On 16 December 2021 the Queensland Government announced amendments to land tax and how it is calculated.
For the financial year ending 30 June 2022, land tax will now be calculated on the taxable value of land that a person or entity owns or has a share or interest in, within Queensland and elsewhere in Australia.
Previously, you could own a property in a state or territory outside Queensland which was not included in calculating land tax owed in Queensland. This meant that owners could enjoy tax-free status in other jurisdictions if the taxable value of their land fell below the taxable threshold. This is a “loophole” that the Queensland Government said they have now closed.
As an example, if a property was owned in Queensland with a taxable value of $600,000 (other than a principal place of residence), the annual land tax payable would be $500.
If the same landholder also had another property in NSW with a taxable value of $400,000, they would not pay any land tax in NSW as this falls within a tax-free threshold. However, under the changes announced by the Queensland Government, the taxable value of property for this landholder would be combined to assess the total value of their landholdings.
On this basis a taxable value of $1,000,000 in Queensland based on current rates would result in land tax payable of $4,500, or an average of 0.45%.
In the example above the landholder has $600,000 of taxable land in Queensland of their total holdings, and would therefore now be liable for $2,700 in land tax which is 0.45% of the value of the Queensland portion of their property holdings.
The Government said this change would not affect landholders who have all their properties in Queensland.
Acumentis can advise on Land Tax issues, we can prepare valuations for objection purposes, and can represent landowners in that objection process.