Stamp Duty Traps

A property buyer who attempted to assist her Tenants has been stung for additional stamp duty of almost $9,000.00.

The Buyer purchased her property in Wilston, Queensland, and settled on the purchase in August 2012. She obtained a Principal Place of Residence Concession on the rate of Stamp Duty and there were two main conditions to her qualifying for that concession.

First of all, she had to move into the property as her principal place of residence within 12 months, which she did as she moved into the property in February 2013. The second condition to qualifying for the concessionary rate of Stamp Duty was that she should not dispose of the land
before she commenced occupation of it. When the property was purchased there were Tenants living in it. The tenancy expired and the Buyer of the property, in order to help the Tenants who were looking for another property that would allow them to keep their two dogs, allowed the Tenants to stay for an additional two weeks and collected two more weeks of rent payments.

The Commissioner of State Revenue became aware of this arrangement, and in the subsequent proceedings which followed before QCAT, the Commissioner of State Revenue argued that by allowing the Tenants to remain in the property the Buyer of the property had entered into a new agreement which granted exclusive occupation to the Tenants and consequently that the Buyer was not entitled to the Principal Place of Residence Concession on the Stamp Duty rate, because she had disposed of the propStamp Duty Trapserty before moving into it.

Unfortunately for the Buyer, who had simply attempted to assist the Tenant, QCAT agreed with the Commissioner of State Revenue and the Buyer
was ordered to pay an additional $7,175.00 in stamp duty plus a penalty of $1,100.00 and interest of $724.00.