I rang the OSR (Office of State Revenue) yesterday to clarify a few things about land tax and what I found out is:
- It is calculated on the total value as an entity...in other words, if you own jointly with your spouse you don't use half the amount per person, you use the whole amount (contrary to QLD which is based on individual ownership).
- It is based on what was owned as of 31 December each year and has nothing to do with filing your tax return, it operates on its own.
- You must initiate the land tax filing. As the OSR relies on several other govt agencies to give them the info they can't possibly keep track of who owns what so it is up to the landowner to "know" that they have to file a return.
- Do not go by the land value that is on your rates notice as they are only updated every few years. This is what caught me by surprise....my property that was $165k land value on my rates notice is now $233k! You only need one or two ips and you're up for land tax. You can ring the OSR and give them the lot number and DP number and they'll tell you the current land value.
The state government is out of control. They've virtually doubled the land values and are laughing all the way to the bank. I went from "possibly having to pay land tax" to "ohmigod..how much am I up for?"
Anyway, just thought I'd let you know what I found out because there are probably a few unsuspecting ip owners out there. If you're not sure, ring the OSR and get a value on your land. But make sure you do it before the end of April as that is the deadline to file.
Happy Filing,
Kathryn
- It is calculated on the total value as an entity...in other words, if you own jointly with your spouse you don't use half the amount per person, you use the whole amount (contrary to QLD which is based on individual ownership).
- It is based on what was owned as of 31 December each year and has nothing to do with filing your tax return, it operates on its own.
- You must initiate the land tax filing. As the OSR relies on several other govt agencies to give them the info they can't possibly keep track of who owns what so it is up to the landowner to "know" that they have to file a return.
- Do not go by the land value that is on your rates notice as they are only updated every few years. This is what caught me by surprise....my property that was $165k land value on my rates notice is now $233k! You only need one or two ips and you're up for land tax. You can ring the OSR and give them the lot number and DP number and they'll tell you the current land value.
The state government is out of control. They've virtually doubled the land values and are laughing all the way to the bank. I went from "possibly having to pay land tax" to "ohmigod..how much am I up for?"
Anyway, just thought I'd let you know what I found out because there are probably a few unsuspecting ip owners out there. If you're not sure, ring the OSR and get a value on your land. But make sure you do it before the end of April as that is the deadline to file.
Happy Filing,
Kathryn