Land Tax ACT 2026-27: Fixed Charge, AUV Rates and Calculator Guide

The ACT is the only Australian jurisdiction with no tax-free threshold for land tax — every non-exempt property pays a fixed charge plus a variable rate, regardless of land value. The trade-off is that owner-occupied homes are completely outside the system: ACT land tax only applies to property that isn't your principal place of residence.

Use the Land Tax Calculator to estimate your exact ACT land tax liability.

Quick answer: ACT land tax combines a fixed charge of $1,778 with a variable rate on your property's Average Unimproved Value (AUV). For an AUV of $600,000, the 2026-27 land tax bill is approximately $7,418 per year. There is no threshold — the fixed charge applies to every non-exempt property, however low the value.

ACT land tax rates 2026-27

Source: ACT Revenue Office, revenue.act.gov.au. Rates apply per property, not aggregated across your ACT portfolio.

Fixed charge: $1,778 per property (from 1 July 2026)

Variable charge — Average Unimproved Value (AUV) marginal rates:

AUV	Rate
Up to $150,000	0.54% of AUV
$150,001 – $275,000	$810 + 0.64% of amount above $150,000
$275,001 – $1,000,000	$1,610 + 1.24% of amount above $275,000
$1,000,001 – $2,000,000	$10,600 + 1.25% of amount above $1,000,000
Over $2,000,000	$23,100 + 1.26% of amount above $2,000,000

Foreign ownership surcharge: an additional 0.75% of AUV per year applies if the property is owned by a foreign person, on top of standard land tax.

Assessment: Quarterly, based on ownership and use as at 1 July, 1 October, 1 January and 1 April. There is no daily pro-rating within a quarter — your status on the assessment date determines the full quarter's liability.

Worked example: $600,000 AUV in the ACT

Scenario: You own a rented unit in Canberra. The ACT Revenue Office has assessed the Average Unimproved Value (AUV) — averaged over the current and up to four prior years — at $600,000.

AUV: $600,000 — falls in the $275,001–$1,000,000 bracket
Variable charge base: $1,610
Plus: 1.24% × ($600,000 − $275,000) = 1.24% × $325,000 = $4,030
Variable charge: $1,610 + $4,030 = $5,640
Plus fixed charge: $1,778
Total land tax: $7,418

If you are a foreign owner, add the 0.75% surcharge on AUV: 0.75% × $600,000 = $4,500, taking the total to $11,918.

The fixed charge means even a low-AUV ACT rental unit carries a meaningful minimum land tax bill — there is no equivalent to the $50,000–$300,000 tax-free thresholds that apply in the states.

What AUV (Average Unimproved Value) means

The AUV is not a single year's valuation — it's the average of the property's unimproved value over up to five years (2022 to 2026 for the 2026-27 year). Averaging smooths out the effect of any single year's sharp valuation swing, so your land tax doesn't jump or fall as dramatically as raw land values might in a hot or cooling market. Newly created properties use a shorter averaging period based on however many years of valuation data exist.

ACT land tax: key rules

Owner-occupied homes are fully outside the system

Unlike every state, which applies a specific "principal residence exemption" within a broader land tax regime, the ACT structures it the other way around: land tax only applies if the property is not your principal place of residence. Only one owner needs to live in the home as their main residence for the exemption to apply — the other owners don't need to reside there too.

What triggers land tax in the ACT

Land tax applies to ACT residential property that is:

Rented out to a tenant
Vacant and not your principal residence
Owned by a company or the trustee of a trust
A secondary dwelling on your home's title (e.g. a rented granny flat), even if the main house is your principal residence

Foreign ownership surcharge (0.75%)

Foreign persons who own ACT residential land pay an additional 0.75% of AUV per year, on top of standard land tax. This applies even where a foreign owner has a nil or nominal-rent arrangement with an occupant — the surcharge is charged, though standard land tax may not be, since the foreign owner isn't renting at market rate.

No aggregation threshold

ACT land tax rates and the fixed charge apply per property individually, not aggregated across your total ACT landholdings the way NSW or Victoria aggregate. Owning multiple ACT investment properties means paying the fixed charge and variable rate separately on each one.

Quarterly assessment

ACT land tax is assessed quarterly — on 1 July, 1 October, 1 January and 1 April — based on the property's use on that specific date. Because there's no daily pro-rating, the timing of when a property starts or stops being rented, relative to these four dates, affects a full quarter's liability.

Reducing your ACT land tax bill

Confirm your principal residence status is registered correctly if you live in the property — this is what exempts it entirely, not a partial concession.

Time changes in use around the quarterly dates. Since liability is assessed per quarter rather than daily, moving a tenant in or out just before or after 1 July, 1 October, 1 January or 1 April can shift which quarter's land tax applies.

Factor the fixed charge into small-value property decisions. Because the $1,778 fixed charge applies regardless of AUV, a low-value ACT rental property carries a proportionally larger land tax burden than an equivalent low-value property in a state with a genuine tax-free threshold.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a land tax threshold in the ACT?

No. The ACT is the only jurisdiction with no tax-free threshold — the $1,778 fixed charge applies to every non-exempt property regardless of its Average Unimproved Value, in addition to the variable AUV-based rate.

How is ACT land tax calculated?

ACT land tax combines a fixed charge ($1,778 for 2026-27) with a variable charge calculated on the property's Average Unimproved Value (AUV) using the marginal rate table above. AUV is averaged over up to five years of valuations rather than a single year.

Do I pay land tax on my home in the ACT?

No, provided at least one owner occupies it as their principal place of residence. ACT land tax applies only to property that is rented, vacant, company/trust-owned, or a secondary rented dwelling — not to owner-occupied homes.

What is the ACT foreign ownership surcharge?

Foreign persons who own ACT residential land pay an additional 0.75% of AUV per year, on top of standard land tax and the fixed charge.

When is ACT land tax assessed?

ACT land tax is assessed quarterly, based on the property's ownership and use as at 1 July, 1 October, 1 January and 1 April each year. There is no daily pro-rating within a quarter.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial, tax or legal advice. Land tax charges, AUV rates and the foreign ownership surcharge are set by the ACT Government and subject to change. Verify current rates with the ACT Revenue Office before making financial decisions.