Ex gratia relief from land tax can be granted in certain circumstances not covered by the legislation.

Off-the-plan apartments - Contracts entered into between 22 June 2017 and 30 June 2018

If an owner entered into a contract to purchase an apartment between 22 June 2017 and 30 June 2018, which was eligible for a stamp duty off-the-plan concession upon transfer of the land to them, and such concession was granted, they are eligible for ex gratia relief from land tax for up to 5 years from the date of settlement.

This relief will cease for the following financial year if the apartment is sold before the end of the 5 year period of the concession is revoked.

The relief does not extend to foreign purchasers.

See the land tax exemptions, waiver or relief: where you have purchased an off-the-plan apartment page for more information.

Application for relief

This relief was applied automatically for the first 5 years of ownership based on the stamp duty off-the-plan concession. No application is needed.

Residential care

Ex gratia relief is currently available to the person’s previous principal place of residence, subject to conditions, for the first financial year where the owner of the land has moved from their home, on an ongoing basis, into residential care provided by an approved provider.

See the Land tax exemptions, waiver or relief: where the home owner has moved into residential care page for more information.

See Revenue Ruling LT003 for more details of ex gratia relief upon moving into residential care.

Application for relief

Apply for a land tax exemption using the online Application for Land Tax Exemption or Relief including any supporting documentation.

Death of owner

Ex gratia relief is currently available to a person’s previous principal place of residence, subject to conditions, for the first financial year following the death of the owner of the land.

See the land tax exemptions, waiver or relief: where the home owner has died page for more information.

See Revenue Ruling LT003 for more details on ex gratia relief following the death of the owner.

Application for relief

Apply for a land tax exemption using the online Application for Land Tax Exemption or Relief including any supporting documentation.

Land tax transitional fund

Taxpayers who have an increase on their land tax assessment as a result of the changes to aggregation of land owned as at 16 October 2019, may be eligible to receive ex gratia relief.

Relief will not be provided on higher trust rates for land held on trust.

The value of relief will be calculated on the difference between land tax payable, compared to the land tax that would have been payable on the relevant properties under the aggregation approach, tax rates and thresholds that applied in 2019-20.

To be eligible for relief, the increase in the land tax assessment must be above $2,500, but below $102,500. Relief will not be provided on the first $2,500 of land tax. Relief available is shown in the table below.

Where the land tax increase is above the maximum level of relief applicable, the taxpayer is not eligible for any relief.

Apply for relief using the Application for the Land Tax Transition Fund.

See the Transitional land tax relief page for more detailed information.

Affordable housing concession

Developers who are using land to develop affordable housing, either as the entire project or as part of a larger project, where the land has been aggregated with other land they own, may be eligible for ex gratia relief.

The relief will be equivalent to the difference between their actual tax liability and the tax they would be liable for if each affordable housing parcel was taxed separately and not aggregated with their other land.

Relief is limited to a 12 month period and is conditional on developers entering into a Land Management Agreement, or similar, with the SA Housing Authority. The developer must agree to meet any affordable housing requirements as part of the scheme.

Affordable community housing land tax exemption pilot

Property owners who rent their property through a registered community housing provider for affordable community housing purposes may be eligible for ex gratia relief.

This scheme is limited for a pilot period of up to 5 years for up to 100 properties.

The property owner must enter, and maintain, a new agreement with a registered community housing provider to make their property available to low-income tenants. The property must be rented to tenants unrelated to the owner at a rate below 75% of the current market rent.

The relief does not apply if the property is not rented within 3 months of the date the property is made available under the agreement, or if rented, stops being rented for longer than 3 months under the agreement.

See the affordable community housing land tax exemption pilot page for more information.