From 1 July 2026 no first home buyer in the ACT pays stamp duty, with no price cap. Here is what the ACT Budget change means for your purchase.

From 1 July 2026, no first home buyer in the ACT will pay stamp duty, regardless of property price or income, making the ACT the first jurisdiction in Australia to fully abolish stamp duty for first home buyers. The 2026-27 ACT Budget also expands stamp duty exemptions to pensioners, eligible NDIS participants, and any home buyer who has not owned property in the last five years. New unit-titled properties bought by owner occupiers, including off-the-plan and turn-key units, will also pay no stamp duty as part of a wider package supporting missing middle housing in Canberra.

If you are buying your first home in Canberra, this is the biggest change to your upfront costs in years, and it lands in a matter of weeks.

ACT Budget 26-27: Cutting stamp duty for all ACT first home buyers and backing in the Missing Middle

Key Details of the ACT Scheme

1. From 1 July 2026, the ACT becomes the first jurisdiction in Australia to remove stamp duty entirely for first home buyers.
2. No price cap on the property and no income test apply to this exemption.
3. At least one buyer must live in the property as their principal place of residence for a continuous period of at least 12 months, starting within 1 year of settlement.
4. The income test and any property value limits that applied under the previous Home Buyer Concession Scheme no longer apply to first home buyers.
5. The exemption applies regardless of what you and your co-buyers earn or what the property is worth, as long as the first home buyer and residency requirements are met.

What Changed

From 1 July 2026, no first home buyer in the ACT will have to pay stamp duty. The 2026-27 ACT Budget delivers on this commitment, making the Territory the first jurisdiction in Australia to abolish stamp duty for all first home buyers.

This is not a threshold or a cap. First home buyer owner occupiers will be able to purchase a home without paying a cent in stamp duty, whatever the purchase price. Every other state and territory still applies stamp duty above a price threshold, even where first home buyer concessions exist, as we covered in our guide to stamp duty and concessions across Australia. The ACT has now removed that ceiling entirely for first home buyers.

Stamp duty exemptions will also be expanded for pensioners, eligible National Disability Insurance Scheme participants and all home buyers who have not owned property in the last five years. This gives older Canberrans more choice to downsize, which in turn frees up larger homes for growing families.

Why This Matters for Belconnen and Canberra Buyers

This reform removes one of the biggest upfront barriers to home ownership and opens the door for more Canberrans to get into the housing market sooner.

For a first home buyer in Belconnen, Bruce, Macquarie or anywhere else in the ACT, this means the cash you would have set aside for stamp duty can now go toward your deposit, your moving costs, or simply stay in your pocket as a buffer. Since 2019, the Home Buyer Concession Scheme has helped Canberrans buy more than 25,000 homes, saving them an average of $16,000 in taxes. The new full abolition goes further still, removing the saving cap entirely for first home buyers.

If you are house hunting in the Belconnen district, our local mortgage broker page for Belconnen covers the suburbs we serve and how this change affects your buying power.

The Missing Middle Tax Cuts

Alongside the first home buyer change, the Government is backing a major package of tax cuts to support what it calls missing middle housing, the terraces, townhouses and small multi-unit developments that sit between detached houses and large apartment blocks.

The package removes stamp duty on all new unit-titled properties bought by owner occupiers, continues the concession for owner occupiers buying off-the-plan units, expands this concession to all turn-key units, meaning a newly constructed unit not sold off-the-plan, and introduces a time-limited 50 per cent reduction in the codified Lease Variation Charge for missing middle developments.

Every Canberran who buys a new unit-titled missing middle home to live in won’t pay a cent in stamp duty. If you have been considering a new townhouse or unit in Canberra, this changes the maths significantly, even if you are not a first home buyer.

To streamline supply, the Government will also deliver the Canberra House Pattern Book, a collection of pre-approved plans for missing middle homes chosen through a design competition, which homeowners, developers and builders can access for $1,000, a fraction of the cost of commissioning custom architectural plans. Because the designs are pre-approved, projects can proceed without a development application, providing greater certainty and accelerating delivery timeframes.

The broader missing middle housing reforms will enable more low-rise housing including terraces, townhouses and multi-occupancy housing in most residential blocks in Canberra, giving Canberrans greater housing choice, though the changes to the Territory Plan are still before the Legislative Assembly at the time of writing.

How This Fits the Bigger Picture

The housing measures in the ACT Budget support the Government’s commitment to enabling 30,000 new homes by the end of 2030 and meeting the ACT’s targets under the National Housing Accord.

If you are weighing up buying now versus waiting, our guide on how much you can borrow is the natural next step, since removing stamp duty from your upfront costs can materially change your maximum purchase price even if your borrowing capacity stays the same. And if a small deposit has been holding you back, this change can stack with the First Home Guarantee for an even stronger combined position.

What This Means If You Are Buying Soon

If your purchase settles on or after 1 July 2026 and you qualify as a first home buyer in the ACT, you should not be charged stamp duty. If you are mid-purchase right now with a settlement date close to that line, the timing of your settlement could be worth a conversation with your conveyancer, since being on the right side of 1 July 2026 may be worth tens of thousands of dollars depending on your purchase price.

If you already factored stamp duty into your budget, as the Western Sydney couple in our stamp duty guide had, this is the kind of change worth checking before you finalise your numbers. Get pre approval sorted with your updated position so you can act with confidence the moment the right property comes up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Get Your Canberra Home Loan Position Sorted Before 1 July

Whether you are buying in Belconnen, Bruce, or anywhere else in the ACT, this change could reshape your budget. Laxmi Home Loans compares more than 50 banks and lenders and can help you understand exactly what this means for your purchase.

Call 0433 589 626 or 1300 4 LAXMI. Email [email protected]. Book a free 30-minute session at calendly.com/laxmihomeloans365/30min

This information is general in nature and is based on the ACT Government’s 2026-27 Budget media release dated 10 June 2026. It does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs, and does not constitute financial, legal or taxation advice. Stamp duty rules are set by the ACT Government and are subject to change before and after their stated commencement date. Confirm your eligibility and the current rules with the ACT Revenue Office, your conveyancer, or a licensed broker before making a purchase decision. Laxmi Home Loans is the trading name of Mero Chino Groups Pty Ltd, ABN 76 169 013 012, Credit Representative No. 476974 under Australian Credit Licence 383640.