Agreements for sale of land of $20 million or more – Revenue NSW

Update 19/08/2024: From 8 October 2024, Revenue NSW will require agreements for sale of land with a dutiable value of $20 million or more to be lodged via eDuties.
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NSW Mandates eDuties Portal for High-Value Property Transactions Over $20m

In the coming months, all agreements for the sale of land concerning dutiable property in NSW, with a dutiable value of $20m or greater that are liable to ad valorem transfer duty must be lodged with Revenue NSW via the eDuties portal, regardless of the nature of the transaction or NSW dutiable property concerned.

Duty exemptions and concessions that apply to an agreement for sale of land will not be affected.

Such high-value agreements for sale or transfer of land will no longer be eligible for the streamlined Electronic Duties Return platform currently available to industry professionals such as accountants, conveyancers, and solicitors, which provides for the electronic assessment and payment of duty in connection with a range of dutiable transactions (e.g., most agreements for the sale or transfer of land, whether or not at arm’s length).

Whilst this administrative shift by Revenue NSW will doubtlessly occasion a material administrative burden that will entail incremental cost and time for both taxpayers and their representatives (respectively), it is understood to be motivated by concern that provisions of the Duties Act 1997 (NSW), such as those pertaining to surcharge purchase duty, are not being correctly applied.

To determine if ‘residential land’ as defined under section 104I of the Duties Act 1997 (NSW) gives rise to ‘surcharge purchaser duty’ in NSW, first check if the land is ‘used’ for ‘primary production’. For NSW surcharge purchaser duty purposes, ‘residential land’ does not include land used for ‘primary production’, therefore land used for primary production is not subject to surcharge purchaser duty in NSW.  Check if the land is ‘residential land’ and if there is a ‘dwelling’ on the land, if there is no dwelling, surcharge purchaser duty might not be payable in NSW. Also check if the land is ‘vacant land’, what the land is ‘zoned’ as, if the zoning is not residential use, surcharge purchaser duty might not be payable in NSW.

More details will be provided in the coming weeks by Revenue NSW.

It is estimated that this development will impact up to 400 transactions annually
 

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If you would like to learn more about the topics discussed in this article, please contact Mira Brewster or Sam Mohammad.