ACT Off the Plan Unit Duty Exemption - 100% Stamp Duty Free

What Is This Payment?

The Off the Plan Unit Duty Exemption is the ACT Revenue Office's targeted relief for new owner-occupier dwellings to encourage apartment and townhouse supply. In the rule database it is tagged as an eligibility_only Group B benefit in the ACT Stamp Duty Concessions parent cluster, sitting alongside HBCS and the Pensioner Duty Concession as one of three sibling routes. Rule tags include housing, stamp_duty, apartment, act, and universal. The entitlement scope is per person and one_off, attaching to a specific dutiable transaction.

The administering body is the ACT Revenue Office. Application metadata defines two channels - solicitor and online through the ACT Digital Account portal - identical to HBCS at the lodgement level. The waiver is applied at title transfer, which for off-the-plan contracts can occur 12 to 24 months after the contract is signed, depending on construction progress and registration of the new title plan.

The rule's design intent differs sharply from its HBCS sibling. HBCS targets buyers without recent property ownership and tests household income at $250,000; this rule targets new dwelling supply by exempting all owner-occupiers buying off the plan, regardless of income or prior ownership history. The policy lever is supply-side - the ACT Government wants new apartments and townhouses built and occupied, so a downsizing high-income couple buying a brand-new $940,000 inner-city unit qualifies on this path even though they would fail HBCS on income.

How Much Can You Get?

The amount block carries an eligibility_only type with no dollar value on the headline amount.value field. The benefit is realised through avoided conveyance duty, recorded in amount.notes as 100% exemption on dwellings dutiable at or below $1,020,000 with no income test.

Three numeric facts drive the dollar outcome:

• Dutiable value cap for full exemption: $1,020,000 (matches the HBCS cap and the same financial year update)
• Income cap: none - the application_meta note explicitly records no income limit
• Recent-ownership window: none - the rule does not test prior property ownership history

Use a three-step audit recipe. First, confirm the contract is genuinely off-the-plan rather than for an established dwelling - a brand-new but already-built spec home that has not been sold before may not strictly qualify. Second, check the dutiable value sits at or below $1,020,000; the rule does not document the proportional taper above the cap that HBCS uses, so above-cap purchases need a manual ACT Revenue Office check. Third, look up the standard duty payable on the dutiable value at the ACT Revenue Office calculator - that is the saving for properties at or below $1,020,000.

The rule has no multiplier, no reduces_if entries, and an empty date_windows list. Unlike HBCS, the absence of a documented above-cap taper means a buyer signing on a $1,030,000 unit cannot rely on a partial concession; they should confirm the position with the ACT Revenue Office at contract review, not at settlement when the duty assessment is finalised.

The display period is none, matching the one-off nature of stamp duty. The exemption attaches once per dutiable transaction, but a buyer who later sells the unit and contracts off the plan again on a second new dwelling can claim the exemption a second time on the new transaction.

Eligibility Conditions

The eligibility block is an all set, so every YAML item must pass; the dwelling-type and owner-occupation gates sit in the application_meta note rather than the formal eligibility tree.

1. Property is in the ACT: state = ACT. The contract of sale must transfer ACT-titled real estate. Off-the-plan purchases in NSW border suburbs do not qualify even if the buyer is an ACT resident - the duty regime follows the property jurisdiction.
2. Buying a new home off the plan: purchasing_new_home = true. The flag captures the policy gate that the contract is for a brand-new dwelling that has not previously been sold. Established homes, second-hand units, and resold off-the-plan contracts do not qualify.

Required fields for assessment are explicit: the state field and the purchasing_new_home flag. The dutiable-value cap and owner-occupation requirement live in application_meta rather than the formal required_fields list because the ACT Revenue Office assesses them at lodgement against the contract dutiable value and the buyer's stated occupation intention.

The exclude block is empty in this rule version, and the conflicts list is also empty. There is no Centrelink payment that disqualifies the buyer, and the rule does not exclude buyers who are simultaneously claiming HBCS-style relief on a different property - because each rule attaches to a specific transaction, simultaneous claims on two unrelated transactions are not a conflict at the rule level.

Two practical considerations sit at the edge of the eligibility test. First, the off-the-plan threshold can be ambiguous: a developer who builds without pre-selling and lists the completed unit on the open market may have moved beyond strict off-the-plan status by the time the buyer signs. The ACT Revenue Office takes a pragmatic view but the contract terms matter. Second, a buyer who signs off the plan but assigns the contract to another buyer before settlement loses the exemption - the rule attaches to the original contract holder who sees the title transfer through.

How To Apply

Application metadata defines two channels: solicitor and online. Off-the-plan transactions almost always involve a solicitor handling the duty assessment at the eventual settlement stage, since the developer's contract documentation feeds directly into the ACT Revenue Office portal. Self-represented buyers can use the ACT Digital Account portal, but the long lead time between contract and settlement means most buyers retain a conveyancer.

Evidence requirements are explicitly listed in the rule and should be prepared in advance:

• contract of sale - the off-the-plan contract showing dutiable value, ACT property description, and the new-build status

Two practical tips help with this rule. First, keep the contract on hand throughout the build period - it is not unusual for settlement to occur 18 months after signing, and the duty assessment runs against the original contract terms. Variations (price upgrades for finishes, plan revisions) should be documented as contract addenda so the dutiable value at settlement matches the lodgement. Second, confirm the duty waiver is being claimed through the correct lodgement code - off-the-plan and HBCS lodgements use different ACT Revenue Office codes, and a wrongly-coded transaction can be assessed under the standard rather than exempt schedule.

Read official ACT Off the Plan Unit Duty Exemption guidance

Rule-Based Scenarios

Scenario 1: $720,000 new apartment, single high earner

Caoimhe is 38, an Australian citizen and senior public servant earning $185,000 gross, with no dependents. She signs an off-the-plan contract on a $720,000 two-bedroom apartment in Braddon, with settlement expected 14 months later. Although her single-applicant income is high, the off-the-plan rule has no income test at all. She qualifies under state = ACT and purchasing_new_home = true, and she plans to move in at settlement. Conveyance duty exemption is 100% - a saving of approximately $20,000 against the standard ACT schedule.

Scenario 2: $1,000,000 townhouse, downsizing couple

Kazuto and his partner, both 62 and currently owning a $1.5M Yarralumla home, contract off the plan on a $1,000,000 new townhouse in Denman Prospect for downsizing. Their household income is $215,000 from part-time work and self-managed super pension. They would pass HBCS on income but fail the two-year recent-ownership test (they currently own the family home). Off the plan does not test recent ownership. They qualify under purchasing_new_home = true and pass the $1,020,000 cap. The duty exemption is 100%, saving approximately $30,000. They sell the existing home after settlement.

Scenario 3: $1,150,000 above the cap

Linnea, 41, contracts off the plan on a $1,150,000 three-bedroom luxury apartment in Kingston Foreshore. She intends owner-occupation. The purchasing_new_home = true gate passes, but the dutiable value sits $130,000 above the $1,020,000 cap. The amount note does not document a proportional taper above the cap for off-the-plan transactions. She must confirm the position with the ACT Revenue Office; in practice she may pay the full standard duty schedule rather than receive a partial waiver. The cleanest outcome is to negotiate the contract price under the cap, or accept full duty payment on the over-cap amount.

Scenario 4: investor contract, not eligible

Heitor, 49, contracts off the plan on a $760,000 unit in Bonner with the intention of renting it out to tenants from settlement to fund his existing principal residence in Sydney. He passes the state = ACT and purchasing_new_home = true YAML gates and the $1,020,000 cap, but the application_meta owner-occupation requirement blocks the exemption. He plans to lease, not occupy. Not eligible for the off-the-plan duty exemption; he pays the standard ACT conveyance duty schedule on the new unit.

Common Mistakes

• Mistaking a brand-new spec home for an off-the-plan contract: the rule requires a genuine off-the-plan transaction where the buyer signs before construction completes. A developer who builds out a small block without pre-selling and lists completed homes on the open market may have moved beyond strict off-the-plan status. Buyers should check the contract type before assuming the exemption applies.
• Buying with the intent to lease from settlement: the application_meta owner-occupation requirement is binding. Buyers who sign off the plan as an investment cannot claim the exemption; the duty saving is conditional on a 12-month move-in and one-year continuous residence. Investors should price the standard duty into their cashflow rather than rely on the off-the-plan path.
• Treating the $1,020,000 cap as a soft limit: unlike HBCS, the off-the-plan rule's amount note does not document a proportional taper above the cap. A $1,090,000 contract may pay full standard duty rather than partial relief. The cap is closer to a hard ceiling than the HBCS taper, and buyers should negotiate a sub-cap price or confirm position with the ACT Revenue Office.
• Assigning the contract before settlement: off-the-plan contracts often allow assignment to a third party before settlement. The exemption attaches to the buyer who sees the title transfer through to settlement, not to the contract signer. Assigning the contract to a related party for tax planning can forfeit the exemption if the new buyer does not satisfy the eligibility tests at settlement.
• Reading the rule as universal new-home cover: only units and townhouses qualify in practice - the application_meta note specifies them explicitly. A buyer signing off the plan on a stand-alone detached house and land package may be on a different concession path. The rule reflects the policy intent of stimulating attached-dwelling supply rather than greenfield single-house construction.
• Reading the off-the-plan path as a cash grant: ACT does not have a stand-alone first-home grant; it relies on stamp duty exemptions instead. The off-the-plan rule does not pay cash; it waives duty owed at settlement. Buyers expecting a $10,000 or $30,000 deposit injection are reading the wrong scheme - the saving offsets duty owed, it is not a deposit top-up.

Related Rules And Interactions

The ACT Stamp Duty Concessions parent cluster groups three duty exemptions. Off the plan is the broadest path - no income test, no recent-ownership test - but is restricted to new units and townhouses bought for owner-occupation.

• ACT Home Buyer Concession Scheme - mutually exclusive choice within the same parent cluster: buyers without recent property ownership can take HBCS instead, which is broader on dwelling type (any owner-occupier purchase, not just new units) but narrower on income ($250,000 ceiling) and ownership history (two-year window).
• ACT Pensioner Duty Concession - mutually exclusive choice for buyers holding a Pensioner Concession Card or DVA Gold Card who are downsizing from an existing principal residence; that path waives the new-build requirement but requires concession card holding instead.
• ACT Pensioner Rates Assistance - companion ongoing concession for owner-occupiers who later become pension card holders; the new-build claimed under off-the-plan can attract rates rebate in retirement.
• Pensioner Concession Card - prerequisite that re-routes downsizers towards the Pensioner Duty Concession path instead of off the plan, depending on which gives the cleaner outcome on the same transaction.
• Health Care Card - companion concession that often coincides with off-the-plan eligibility but is independent of the duty exemption itself; HCC opens a broader ACT cost-of-living concession ecosystem unrelated to stamp duty.
• ACT Rental Bond Help - mutually exclusive life-stage benefit: buyers waiting for off-the-plan settlement (often 12-24 months) may rent in the interim and use Rental Bond Help to fund the bond on the rental.

Frequently Asked Questions