Stamp Duty on Mortgages
Mortgage Stamp Duty was abolished on 1/7/2009
What is required?
In most cases the mortgagee (lender) will attend to the stamping of a mortgage with RevenueSA. However, the borrower is usually responsible for the payment of the stamp duty and this is usually paid to the mortgagee prior to stamping.
Rate of Stamp Duty
From 1 July 2005, all mortgages taken out for the purposes of securing a loan that has been or is to be applied for home acquisition or improvement will be exempt from stamp duty.
A loan will be considered to be applied for home acquisition or improvement purposes to the extent that it is used for one or more of the following purposes:
- purchasing land on which residential premises have been, or are to be built, that the mortgagor (or, if there are two or more mortgagors, at least one of them) intends to occupy as his or her sole or principal place of residence;
- building, or making additions or improvements to, residential premises that the mortgagor (or, if there are two or more mortgagors, at least one of them);
- occupies or intends to occupy as his or her sole or principal place of residence;
- repaying a loan previously taken out for one or more of the above purposes.
Mortgage Refinancing
From 1 July 2005, a mortgage to secure a loan that has been, or is to be, applied wholly for refinancing purposes will be exempt from stamp duty. A loan will be considered to be applied for refinancing purposes to the extent that the loan has been, or is to be, applied to paying out the outstanding balance of a debt secured by an earlier mortgage on which duty has been paid (or which is exempt from duty) if the following conditions are satisfied:
- the borrower under the loan transaction must be the person liable for the debt secured by the earlier mortgage;
- at least some of the mortgaged property must be common to both mortgages; and
- the earlier mortgage must be fully discharged before, or as soon as practicable after, the first payment of loan money to, or for the benefit of, the borrower under the loan transaction secured by the later mortgage.
Mixed Purpose Loan
A mortgage securing a loan that has been, or is to be, applied in part for refinancing purposes and in part for other purposes is liable to duty as if it secured only so much of the loan as is to be applied for the other purposes.
In all cases the refinancing exemption will only apply to the outstanding balance of the debt secured by the earlier mortgage and not to the maximum secured liability under the earlier mortgage.
Rate of Stamp Duty - Loan not for home acquisition or improvement purposes
| Mortgages securing an amount | Amount of Duty (from 1/7/2008) |
|---|---|
| $400 and less | Exempt from duty |
| Greater than $400 but not more than $6,000 | $10 |
| Greater than $6,000 | $10 plus $0.15 for every $100 or part of $100 over $6,000 |
Stamp duty on mortgages was abolished on 1 July 2009. Refer to Circular 312.
Stamp duty on mortgages for drought affected farmers may be liable to ex gratia stamp duty relief. Refer to Circular No. 274 and Circular No. 285 for details of this.
Download the rates chart here (84 KB).
This page was last reviewed 12 March, 2013
