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Sort out your land tax

We will check how your properties are grouped, and whether the assessment is more than you owe.

Land tax is assessed on what you hold, not on what you earn from it. That single feature is what makes it painful. A property that is vacant, negatively geared or between tenants attracts the same assessment as one returning well. The amount depends on the total taxable value of all the land you hold in a state. That is why the way holdings are grouped matters more than any individual purchase, and why each state’s rules have to be looked at separately.

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The grouping actually checked

Aggregation rules reach across related entities, and are the most common reason an assessment is too high.

Exemptions you did not know to claim

Principal place of residence and primary production relief have to be claimed rather than applied automatically.

Restructuring priced honestly

Moving property to reduce land tax often costs more in duty than it saves, and we will say so.

What is land tax, and why does the total matter more than the property?

Land tax is an annual state tax on the unimproved value of land you own above a threshold. It is assessed on your aggregate holdings rather than property by property, and the rates are progressive. That means an additional property can increase the tax on everything you already hold. Aggregation and grouping rules determine which holdings are added together, and they look at ownership across related entities rather than at titles in isolation.

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Why did my land tax go up when I only bought one property?

Because land tax is assessed on your total holdings rather than on each property. The rates are progressive, so an additional property can increase the tax payable on everything you already held. Aggregation can also pull in land held through related entities.

Is my home exempt from land tax?

Your principal place of residence is generally exempt, subject to conditions that differ by state. The exemption is not always applied automatically and can need to be claimed. If you have moved, rented it out, or hold it through a trust, the position needs checking.

Does holding property in a trust cost more land tax?

In several states, yes. Trusts can be assessed at a surcharge rate, or without the benefit of the general threshold. Whether that applies depends on the type of trust and the state. It is worth checking before more property goes into the same structure.

Can I object to a land tax assessment?

You can, and the time limits are short. Objections generally have to be lodged within a set period after the assessment issues. Because the assessment repeats annually, an error left unchallenged is usually paid again the following year.

Have the assessment checked before you pay it

Send us your assessment and a list of what you hold and how. We will check the aggregation, the exemptions and whether the assessment is right.

You are assessed on the group, not on the title

The assessment arrives each year, it is larger than last year, and you pay it. What has usually never been checked is whether it is correct. Aggregation rules can group holdings that you think of as separate. Exemptions that apply to your circumstances may never have been claimed. A trust or company holding can attract a surcharge that a different structure would not.

We will map every property you hold and the entity that holds it.
We will check whether the aggregation and grouping applied to your holdings is correct.
We will confirm whether every exemption available to you has been claimed.
We will check whether a trust or foreign owner surcharge is being applied correctly.
We will lodge an objection where the assessment is wrong and the time still allows it.

The assessment goes up every year and nobody has questioned it

You have built up property over time, perhaps in a mix of your own name, a trust and a company. The land tax assessments have grown with the portfolio, and they now represent a real cost against the returns. You have assumed the figure is simply what the law produces. You have never had the aggregation checked, the exemptions reviewed, or the holding structure looked at.

What's included in your land tax review

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A map of every holding and the entity that owns it.
Aggregation and grouping assessment for each state.
Exemption review, including principal place of residence and primary production.
Trust and foreign owner surcharge check.
Objection drafting and lodgement where an assessment is wrong.
A priced comparison of restructuring against the annual saving.

How a portfolio ends up overpaying year after year

Land tax overpayment is quiet. There is no dispute and no notice. The assessment simply arrives slightly wrong and gets paid.

The usual causes are structural. Properties held across related entities are aggregated under grouping rules that most owners are not aware apply to them. A principal place of residence exemption goes unclaimed because nobody realised it had to be claimed. A trust holding can attract a surcharge rate that a different structure would avoid. The land often went into the trust for reasons unrelated to land tax.

Because the assessment is annual, an error does not stay a single error. It repeats. A portfolio assessed on the wrong basis pays the difference every year until somebody looks. Objection periods are short, so each year that passes without a review is usually a year that cannot be recovered.

From an assessment you pay to one you have checked

We start with what you hold and how it is held, across every entity. That is the information the grouping rules operate on, and it is usually the first time it has been set out in one place.

Then we test the assessment against it. We check whether the aggregation is correct, whether every available exemption has been claimed, and whether a surcharge is being applied that should not be. Where the assessment is wrong, we lodge an objection within the time allowed. Where the structure is the problem rather than the assessment, we price what changing it would cost in duty and capital gains tax. You can then weigh that against the annual saving.

How we review your land tax

Map the holdings, test the assessment, then object if it is wrong.

Map the holdings

We set out every property and the entity that holds it, which is what the grouping rules operate on.

Test the assessment

We check the aggregation, the exemptions claimed and any surcharge applied against what the law requires.

Object or restructure

We lodge an objection where the assessment is wrong, or price a structural change where that is the cause.

Aggregation, exemptions and surcharges all checked

Land tax is the cost that arrives whether the property earned anything that year or not. Paying a rising assessment on a portfolio that is not yet returning much is its own kind of frustrating.

One of our lawyers is a Chartered Tax Advisor with The Tax Institute and has held that credential for 25 years. We are also recognised in Doyle’s Guide for tax law. We review land tax assessments across Australian states for investors, developers and family groups, and we act on objections where an assessment is wrong. Where the structure is the cause, we will price the change honestly. Moving property to save land tax often costs more in duty than it saves.

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Find out whether your assessment is right

Send us your latest assessment and a list of what you hold and how. We will check the aggregation and the exemptions, and tell you whether there is an objection worth lodging.

Speak to a lawyer 1300 654 590