Vacant residential land tax applies to residential property in Victoria that is left unoccupied for more than six months in a calendar year. It now reaches well beyond the inner-Melbourne suburbs where it began, and it catches people who never thought of their property as vacant — a home between tenants, a house being renovated, a parent’s property waiting to be sold after they died. There are exemptions, but they have conditions, and they have to be established properly.
Part of our tax & State Revenue practice.
We look at how the property was actually used during the year, and whether an exemption genuinely fits.
Occupation is proved with documents — leases, utility records, building permits, estate papers. We identify what the SRO will want to see.
Depending on the position, that may mean notifying the SRO correctly, claiming an exemption, or objecting to an assessment already issued.
Broadly, residential land that is not used and occupied as a home — by you, a tenant or a family member — for more than six months of the calendar year. How the months are counted, and what counts as occupation, is where most disputes arise.
Yes — including for some holiday homes, properties being built or renovated, homes of owners living elsewhere for work or care, and recently deceased estates. Each exemption has conditions, and they are applied strictly.
Check the date on it — the objection period runs from that date. Then get advice on whether the property was genuinely vacant and whether an exemption applies, before the time to object runs out.
General information only — for advice about your situation, book a consult or call us.
Speak with a lawyer who acts in State Revenue Office matters across Victoria — book online, or call us.
