Land Tax Calculator QLD 2025-26 (Aggregation & Absentee)

How Queensland land tax works in 2025-26

Queensland land tax is an annual state tax assessed by the Queensland Revenue Office (QRO) on the freehold land you owned at midnight on 30 June. It is paid every year you hold the land, separate from the one-off transfer duty paid at purchase. For the 2025-26 land tax year, two thresholds apply: A$600,000 for resident individuals, and A$350,000 for companies, trustees and absentees. Land below the threshold is not assessed, so a Brisbane investor with a single small parcel may owe nothing while the same parcel inside a family trust would already cross the line.

The headline difference between Queensland and the southern states is the owner-type split. Resident individuals get a A$600,000 free band and a gentler scale; companies, trustees and absentees use a separate scale that starts at A$350,000 and ramps faster. For a portfolio sitting around A$1,000,000 of taxable value, the resident-individual bill is about A$4,500, while a trust or company on the same land pays roughly A$12,500 — the structure decision matters more in QLD than the headline rate. If you are weighing the trade-off, our NSW land tax calculator and VIC land tax calculator let you compare the same portfolio across the three big east-coast regimes.

Aggregation: when QRO adds your properties together

QRO does not assess each parcel separately. It aggregates the taxable value of every parcel you owned at midnight on 30 June, then applies the rate scale to the combined figure. Aggregation is by owner type:

• Land you own personally is added together on the individual scale.
• Land you own as trustee for a particular trust is aggregated separately on the companies / trustees / absentees scale.
• Land your company owns is aggregated separately again on the companies / trustees / absentees scale.

This is why splitting a single title between two names does not always halve the bill — if both names are individuals, the parcel is divided between two individual aggregations, but each aggregation still includes every other parcel that name holds. It is also why a trustee structure does not automatically save tax: the lower A$350,000 threshold often costs more than it saves.

For 2025-26 the rate scales are:

Individual scale (resident natural persons)

Total taxable value	Land tax payable
A$0 – A$599,999	nil
A$600,000 – A$999,999	A$500 + 1.0¢ for each A$1 above A$600,000
A$1,000,000 – A$2,999,999	A$4,500 + 1.65¢ for each A$1 above A$1,000,000
A$3,000,000 – A$4,999,999	A$37,500 + 1.25¢ for each A$1 above A$3,000,000
A$5,000,000 – A$9,999,999	A$62,500 + 1.75¢ for each A$1 above A$5,000,000
A$10,000,000+	A$150,000 + 2.25¢ for each A$1 above A$10,000,000

Companies, trustees and absentees scale

Total taxable value	Land tax payable
A$0 – A$349,999	nil
A$350,000 – A$2,249,999	A$1,450 + 1.7¢ for each A$1 above A$350,000
A$2,250,000 – A$4,999,999	A$33,750 + 1.5¢ for each A$1 above A$2,250,000
A$5,000,000 – A$9,999,999	A$75,000 + 2.0¢ for each A$1 above A$5,000,000
A$10,000,000+	A$175,000 + 2.5¢ for each A$1 above A$10,000,000

The taxable value is the statutory land value set by the Valuer-General, not the contract price. It excludes the building and other improvements, so a A$1.2M Gold Coast unit with a A$320,000 site value is assessed on the A$320,000.

Absentee surcharge: the extra 3% from A$350,000

If you are classified as an absentee — broadly, an individual who is not ordinarily resident in Australia — QRO charges the companies, trustees and absentees rate scale plus a 3% surcharge on the slice of taxable value above A$350,000. The surcharge is on top of the base land tax, not a replacement, so the stack on a A$1,000,000 absentee individual is approximately A$12,500 base + A$19,500 surcharge ≈ A$32,000 a year. For comparison, a resident individual with the same A$1,000,000 of investor land pays around A$4,500 — a step-up of roughly A$27,500 a year purely because of residency status.

The surcharge does not apply to companies and trustees that are resident in Australia, but it does flow through to companies that are foreign-controlled and trusts whose foreign beneficiaries pull them into the absentee classification. Trust deeds that don't explicitly exclude foreign beneficiaries are a common trap.

PPR exemption — when your home is excluded

The principal place of residence (PPR) exemption removes your main home from the aggregation, but it only applies to resident individuals. The land you live in is not added to the investor pool, so a Brisbane homeowner with a A$700,000 PPR site value plus a A$300,000 investor lot is assessed on A$300,000 — well under the A$600,000 individual threshold and therefore A$0 in land tax.

The exemption does not flow through to companies or trustees, so a holiday home owned through a family trust is fully assessable even when the family stays there. It also does not flow through to absentee individuals: their PPR is included in the aggregation. Other Queensland exemptions exist for primary production, charitable institutions and some retirement villages, but they have specific eligibility tests — check the QRO exemption pages or speak to a Queensland-registered tax agent before relying on them.

When the assessment notice arrives and how to pay

QRO issues land tax assessment notices progressively from late September through to late January, based on the land you owned at midnight on 30 June. Payment is generally due 45 days after the date on the notice. You can pay in full or, for larger assessments, in instalments — the options are listed on the notice itself.

A common surprise is that the 30 June snapshot is unforgiving. If you settle a sale on 1 July, the previous owner — meaning you, since the title was still in your name at midnight on 30 June — is liable for the full year's land tax for that financial year. Buyers and sellers commonly negotiate adjustments at settlement, but the legal liability sits with whoever held the land at the snapshot.

Worked examples

1. Brisbane investor with one apartment. Sarah, a Queensland resident, owns a single Gold Coast investment unit with a taxable value of A$520,000. The aggregation is below the A$600,000 individual threshold, so her assessment is A$0. If she added a Brisbane apartment with a A$300,000 taxable value next year, the aggregation would jump to A$820,000 — bracket A$600k–A$1M — and her bill would be A$500 + 1.0¢ × A$220,000 = A$2,700.

2. Three small parcels held individually. James owns three Sunshine Coast parcels of A$300,000 each. QRO aggregates to A$900,000 and applies the A$600k–A$1M bracket: A$500 + 1.0¢ × (A$900,000 − A$600,000) = A$3,500 a year. Splitting titles across multiple parcels does not avoid aggregation when one name holds them all.

3. Family trust with a Mornington-style holding. A discretionary trust holds a single A$700,000 Cairns investment property. Companies / trustees / absentees scale: A$1,450 + 1.7¢ × (A$700,000 − A$350,000) = A$1,450 + A$5,950 = A$7,400 a year. Note that an individual holding the same parcel would pay A$1,500 — the structure costs roughly A$5,900 a year more, before any income-tax benefits of the trust are weighed in.

4. Absentee individual. A British owner with a A$500,000 Brisbane investment unit. Base on the companies / trustees / absentees scale: A$1,450 + 1.7¢ × A$150,000 = A$4,000. Absentee surcharge: 3% × A$150,000 = A$4,500. Total: A$8,500 a year — about 5.5x the bill a resident individual would face on the same parcel.

QLD vs NSW vs VIC: state comparison

The three east-coast land-tax regimes look superficially similar but diverge sharply in practice:

• NSW uses a single general threshold of around A$1.075M (2025) with a premium threshold near A$6.57M, plus a 5% foreign-owner surcharge on residential land. The general threshold is the highest of the three, so smaller portfolios often escape the net entirely. See our NSW land tax calculator for the current scale.
• VIC dropped the general threshold to A$50,000 under the COVID Debt Repayment Plan (was A$300,000 pre-2024), runs an A$25,000 trust threshold with a 0.375% surcharge, and charges a 4% absentee surcharge plus a separate Vacant Residential Land Tax at 1%/2%/3%. The threshold drop pulls the widest population into the net of the three states. Our VIC land tax calculator handles all four moving parts.
• QLD sits between the two on threshold (A$600,000 individual / A$350,000 company-trust-absentee), runs a 3% absentee surcharge that is lower than VIC's 4%, and does not have a vacant-land tax. The owner-type split is sharper than either NSW or VIC.

For a portfolio of investor land with combined taxable value around A$900,000 held by a resident individual, the indicative annual bills are roughly A$0 in NSW (under threshold), about A$8,300 in VIC (band b4), and A$3,500 in QLD. That is a A$8,300 spread on the same dollar of land — state-of-purchase decisions are material.

Common pitfalls

• Land tax is annual, not a one-off. Unlike Queensland transfer duty (paid once at settlement), land tax is billed every year you hold the land. Model it before you buy.
• Taxable value, not contract price. The taxable value is the Valuer-General's statutory land value, typically well below the price you paid. Plugging the contract price in overstates the bill significantly.
• Aggregation is by owner type. Splitting names on titles only helps if the names are different owner types or different individuals. Two parcels held by the same name still aggregate.
• Absentee status is sticky. Becoming a non-resident for tax purposes pulls you onto the lower threshold and the 3% surcharge — both effects compound on the same dollar of land.
• 30 June is unforgiving. Settling a sale on 1 July transfers the whole year's bill to the seller of record at midnight 30 June.
• Foreign trust trap. A discretionary trust without an explicit foreign-beneficiary exclusion can be treated as an absentee trust.

When to talk to a professional

This calculator gives a general estimate based on public QRO scales. Binding assessments — especially anything involving trusts, deceased estates, primary production exemptions, partial PPR use, foreign-beneficiary determinations or aggregation across related entities — should go through a Queensland-registered tax agent or property lawyer. For your exact assessment, contact QRO directly. Nothing on this page is personal financial, tax or legal advice.

Related calculators

• NSW Land Tax Calculator — compare the QLD owner-type split against the NSW general / premium thresholds and the 5% foreign-owner surcharge.
• VIC Land Tax Calculator — model the same portfolio against Victoria's A$50,000 general threshold, 4% absentee surcharge and Vacant Residential Land Tax.
• QLD Stamp Duty Calculator — the one-off Queensland transfer duty paid at settlement, including the home concession, first-home concession and 8% Additional Foreign Acquirer Duty.
• Negative Gearing Calculator — model how land tax and other holding costs flow through to your investment property's cash flow and tax position.
• Property Depreciation Calculator — work out Division 40 plant and Division 43 capital works deductions to offset the land tax bite.

Sources:

• Queensland Revenue Office — Land tax
• Queensland Revenue Office — Calculate land tax
• Queensland Revenue Office — Calculate land tax for individuals
• Queensland Revenue Office — Calculate absentee land tax
• Queensland Revenue Office — Calculate land tax for companies and trustees
• Queensland Revenue Office — Home (principal place of residence) exemption
• QRO online land tax estimator