Advanced Partners’ Client Alert – Statutory notifications for Victoria Property Owners – Vacant Residential Land Tax and Absentee Owner Surcharge – Due January 15, 2024
12 January 2024
VICTORIAN ABSENTEE OWNER SURCHARGE
- If you own property in Victoria, you may have to pay land tax. The absentee owner surcharge is an additional amount that applies over the land tax you pay at general and trust surcharge rates.
- For property owners in Victoria, there is an increase in Absentee Owner Surcharge that comes into effect in the 2024 land tax year. This surcharge amounts to 4% and applies to land in Victoria owned by absentee owners. Previously, it was 2% for the years 2020 to 2023, 1.5% for 2017 to 2019, and 0.5% for 2016. The absentee owner surcharge is an additional fee in addition to the regular land tax rates.
- You must notify the Victorian State Revenue Office by 15th Jan 2024 if you are an absentee owner or penalties may apply.
To determine if you are subject to the absentee owner surcharge, you can check through this provided LINK.
Important: Starting from January 1, 2024, the tax-exempt limit for standard land tax rates has been decreased from $300,000 to $50,000 for individual property owners. Because of this lowered threshold, you might receive a land tax assessment for the first time this year, and the same applies to the absentee owner surcharge.
VICTORIAN VACANT RESIDENTIAL LAND TAX
- You must also notify the Victorian State Revenue Office by 15 Jan 2024 if you own a residential property in inner and middle Melbourne that was vacant for more than six months in 2023.
- A residential property is deemed to be vacant if it is not the principal place of residence of the owner or a permitted occupant or used by a natural person under a lease or short-term letting arrangement. Various qualifications and exemptions apply.
NOTIFICATIONS DUE 15 JANUARY 2024
- Notifications for vacant residential land tax and the absentee owner surcharge are due by 15 January 2024.
- If you made a notification in a previous year, you only need to make a new notification if your circumstances have changed.
Please contact our office if you need further information and assistance regarding notifications to the SRO mentioned above.
