Changes to Tasmanian duty and land tax

Tasmania has introduced the Taxation and Related Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2026 (Tas) (Bill) which proposes a range of amendments including to the Duties Act 2001 (Tas) (Duties Act), Land Tax Act 2000 (Tas) (LTA) and Taxation Administration Act 1997 (Tas) (TAA). 

The proposed changes are helpful to investments in Tasmania, including for foreign developers and corporate groups undertaking a restructure.

The Bill has passed Tasmanian Parliament and is currently awaiting Royal Assent.  Certain provisions, including the foreign investor duty and land tax surcharge relief provisions, will have retrospective effect from 1 July 2026.

The key changes introduced in the Bill include:

Lower threshold to access foreign investor duty and land tax surcharge relief 

Foreign investors in Tasmanian residential property are currently subject to foreign investor surcharge duty (FIDS) of 8% and foreign investor land tax surcharge (FILTS) of 2% unless a concession applies. The Duties Act and LTA currently provide for relief from FIDS and FILTS for certain “Tasmania-based” foreign developers who make contributions of “relevant dwelling[s]”.

Under the Bill, the dwelling threshold for relief from FIDS and FILTS is reduced from 50 to 10 relevant dwellings.

This means foreign investors who develop residential property in Tasmania will be able to access surcharge relief for a smaller project than was previously required. Foreign investors and developers currently undertaking or planning residential development in Tasmania should consider whether these changes affect their eligibility for relief.

These amendments will have retrospective effect from 1 July 2026. 

No pre- or post- transaction association requirements for corporate reconstruction and consolidation exemptions 

The Bill also introduces changes which are beneficial to corporate groups undertaking a restructure, by removing requirements that previously limited access to the exemptions for relief.

The Bill amends the Duties Act to:

• remove the requirement that members of a corporate group were members of the corporate group for 12 months before the relevant transaction occurs; 
• remove the requirement that members of a corporate group subject of an exemption remain a member of the group for a period of at least 12 months after the transaction; and
• include ‘establishing a corporate group’ as a qualifying purpose for the exemptions; 
• extend relief to companies limited by guarantee.

Improving the reassessment, withdrawal and refund process

The Bill also introduces several amendments to the TAA which make it easier for taxpayers to seek and receive reassessments and refunds.

The Bill amends the TAA to:

• allow the Commissioner to make reassessments which are ‘different from’ an original assessment. Practically this allows the Commissioner to make a reassessment which reduces a tax liability, as opposed to only which is ‘additional to, or greater than’ the original assessment;
• extend the period in which the Commissioner may withdraw an assessment from 3 years to 5 years; and
• remove the requirement for a taxpayer to lodge an objection before applying for a refund.