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Effective from 1 January this year, the Office of State Revenue has introduced concessions for the purchase of vacant land on which a person's first home is to be constructed. This concession was previously unavailable to the purchase of vacant land.
This concession will apply to contracts and agreements signed on or after 1 January 2007 which meet the eligibility requirements.
In order to be eligible for the first home vacant land concession, the person claiming the concession must:
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take up occupation of the residence to be constructed on the land within two years after the transfer date of the land (usually the settlement date);
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not hold, or have ever held, an interest in residential land in Queensland or elsewhere (except as trustee, lessee or holder of a security interest); and
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not have ever received a vacant land duty concession previously.
The date a person occupies a residence is taken to be the date the person as owner starts occupying it as their principal place of residence. Factors which go to determining whether a property is your principal place of residence include:
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whether the buyer has moved in his/her personal belongings;
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the place of residence of the person's family;
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the extent of time the person ‘lives’ in the property;
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the address the buyer has his/her mail delivered;
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the name of the person liable for utilities to the property such as electricity, gas, telephone etc; and
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the buyer's address on electoral rolls.
This is not an exhaustive list of considerations, and each factor may have varying relevance and weight placed on it by the Office of State Revenue.
In circumstances where the concession is claimed and the occupancy requirements are not met, a re-assessment of duty must be made to either pro-rata the concession and pay the additional duty, or pay the full duty if occupation falls completely outside the two year timeframe.
In addition, if the property is, for example, leased or tenanted in whole or part within one year of the date of occupation, then a reassessment will also need to be made.
Alternatively, for buyers who were not aware of the new concession, or whose circumstances have changed, it is possible to claim the concession after having paid the full duty if the above eligibility requirements are satisfied.
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