NSW Land Tax Calculator (incl. Foreign Surcharge)

What this calculator works out

This calculator estimates the annual NSW land tax Revenue NSW will assess against the land you owned at midnight on 31 December. It handles the four moving parts that catch most NSW investors out:

1. The general threshold ($1,075,000 for the 2026 land tax year) and the premium threshold ($6,571,000), with the $100 + 1.6% step at the general threshold and the 2.0% rate above the premium threshold.
2. The principal place of residence (PPR) exemption, which usually removes a home you live in from the assessment entirely.
3. The 5% foreign owner surcharge land tax on residential land — a separate impost with no tax-free threshold.
4. The special trust treatment that strips most discretionary trusts of the general threshold and taxes them from the first dollar.

The figure it returns is the annual land tax bill — not stamp duty (paid once at purchase, see our NSW stamp duty calculator) and not council rates (a different bill from your local council on the same land).

Where the formula comes from

The thresholds and rates used here are the ones Revenue NSW publishes on its Land tax and Surcharge land tax pages. For the 2026 land tax year:

Total NSW taxable land value	Land tax payable
up to $1,075,000	nil
$1,075,001 – $6,571,000	$100 + 1.6% of the value above $1,075,000
above $6,571,000	$88,036 + 2.0% of the value above $6,571,000

Revenue NSW reindexes the general threshold each calendar year using the average of the past three years of land values published by the Valuer General; the premium threshold moves with it. The percentage rates themselves have been steady at 1.6% and 2.0% for many years.

The foreign owner surcharge sits on top of all of that. From the 2024 land tax year onwards the surcharge rate is 5% of the taxable value of residential land held by a foreign person, with no tax-free threshold. For trusts, it pays to check whether the trust deed has been amended to exclude foreign beneficiaries — Revenue NSW treats most discretionary trusts as foreign trusts unless the deed irrevocably excludes foreign beneficiaries.

How to read the inputs

• Land tax year — Liability is set on 31 December of the previous calendar year. The 2026 land tax year is assessed on land held at midnight on 31 December 2025. The 2027 thresholds are not yet published, so the calculator falls back to the 2026 figures and labels the year "provisional" until Revenue NSW issues the new numbers.
• Property use — Choose PPR if the property is your main home; investment if it is rented out, vacant, or a holiday house; mixed if part of the property is your home and part is income-producing (in that case enter only the taxable portion of the land value below).
• Total NSW land value (UCV) — This is the Valuer General Land Value, often called UCV (unimproved capital value). It is the value of the land alone, ignoring any house, fence, pool or improvement on it. Find it on your Notice of Valuation, your Section 603 certificate, or the Valuer General's Land Value Search. Do not enter the contract price — the UCV is usually well below market value.
• Number of NSW properties — Information only. Revenue NSW aggregates the total NSW land value across every parcel held by the same owner, so the threshold is applied once to the combined figure, not per property.
• Ownership structure — Choose trust only for a discretionary or family trust that will be treated as a special trust. A few unit trusts and self-managed super funds are taxed as individuals; if your trust is in that category, choose individual to apply the thresholds.
• Foreign person — Tick this if any owner is a foreign person under the Land Tax Act 1956 (NSW). The 5% surcharge then applies to the residential land value, even on a PPR.

Worked examples

1. Single investor, one Sydney unit, UCV $1,200,000. Below the premium threshold, sits in the general band. Land tax = $100 + 1.6% × ($1,200,000 − $1,075,000) = $2,100/year. PPR is not claimed because the unit is rented out.

2. Investor with two units, combined UCV $2,400,000. Aggregated to $2,400,000 because Revenue NSW applies the threshold once. Land tax = $100 + 1.6% × ($2,400,000 − $1,075,000) = $21,300/year. Splitting the holding across two states (e.g. one in NSW, one in Victoria) would have given each state its own threshold.

3. Owner-occupier with a $3M Mosman home. PPR exemption applies, taxable value is $0. Land tax = $0, even though the home is well above the threshold. Council rates and stamp duty (already paid) are unaffected by this calculator.

4. Foreign 482 visa holder owning a $1,500,000 PPR. Standard land tax: PPR exempt → $0. But the 5% surcharge applies to residential land regardless of the PPR exemption. Surcharge = 5% × $1,500,000 = $75,000/year. This is on top of the foreign purchaser stamp duty surcharge already paid at settlement.

5. Family trust holding two investment houses, UCV $2,000,000. As a special trust, no general threshold applies. Land tax = 1.6% × $2,000,000 = $32,000/year — about $17,100 more than an individual would pay on the same holding. If the trust is also caught as a foreign trust, add 5% × $2,000,000 = $100,000 surcharge.

6. Trophy estate, UCV $8,000,000. Crosses into the premium band. Land tax = $88,036 + 2.0% × ($8,000,000 − $6,571,000) = $88,036 + $28,580 = $116,616/year.

Common pitfalls

• Land tax is annual, not one-off. Unlike stamp duty, you pay this every year for as long as you own taxable NSW land. A $20,000 annual land tax bill on an investment unit is a real drag on yield — model it before you buy, not after.
• The Valuer General number is what counts, not the price you paid. Many investors plug the contract price in and overstate their bill by 2–3x. Always use the UCV.
• Aggregation across owners is per legal entity, not per household. Holding one property in your name and one in your spouse's name gives you two thresholds. Holding both jointly aggregates them. This is a real planning lever — but talk to a property lawyer before restructuring, because changing ownership triggers stamp duty.
• Foreign trust trap. A discretionary trust that doesn't explicitly and irrevocably exclude foreign beneficiaries is treated as a foreign person — even if every named beneficiary is Australian. Surcharge land tax then applies to all residential holdings. Check the trust deed.
• The 31 December snapshot is unforgiving. Settling a sale on 2 January transfers the whole next year's bill to you. Settling on 30 December transfers it to the buyer. A few days at the end of the year can swing thousands of dollars.
• Interstate comparison is not straightforward. NSW, VIC, QLD and SA all use different thresholds and different surcharge rates. Do not assume the NSW figure carries over — check the equivalent calculator for each state.

When to talk to a professional

This calculator gives a general estimate based on public Revenue NSW data. The typical land tax for the scenarios above is the figure shown, but binding assessments — especially anything involving a discretionary trust, a deceased estate, partial PPR use, primary production exemption, or a foreign person determination — should go through a NSW-registered property lawyer or a tax agent. For your exact assessment, contact Revenue NSW or use Service NSW. Nothing on this page is personal legal, tax or financial advice.

Related calculators

• NSW Stamp Duty Calculator — the one-off transfer duty paid at settlement, including the 8% foreign purchaser surcharge.
• VIC Stamp Duty Calculator — the Victorian equivalent for cross-border investors.
• QLD Stamp Duty Calculator — Queensland transfer duty including additional foreign acquirer duty.

Sources:

• Revenue NSW — Land tax
• Revenue NSW — Land tax thresholds and rates
• Revenue NSW — Surcharge land tax
• Revenue NSW — Principal place of residence exemption
• Revenue NSW — Land tax for trusts
• Land Tax Act 1956 (NSW)