Any Australian buying their first home in 2022 has faced the challenge of rising residential property prices and interest rates. Luckily, the federal government has rolled out a series of grants to help first home buyers in each State and Territory.
This includes Tasmania, where the state government has developed three major grants to aid its residents:
On this page, we will go in-depth into how to become eligible applicants for each grant, as well as any terms and conditions around them.
The First Home Owners Grant (FHOG) is a government grant that allows Australian residents to purchase their first home. The grant does this by contributing a significant one-off payment to eligible first home owners to use as they see fit.
For home buyers purchasing their first home in Tasmania, now is an excellent time to apply to the FHOG. Up until 30 June 2023, the grant provides a generous $30,000 towards eligible first home buyers and their attempts to obtain their dream home, with just a few conditions to meet.
It should be noted that although FHOG is a nationwide initiative, the terms and conditions change depending on the Australian State or Territory you reside in.
Tasmanian residents are lucky to be the only State or Territory not to have a price limit on the value of their first home to be eligible for the FHOG. However, this comes with the stipulation that you must buy or build a brand-new home, rather than purchasing an established property.
Furthermore, you must live in your new home for at least six months after purchase. This means you must reside in your property within a year of your settlement date or the completion of your new home's construction.
Beyond the necessity of the home owners grant only being available for those purchasing new properties, the FHOG in Tasmania has several other stipulations for eligibility. These conditions include that the home buyer (and your partner, if applicable) must:
The stipulations about owning residence before 1 July 2000, however, does imply that you can be eligible for the FHOG if you owned an investment property after 2000, but only if you have never lived there.
Applications are lodged through your lender or mortgage broker. Otherwise, you can send your application directly to the State Revenue Office of Tasmania.
For first home owners who have bought a house, you can send in this application after the sale is complete. For those electing to build their first home, the application can be lodged after construction is complete or after you have made the first progress payment.
No stamp duty exemptions are available for those looking to buy a new home or construct a property in Tasmania.
However, if you purchase an established home in Tasmania as a first home buyer, you could be eligible for a 50% concession on stamp duty.
To qualify for this 50% discount, you simply need to be a first home buyer who has purchased an established home in Tasmania. This concession currently comes with the condition that your property is valued at $600,000 or under, and is set to end on 30 June 2023.
However, it is notable that purchasing an established home will automatically disqualify you from accessing the FHOG.
When weighing up the differences between these two assistance schemes, we suggest calculating the overall price of stamp duty payable to see how much you could save. To help you get started, head to our free stamp duty calculator; this will help give you an idea of how much stamp duty you could be paying on your property.
To be eligible for an exemption on paying stamp duty, all first home owners must:
It should be reiterated that those eligible for the First Home Owner grant are generally not eligible for a Duty Concession as they are buying or building a new home. You are only eligible for the stamp discount if your first home has already been built or owned before.
You can choose to lodge an application by mail or electronically through the state revenue office. Further information on this process can be found through the Tasmanian Government.
HomeShare Tasmania is a longstanding shared equity scheme, recently updated on 1 July 2022, that was created to reduce borrowing costs associated with a new home. It helps Tasmanian residents break out of the rental market and achieve new home ownership.
The Director of Housing in Tasmania has pledged up to 40% of the purchase price of a new dwelling, capping off at $200,000. Those more interested in buying an existing home will receive a contribution of 30% of the purchase price, and a max contribution of $150,000.
Homebuyers thus only need to have a mortgage deposit as low as 2%, and will not be subject to Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI). This is a significant improvement of previous versions of this scheme, which required at least a 5% mortgage deposit.
The government's financial support stipulates that their contribution or equity must be paid before 30 years have passed. This can be done either by buying the share or selling the house.
Those applying for HomeShare also must meet income requirements to qualify. These requirements are based on the personal circumstances of your household. For example, the number of people applying and how many children you have.
Below highlights the exact income requirements you must meet to qualify:
Home owners applying to HomeShare have plenty of requirements to be eligible. Namely, providing proof that their financial situation is secure. The exact requirements, according to the Department of Communities Tasmania, are:
Applications are lodged through HomeShare in conjunction with Tasmania's Bank of Us. The application process and answers to any further questions on HomeShare can be found on the HomeShare homepage.
There are plenty of other first home buyer grants available nationwide, these include:
If you are not looking for an owners grant in Tasmania, be sure to check out our different State and Territory-specific grant breakdowns:
Buying a home, existing or new, also means getting approved for a home loan. For those searching for a first home owners grant, choosing a home loan can be more stressful on top of everything.
Joust Live Auction function eases this responsibility by doing your hard work.
Our online home loan service matches you with the lender suited to your circumstances, making it easier to focus on what first home owners grant provides you with the home of your dreams.
Joust Software Pty Ltd ABN 73 603 612 013 ACL 481805 and the Joust logo are trademarks of Joust Pty Ltd ACN 603 603 667 ACRN 484955. Both Joust Software Pty Ltd and Joust Pty Ltd are wholly owned by Joust Holdings Pty Ltd ACN 639 604 998 ACRN 522403. Any trademarks used on this website which are not owned by Joust Pty Ltd are used under licence from participating financial institutions. Joust is not a credit provider and in giving you product information we are not making any suggestion or recommendation to you about a particular credit product. If you decide to apply for a product, you will deal directly with a financial institution and not with Joust. Product information should be confirmed with the relevant financial institution. View the Joust Terms of Use.