Land tax calculator
/v1/calculators/land-tax1¢ per callAnnual land tax on land you own in a state or territory, with the tax-free threshold, each rate band and any foreign owner surcharge shown.
Who pays it: owners of land that isn't their home — investors with rental properties, holiday homes, vacant land, companies and trusts. It is charged every year on the combined land value of everything the owner holds in the state, so two $800,000 blocks cost more than twice one.
What it covers: the general scale and threshold, the company / trust
rates or loss of the threshold where a state has them, any premium band, and
the foreign / absentee owner surcharge. The Northern Territory has no land
tax; the ACT charges it on rented-out homes. The land tax year in force on
assessment_date is used, named in rates.
Caveats: an estimate, not an assessment. Pass the land value (council or
state valuation), not the market price of the property — they differ a lot.
Primary production, charities, special trusts and part-year ownership have
rules not modelled here; see caveats. The home exemption is a flag, not a
calculation of mixed-use land.
Authorization
Request
The only values you send. Fields under Responses below are what comes back — you never pass those.
Query parameters
statestringrequiredState or territory: NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, ACT, NT.
land_valuenumber0–1000000000requiredTotal taxable land value you hold in the state, in dollars — the unimproved / site value of every parcel added together, not the property prices. Leave your own home out (it is exempt).
owner_typestringoptionalOne of: individual, company, trust. Companies and trusts pay higher rates or lose the threshold in some states.
foreignbooleanoptionalA foreign or absentee owner — adds the state's surcharge.
principal_residencebooleanoptionalThe land is the owner's home. Always exempt; returns 0 with the reason.
assessment_datestring · dateoptionalAny date in the land tax year you want (YYYY-MM-DD). Default: today in Sydney.
Responses
Successful Response
statestringalways returnedland_valuenumberalways returnedTaxable land value used: the total you passed, or the property's latest land value on the property route.
land_value_sourcestringalways returned`input` or `land_valuation` (the property's latest land value).
gnaf_idstringmay be nullThe property, on the property route; null otherwise.
owner_typestringalways returnedindividual, company or trust.
foreignbooleanalways returnedWhether the foreign / absentee owner surcharge was applied.
principal_residencebooleanalways returnedTrue when the land is the owner's home (exempt).
assessment_datestring · datealways returnedDate the land tax year was picked for.
thresholdnumbermay be nullTax-free threshold that applied (null when none, e.g. trusts in some states, or no land tax).
total_land_taxnumberalways returnedLand tax for the year, including any surcharge.
effective_rate_pctnumbermay be nulltotal_land_tax as a % of land_value; null when land_value is 0.
breakdownarray of CalcLinealways returnedEvery step, in order; amounts sum to total_land_tax.
ratesobjectalways returnedWhich rates table the answer used. Rates change each financial year (or land tax year); the version in force on your date is picked for you.
caveatsarray of stringalways returnedAbout this data
What this is
Annual land tax on land held in any Australian state or territory, with the tax-free threshold, each rate band, the rules for companies and trusts, and any foreign or absentee owner surcharge shown step by step.
What people use it for
- Investors: cost the yearly tax on a portfolio before buying another property.
- Accountants and advisers: check a client's likely bill and the effect of owning through a trust.
- Property tools: add land tax to holding-cost and net-yield sums.
Tips
Pass the combined land value of everything the owner holds in the state, not the market price; land tax rises with the total. The owner's home is exempt. The Northern Territory has no land tax. Each answer names the land tax year it used. For one property at its own land value, use /v1/properties/{gnaf_id}/calculators/land-tax.
/v1/calculators/land-taxcurl --request GET \
--url 'https://api.microburbs.com.au/v1/calculators/land-tax?state=NSW&land_value=1500000' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer test'{
"data": {
"assessment_date": "2026-11-12",
"breakdown": [
{
"amount": 6900,
"detail": "$1,500,000 on the general rate: $100 + 1.6% of the value over $1,075,000.",
"item": "Land tax"
}
],
"caveats": [
"Land tax is charged on the average of your land's last 3 yearly values; enter that average for the closest estimate."
],
"effective_rate_pct": 0.46,
"foreign": false,
"land_value": 1500000,
"land_value_source": "input",
"owner_type": "individual",
"principal_residence": false,
"rates": {
"effective_from": "2026-01-01",
"version": "NSW-land-tax-2026"
},
"state": "NSW",
"threshold": 1075000,
"total_land_tax": 6900
}
}