Land Tax for Property Investors: A State-by-State Comparison

Land tax is a state tax, not a federal one, which makes it the least consistent cost in an Australian property portfolio. Six states each set their own tax-free threshold, treat a trust differently again, and decide for themselves whether commonly owned companies share one threshold or get one each. A structure that costs little in one state can be expensive in another, and every threshold moves at least once a year. Here is what genuinely differs between New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania, and where to check the figure that applies to you today.

NSW and Victoria: already covered in detail elsewhere

NSW and Victoria have had the most consequential changes recently, and we cover both states in full in our update on the 2026 land tax year. In short: NSW's general threshold is frozen at $1,075,000 rather than indexed, and a standard discretionary trust is taxed there as a "special trust" with no threshold at all, from the first dollar. Victoria applies a $50,000 general threshold but a much lower $25,000 threshold to most trust-held land, with the two rates converging once holdings reach $3 million, and it groups related corporations for threshold purposes. If your portfolio sits in either state, that article has the current numbers and the trust detail; this one is about the other four.

Queensland: a lower threshold for companies and trusts, not none at all

Queensland's individual threshold is $600,000, but a company or the trustee of a trust or superannuation fund is assessed from $350,000, a real gap but nowhere near NSW's no-threshold treatment of a special trust. A foreign company or the trustee of a foreign trust faces that same $350,000 starting point plus a 3% surcharge. The Queensland Revenue Office also aggregates land held by a trustee across multiple trusts with identical beneficiaries, and its related-person provisions can combine commonly controlled companies for assessment, so setting up a second company rarely isolates a second threshold on its own. Check your specific structure with the QRO before relying on it.

Western Australia and Tasmania: one scale for everyone

WA and Tasmania stand apart from the other four. Both currently apply the same threshold and the same rate scale whether the land is owned by an individual, a company or a trustee: WA's threshold sits at $300,000 and Tasmania's at $125,000, confirmed as identical across ownership types in the WA Department of Treasury and Finance's Overview of State Taxes and Royalties 2025-26 (checked 25 September 2026). There is no separate, lower trust threshold to plan around in either state. That does not remove every complication: Tasmania still groups related companies under its own legislation and generally aggregates a trustee's holdings, and it charges a 2% foreign investor surcharge on residential land owned by a foreign person, corporation or trust. WA's published guidance shows no equivalent general grouping regime for related companies, so if you are relying on multiple WA entities to multiply a threshold, confirm the treatment with RevenueWA directly before you rely on it.

South Australia: a wide gap between the general and trust thresholds

South Australia's general threshold is indexed annually against average site value changes, currently $936,000 for the 2026-27 land tax year (checked 25 September 2026), but land held on trust drops to a much lower threshold of around $25,000 unless the trustee lodges a notice identifying the beneficial interests or a designated beneficiary, in which case the general scale can apply instead. RevenueSA also jointly assesses related corporations as if their combined landholdings belonged to a single owner, so the same grouping logic that applies in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania applies here too.

What this means for a portfolio that spans several states

Two things hold across every state covered here. First, the threshold you get depends on how the land is owned, not just what it is worth, and a trust is rarely treated as generously as an individual, except in WA and Tasmania where the scale genuinely does not care. Second, creating extra companies to multiply a threshold is a weaker strategy than it looks: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania all have some form of grouping or aggregation that can undo it. Land tax is reassessed every year against a threshold that has almost certainly moved since you last checked it, in every state, so model each state your properties sit in separately rather than carrying one state's numbers into another. Our property tax accountant team works through this state by state before you buy or restructure, not after an assessment notice arrives.

Speak to us about the states your portfolio actually sits in before assuming last year's thresholds, or another state's rules, still apply.

Disclaimer: This article contains general information only and does not constitute financial, legal or tax advice. It has been prepared without regard to your objectives, financial situation or needs. Tax and superannuation laws change frequently, and the information in this article may not reflect the current law or may become inaccurate over time. Before acting on anything in this article, you should consider its appropriateness to your circumstances and seek advice from a registered tax agent or qualified adviser.