 2026 settings, administered ahead of the Bill's formal passage with a pre-approval and reassessment mechanism) and the official firsthomebuyers.gov.au caps. Confirm eligibility and exact figures with RevenueWA and your settlement agent.