Property investing
Land tax for investors
Foreign and absentee owner surcharges, and trust-held land, state by state — including where Western Australia and South Australia have neither.
- Land tax is annual, not one-off — a surcharge here compounds every year you hold the property, unlike a purchase-time duty surcharge.
- NSW (5%), Victoria (4%), Queensland (3%), Tasmania (2%) and the ACT (0.75%) all charge an ongoing annual land tax surcharge on foreign or absentee owners.
- Western Australia and South Australia charge neither an annual foreign land tax surcharge — genuinely different from the other five.
- Trust-held land is taxed worse in both Victoria (lower threshold) and NSW (no threshold at all for most family/discretionary trusts) than holding the same property directly.
- The Northern Territory has no land tax at all, for anyone.
Why this is a genuinely different question from duty
Land tax is charged every year you hold the property, not once at purchase like duty — so a surcharge here compounds annually in a way a one-off purchase cost doesn't. It also frequently differs for investors in ways that don't show up in a general land tax explainer: an absentee or foreign owner surcharge on top of ordinary rates in most states, and a materially different — usually worse — threshold and rate if the property is held in a trust rather than directly. Both are easy to miss when comparing states, because the general land tax rate scale looks similar everywhere at first glance.
Foreign and absentee owner surcharges, state by state
Six of the eight states and territories charge an ongoing annual land tax surcharge specifically for foreign or absentee owners, on top of ordinary land tax — separate from, and in addition to, any one-off foreign purchaser duty surcharge already charged when you bought:
| State/territory | Annual foreign/absentee land tax surcharge |
|---|---|
| New South Wales | 5% of unimproved land value, no threshold (Revenue NSW, verified 11 Aug 2026) |
| Victoria | 4% surcharge (absentee owner) (State Revenue Office Victoria, verified 11 Aug 2026) |
| Queensland | 3% above a $350,000 taxable-value threshold (Queensland Revenue Office, verified 11 Aug 2026) |
| Tasmania | 2% of the foreign-owned portion, no threshold (State Revenue Office Tasmania, verified 11 Aug 2026) |
| ACT | 0.75% per year of Average Unimproved Value (no foreign duty surcharge, but this land tax surcharge instead) (ACT Revenue Office, verified 7 Aug 2026) |
| Western Australia | None — same rates regardless of residency (WA Department of Treasury and Finance, verified 11 Aug 2026) |
| South Australia | None — same rates regardless of residency (RevenueSA, verified 11 Aug 2026) |
| Northern Territory | No land tax at all, for anyone (Territory Revenue Office, Northern Territory, verified 7 Aug 2026) |
Holding property in a trust
Where you've checked, trust-held land tends to lose land tax's usual tax-free threshold, or be taxed at a flat, higher rate regardless of value. In Victoria, land held on trust is assessed on a separate scale with a lower tax-free threshold — $25,000, versus $50,000 for an individual or company — and higher marginal rates through most brackets, converging back to the same top rate only above $3,000,000. (State Revenue Office Victoria, verified 11 Aug 2026) In New South Wales, most family trusts, discretionary trusts and unit trusts ("special trusts") get no tax-free threshold at all — a flat 1.6% of the entire taxable land value from the first dollar, rising to 2% above the $6,571,000 premium threshold (the same premium threshold that applies to individuals). (Revenue NSW, verified 11 Aug 2026) A discretionary trust in NSW is also treated as a "foreign person" for surcharge purposes — losing the trust's land tax threshold entirely — unless its deed irrevocably excludes foreign beneficiaries. This page covers Victoria and NSW specifically because they're where the trust question most changes the answer; if you're considering a trust structure in another state, confirm that state's own trust land tax treatment directly with its revenue office before assuming it's the same as holding the property personally.
Ordinary land tax thresholds, for context
Every state except the Northern Territory also charges ordinary land tax once your total landholding value in that state passes a tax-free threshold — this applies to any investor, not just foreign or trust owners, and is assessed on your total landholdings in that state, not per property. Current general thresholds: Victoria $50,000, New South Wales $1,075,000, Queensland $600,000, Western Australia $300,000, South Australia $936,000 and Tasmania $125,000. If you own investment property in more than one of these states, you're assessed separately in each — there's no combined national threshold.
Practical checklist
Before you buy or structure an investment property
- Check whether the state you're buying in charges an ongoing annual foreign/absentee land tax surcharge, not just a one-off duty surcharge
- If considering a trust structure, confirm that specific state's trust land tax treatment — it can mean a lower threshold or none at all
- Remember land tax is assessed on your total landholdings in that state, not per property, if you already own other land there
- Get current figures directly from the relevant state revenue office before budgeting — these rates and thresholds change
Questions for a professional
- Based on my residency and ownership structure, which land tax surcharges actually apply to me in this state?
- Would holding this property in a trust change my land tax position, and by how much?
- How does this property's land tax interact with other land I already hold in the same state?
Official resources
- State Revenue Office Victoria: Absentee owner surcharge
- Revenue NSW: Surcharge land tax for foreign owners
- Queensland Revenue Office: Land tax rates for absentees
- State Revenue Office Tasmania: Foreign investor land tax surcharge
- ACT Revenue Office: Land tax
Sources and methodology
- Land tax (current rates) | State Revenue Office Victoria — State Revenue Office Victoria (retrieved 11 Aug 2026)
- What is surcharge land tax? | Revenue NSW — Revenue NSW (retrieved 11 Aug 2026)
- How trusts are assessed for land tax | Revenue NSW — Revenue NSW (retrieved 11 Aug 2026)
- Land tax rates for absentees | Queensland Revenue Office — Queensland Revenue Office (retrieved 11 Aug 2026)
- Land tax rates for foreign companies & trusts | Queensland Revenue Office — Queensland Revenue Office (retrieved 11 Aug 2026)
- About land tax | Western Australian Government — WA Department of Treasury and Finance (retrieved 11 Aug 2026)
- 2026-27 Land tax rates and thresholds | RevenueSA — RevenueSA (retrieved 11 Aug 2026)
- Rate of surcharge (Foreign investor land tax surcharge) | State Revenue Office Tasmania — State Revenue Office Tasmania (retrieved 11 Aug 2026)
- Foreign ownership surcharge for land tax | ACT Revenue Office — ACT Revenue Office (retrieved 7 Aug 2026)
- Territory Revenue Office (TRO) | Department of Treasury and Finance — Territory Revenue Office, Northern Territory (retrieved 7 Aug 2026)
- Land tax current rates | State Revenue Office Victoria — State Revenue Office Victoria (retrieved 8 Aug 2026)
- Land tax thresholds and rates | Revenue NSW — Revenue NSW (retrieved 7 Aug 2026)
- Land tax rates for individuals | Queensland Revenue Office — Queensland Revenue Office (retrieved 7 Aug 2026)
- Land tax assessment | Western Australian Government — RevenueWA (Dept of Treasury and Finance, WA) (retrieved 7 Aug 2026)
- Rates and thresholds | RevenueSA (Land Tax) — RevenueSA (retrieved 7 Aug 2026)
- Rates of land tax | State Revenue Office Tasmania — State Revenue Office Tasmania (retrieved 7 Aug 2026)
Figures on this page are drawn from Delora's local knowledge graph, refreshed from these primary sources and checked for changes on a regular schedule. If a figure here looks out of date, the official source above is always the authority — please let us know.