Refunds available to those charged surcharge purchaser duty or surcharge land tax in NSW
On 21 February 2023, Revenue NSW announced that existing surcharge purchase duty and surcharge land tax will no longer be imposed on citizens on residential property purchases in New South Wales (NSW) from the following countries:
New Zealand;
Finland;
Germany;
India;
Japan;
Switzerland;
Norway; and
South Africa.[1]
Previously, citizens of the above nations were subject to an 8% surcharge on transfer duty and a 4% surcharge on annual land tax charges in NSW. As a result of the change, individuals that are citizens of the above countries will no longer have to pay surcharge land tax or surcharge purchaser duty on residential property purchases in NSW as it was determined by Revenue NSW that the surcharges provisions were inconsistent with Australia’s relevant international tax treaties.
Deadlines
Refunds are available from one of the nations concerned and have paid surcharge purchaser duty or surcharge land tax on or after 1 January 2021. If you are eligible, you needed to apply for the refund before 30 November 2023. Note, Revenue NSW were to identify customers and transactions that may be eligible for the removal of surcharge purchaser duty and if your transaction has been identified, a representative from Revenue NSW should have reached out to you by way of email or phone.
However, for those who have not received contact from Revenue NSW or have missed the cut off date, refunds may be available after 30 November 2023 where:[2]
a payment has been made in the preceding 12 months at the time of applying for a refund, and revenue NSW had not received a declaration of citizenship from the customer; or
a customer can provide evidence that they were not aware of their eligibility, for example if Revenue NSW was unable to get in touch with them.
Claim
To claim a refund of purchaser duty, the following documents must be provided to Revenue NSW:
a certified copy of your current passport or citizenship certificate; and
bank details to receive your refund.
Once the above evidentiary documents have been received by Revenue NSW and if your claim is successful, the refund will be processed within 28 days.
There is still an opportunity for those people that may be eligible for a refund but have not made a claim before 30 November 2023.
For more personalised advice about your refund eligibility, please contact our people.
Ron Zucker 0410 590 111
Eollyn Cortes 0478 727 395
Sagang Chung 0431 435 333
Julia Zou 0426 670 202
