Hardship relief for land tax

Alternatives to hardship relief

You can apply for relief from land tax if paying your land tax would cause serious hardship. 

However, your obligation to pay your land tax does not constitute serious hardship in itself. 

Before you apply for hardship relief, consider setting up a payment plan to pay your assessment in instalments. 

You can use AutoPay to set up a payment plan for: 

• current assessments (before the due date) – no interest applies 
• overdue assessments (after the due date) – interest may apply. 

Access hardship relief

You can only apply for relief on your outstanding land tax liability. 

If you have partially paid your liability, we can only consider the outstanding amount.  

We cannot refund any amount you have already paid. 

Individuals

You can apply for relief if paying land tax will cause you or your dependants serious hardship. 

Joint owners

Relief is only available if all the owners are suffering hardship. 

Companies

Companies can apply for relief if paying land tax would cause serious hardship for the holders of more than 60% of the issued ordinary share capital. 

How we consider your application

The amount of land tax you owe determines who considers your application. 

• If your liability is $5,000 or less in a tax year, we determine your application. 
• If your liability is more than $5,000 in a tax year, the Land Tax Hardship Relief Board determines your application.   

Any applications made to the Board before 26 November 2025, where the amount is $5,000 or less and you are still waiting for a decision, will be handled by the Commissioner.

The Board is independent of the State Revenue Office and is made up of: 

• the Secretary to the Department of Treasury and Finance or their nominee 
• the Commissioner or their nominee 
• a person selected by the Commissioner or their nominee from a panel of 3 people appointed by the Governor in Council on a recommendation of the Minister. 

Relief is discretionary. Your application may be rejected. 

The Commissioner or Board will assess whether you are in serious hardship. They will also consider other factors like whether:  

• you have a long history of not paying your land tax 
• granting relief would not relieve your serious hardship 
• you have already made a payment arrangement and are making repayments. 

Factors

The Commissioner and the Board consider each application on its own merit. The Land Tax Act 2005 does not define serious hardship, so the Commissioner or Board relies on the following general principles drawn from case law. 

Serious financial hardship

Serious financial hardship means not being able to provide necessities such as food, clothing, medical supplies, accommodation and education for children. The Commissioner or Board will assess how your current situation stops you from paying your outstanding land tax now and in the future. Personal circumstances, or whether you think you should not be charged land tax, may not be relevant. 

Inconvenience or serious hardship

Serious hardship is different to inconvenience.  

An inconvenience may include: 

• having to reorganise finances 
• seeking financial advice  
• reducing expenditure on social activities and extravagances.  

On the other hand, serious hardship means being in a position where paying your land tax would stop you from providing necessities for you and/or your dependants. The Commissioner or Board may look at your discretionary spending to see if you could save money so that you could pay the tax and provide necessities.  

Household circumstances

The Commissioner or Board can consider the financial circumstances of other household members. For example, whether your spouse, partner, adult children or other adults living with you could contribute to costs. 

Other factors

The Commissioner or Board may also ask: 

• Could you pay the land tax by rearranging your finances, selling or drawing on non-essential assets? Generally, you cannot get relief if you have access to savings, investments or other income or monetary options. 
• Has the serious hardship been caused by your own act or omission? For example, a recent gift or loan to family or friends, failing to apply for some other entitlement or excessive spending on non-essential items. 
• Is the serious hardship short term or have you shown it is long term? 
• What have you done to try to ease your hardship or pay your tax? 
• Could you use equity in property or other assets as collateral for a loan to finance paying the tax without substantially reducing that equity? 
• Will you sell any of your assets in the next 12 months? 
• Can you make repayments on debts (such as mortgage or credit cards) more than the minimum required on your financial statements? 
• If you are a company, have you previously been granted relief and not traded out of difficulties? Have you entered a payment arrangement? 

Apply

You can apply for hardship relief by lodging an application. 

Before you apply, make sure you’ve considered whether:  

• you are in serious hardship 
• you’ve looked at other payment options  
• your current financial situation is short term 
• you made reasonable attempts to try to ease your hardship 
• you took reasonable steps to rearrange your finances, such as selling or drawing on non-essential assets. 

You should lodge your application within one month of receiving your land tax assessment.  

You must include: 

• details of the serious hardship you would suffer if you had to immediately pay the full amount of land tax 
• names of the people who would also suffer hardship 
• any other relevant factors that may lead to your serious hardship 
• if you apply outside the one-month period, reasons for the delay. 

You must also provide evidence, such as: 

• final letters of demand, debt collection agency letters and changes in financial income status 
• bank and credit card statements for all accounts you hold individually, with others and/or business accounts including all transaction details for the last 3 months 
• mortgage statements, including all transaction details for the last 3 months 
• Australian Taxation Office notice of assessment for the most recent financial year 
• details of all your actual and expected income, including the income of other members of your household 
• an estimate of your current monthly outgoings such as living expenses, medical costs and so on 
• a list of all your assets, including properties you own in Australia by yourself or with others, and properties sold in the last 12 months. 

Review and decision

Once we receive your application, we will contact you to:  

• discuss your matter  
• explore alternative options  
• explain the process  
• request more information, if required. 

Once the Commissioner or Board has considered your application, we will send you the decision in writing. If your application is rejected, we may charge interest on the amount owing from the due date. 

There is no appeal process. You cannot reapply for relief for the same land tax year.