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You must notify us via our online portal if you own a property in inner and middle Melbourne that was vacant for more than 6 months in 2023.

Do I have to pay vacant residential land tax?

This page outlines what you should consider before making a notification, and what information you need to provide to complete the notification. 

Go straight to our online portal

Once you have made a notification, you can log back into the online portal and update your contact details or change how you receive your assessment notice (email or post).

  1. Do I need to make a notification?

    You only need to notify us about a property that was vacant for more than 6 months in a calendar year if it is in 1 of the following municipal council areas:

    • Banyule
    • Bayside
    • Boroondara
    • Darebin
    • Glen Eira
    • Hobsons Bay
    • Manningham
    • Maribyrnong
    • Melbourne
    • Monash
    • Moonee Valley
    • Merri-bek (formerly Moreland)
    • Port Phillip
    • Stonnington
    • Whitehorse
    • Yarra

    Homes under construction or renovation

    Homes will not be considered vacant for up to 2 years from the date a building permit for construction or renovation was issued. The Commissioner of State Revenue can extend this period under certain circumstances. You do not need to notify us about such property.

    If you have made a previous notification 

    If you have made a notification for a previous year and your circumstances have not changed, you don't need to make a subsequent notification.

    Subsequent notifications are necessary in circumstances such as: 

    • The previously notified property became vacant
    • The previously notified property was vacant and became occupied. 
    • The previously notified property became eligible, or ceases to be eligible, for an exemption.
    • A property was acquired 2 years prior to the assessment year.
    • A previous uninhabitable property notification was made prior to 15 January 2023.
    • We requested an update of a vacant status by a specific date.
  2. Before you make a notification

    Am I eligible for an exemption?

    In some circumstances, homes unoccupied for more than 6 months in a calendar year may be exempt from the tax. Owners of exempt homes must use our online portal to claim an exemption.

    Read about when a property is eligible for an exemption, or use our online tool to determine if your property qualifies for an exemption.

    Claim an exemption via our online portal

    Are you an existing customer?

    You can use your existing customer information to pre-populate your details in the portal, saving you time. To do this, you will need your State Revenue Office customer number and 1 of the following:

    • Assessment number from a land tax assessment notice.
    • Assessment number from a vacant residential land tax assessment notice.
    • Reference number from a previous vacant residential land tax notification.
    • Correspondence number from a letter we sent to you about the vacant residential land tax.

    If you have received a letter from us about vacant residential land tax but haven't received an assessment, you can pre-populate property information by using the correspondence number on your letter. 

    Nominate a contact person

    The portal allows you to decide who receives the vacant residential land tax assessment notice and other correspondence about the tax. You can select to have correspondence sent to the land owner or an authorised representative, such as an accountant or solicitor.

    If you want correspondence sent to an authorised representative, you need to provide their full name and contact details, including email, postal address and phone number.

    If you are using our online portal to make a notification on someone else's behalf and you want to nominate an authorised representative, you must also complete our Change of contact details form (GEN Form 03).

    Joint owners

    If a vacant property is jointly owned, you only need to provide the details of 1 of the joint owners on the ‘Land owner details’ page of the portal. We will then send all future vacant residential land tax correspondence to that owner on behalf of all joint owners, unless you nominate an authorised representative. 

  3. Make a notification

    The portal lets you notify us about multiple properties in 1 submission. However, if you own properties under multiple ownership structures, you will need to make a separate submission for each ownership structure. For example:

    • If you need to notify us about 3 properties which you jointly own with your partner, you can let us know about all 3 properties in the 1 submission.
    • If you jointly own 1 property with your partner and 1 property on your own, you will need to log in to the portal twice and make a separate submission for each.
    • If you need to notify us about a property you own and a property owned by a company or trust, you will need to log in to the portal twice and make a separate submission for each.

    Make a notification via our online portal

    Only make a notification using the online portal if you are the owner of the property or you have the owner's permission to make a notification on their behalf.

    If you suspect a property owner is not complying with their obligations, please use our tip-off form, not the online portal.  

  4. Update your contact details

    Once you have made a notification, you can use the online portal to update your contact details or change how you receive your assessment notice (email or post).

    To do this, you will need to verify your identity on the 'welcome' page by supplying your State Revenue Office customer number and 1 of the following:

    • Assessment number from a land tax assessment notice.
    • Assessment number from a vacant residential land tax assessment notice.
    • Reference number from a previous vacant residential land tax notification.
    • Correspondence number from a letter we sent to you about the vacant residential land tax.

    The portal allows you to change your contact details for vacant residential land tax purposes only. If you would like to change your contact details for other taxes and levies, please complete our change of contact details form.

    Update contact details via online portal

Next Steps

Once a notification has been submitted, an email confirming that we have received the notification will be sent to the person who completed it, along with a PDF copy of the submission.

If the land owner is liable for vacant residential land tax, an assessment will be sent to them or their authorised representative via email or post, depending on which was nominated as the preferred communications channel.

Understanding your vacant residential land tax assessment

If an exemption has been claimed, the owner or their authorised representative will receive confirmation that it has been processed, or a request for more information. Either way, records supporting an exemption should be kept for 5 years.

We process assessments and exemption confirmations periodically, so we ask for your patience if you do not hear from us immediately. 

Customer survey

Help us improve our service by completing a short survey about our vacant residential land tax online portal.

Complete survey

Last modified: 15 December 2023

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