Changes to your principal place of residence exemption

Tell us if the use or ownership of your main residence changes.

On this page

• Situations when the exemption no longer applies
• Changes in use that require you to notify us

Situations when the exemption no longer applies

If you change how you use and occupy your principal place of residence (PPR), it may no longer qualify for a PPR exemption from land tax. This could mean you will need to pay land tax on the property. You need to notify us of your change of circumstances within 60 days or penalties and interest may apply to the tax liability.

• stop using it as your principal residence
• rent it out or use it as a holiday home
• move out and leave it empty
• sell it or otherwise transfer ownership.

You can use My Land Tax to update your property details and apply for a PPR exemption or call us on 13 21 61.

Changes in use that require you to notify us

Absences from a PPR

You may still keep your PPR exemption if you are away from your home for a short time. For example, if you are working interstate or overseas. This is called the temporary absence provision.

For this provision to apply for a given assessment year, the owner or vested beneficiary must have either:

• obtained a PPR exemption
• used the property as their PPR for at least 6 months in a row immediately before the absence.

You also must satisfy us that:

• the absence is only temporary
• the individual owner or vested beneficiary plan to move back in after their absence
• no other land in or outside Australia is exempt as their PPR land during the absence
• the rental requirement is met.

The rental requirements are:

• From the 2021 land tax year, no income can be earned from the property in the preceding year.
• Before the 2021 land tax year, the owner or trustee did not rent out the land for 6 months or more in the year before the assessment year.
• For the 2021 tax year, there was a transitional arrangement if the owner or trustee could rent the land for 6 months or less in 2020.

This provision does not apply if the land was unoccupied due to construction or renovation of a residence on the land.

This provision is limited to 6 years from the date the absence started. To notify us of an absence, see how to apply for a principal place of residence exemption for land tax.

Absence resulting from family or domestic violence

If you have had to leave your home due to family or domestic violence, you may still qualify for the PPR exemption or be eligible for ex-gratia relief. This support is available for up to 6 years under certain conditions. For full details and how to apply, visit family violence land tax relief.

People who have lost the ability to live independently

The PPR exemption can still apply if the individual owner or vested beneficiary has to leave home because they cannot live independently anymore. This applies when they live full-time:

• in a hospital as a patient, or
• in a residential care facility, supported residential service or a residential service for people with disabilities, or
• in a Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) enrolled dwelling as an SDA resident, or
• with a carer who provides care to the individual owner or resident vested beneficiary on a daily basis.

The exemption does not apply if the person lived there under a right to reside or as a qualifying person with a disability and then moved out.

Before the 2026 tax year, there is a requirement that no income can be earned from the property in the preceding year.

From 1 January 2026, the income requirement for this exemption applies differently. You may get a partial exemption if income is earned from a substantial business activity or a separate residence on the land. The part of land containing the PPR will remain exempt from land tax and the part of land that earns income will be taxable. If the land earns income in other ways, the PPR exemption will not apply.

To notify us about this situation, see how to apply for a principal place of residence exemption for land tax.

PPR land that becomes unfit to live in

If a home with a PPR exemption becomes unfit to live in due to a natural disaster (such as a fire, earthquake, or storm), accident or malicious damage, the exemption will continue. It will be treated as if the individual owner or vested beneficiary still lives there.

The exemption can apply for up to 2 years after the date on which the land becomes unfit to live in. From 1 January 2026, the exemption is available for up to 4 years. You may get an additional 2 years if we are satisfied the delay is beyond the control of the individual owner or eligible trustee. That means the maximum exemption is 4 years before 1 January 2026 and 6 years from 1 January 2026.

You cannot claim this exemption if other land owned by the individual owner or eligible trustee is eligible for the PPR exemption.

To notify us about this situation, see how to apply for a principal place of residence exemption for land tax.

Construction or renovation of a PPR

An exemption from land tax applies to land on which a PPR is being constructed or renovated. Conditions apply, including time limits and residency requirements. For full details and how to apply, visit exemption for construction or renovation of a principal place of residence.

Partial exemption if a separate residence on PPR land is leased

If your PPR includes a separate residence on the same title, such as a granny flat or bungalow, which was rented out to earn income in the previous tax year, you will pay land tax on that part of the land. You will still get the PPR exemption for the rest of the land.

The PPR exemption will continue to apply to the whole land if:

• you only receive a small or nominal payment for board or lodging
• a family member merely contributes towards things like utility costs, maintenance and repairs.

These payments do not count as rental income.

Partial exemption for trustees

Where only some of the vested beneficiaries of the trust live at the property, an exemption will not apply to the whole land. It will only apply to the part which the resident beneficiary owns and uses as their home.

To qualify, the beneficiary must:

• live at the property as their PPR
• not pay rent to the trustee.

Meaning of income

We use the ordinary meaning of the word ‘income’ for this exemption. We decide if a payment is income and look at each case separately. No single factor determines if a payment is income. We look at things like:

• whether an arrangement is meant to make profit
• the relationship between the parties involved
• how large the payments are.

Joint owners and the PPR

For the purposes of the exemption, it does not matter if you own the land jointly with others. If you use and occupy the land as your PPR, your share in the property is exempt.

Joint owner leaves PPR

If a PPR is jointly owned, and one owner moves out, they may still be eligible for a land tax exemption for up to 2 tax years.

Conditions:

• The exemption applies if the land was used as the PPR by both owners in the year before the tax year
• It applies for a second year if the owner who moved out does not have another PPR-exempt property.

You might also be interested in

• Register for My Land Tax
• Update or make changes to your assessment