Stamp Duty Exemption for Deceased Estates in the ACT (Section 232D)
Most families settling an estate in the Australian Capital Territory don't expect to owe stamp duty on property transfers — and for the most common scenarios, they won't. But the exemption has a specific legal trigger, and it is narrower than most people assume.
Getting this wrong means an unexpected conveyance duty bill from the ACT Revenue Office that can run into tens of thousands of dollars on a typical Canberra property.
The rule: full conformity vs partial conformity
Under Section 232D of the ACT Duties Act 1999, no conveyance duty is payable when a property is transferred "under and in conformity with" the trusts contained in the Will — or, for intestate estates, in conformity with the intestacy rules.
"Full conformity" means the property goes exactly where the Will (or intestacy formula) directs, with no side arrangements between beneficiaries.
"Partial conformity" occurs when beneficiaries vary the distribution — even informally. In that case, duty is assessed on the portion of the property that deviates from what the Will specified.
Scenario 1: Full conformity — no duty payable
Will says: "I leave my home at 14 Brindabella Street equally to my two children." Both children accept their 50% share as directed.
This is full conformity. Neither child owes any conveyance duty on the transfer of their share. The executor lodges Form 032-TA with Access Canberra, attaches the Grant of Probate, and the transfer proceeds duty-free.
Scenario 2: Partial conformity — duty applies to the varied portion
Will says: the same thing. But one sibling wants to buy out the other's 50% share and own the property outright.
The 50% transfer in accordance with the Will: duty-exempt. The 50% buyout between siblings: not in conformity with the Will. Conveyance duty is assessed on the full market value of the half share being sold.
On a $900,000 Canberra property, that's a $450,000 dutiable transaction. The ACT Revenue Office charges duty at standard rates on that amount.
The executor must report partial conformity transactions to the ACT Revenue Office. Failing to do so — and proceeding as if the transfer were fully exempt — is a serious compliance error.
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Scenario 3: Intestate estate (no Will)
Where the deceased had no Will, the ACT intestacy rules determine how the estate is divided. If the administrator distributes property exactly as the Administration and Probate Act 1929 requires — no more, no less — the transfers are duty-exempt.
But if family members reach private agreements that depart from the statutory formula (for example, one adult child takes the house while others receive cash in different proportions than the law would require), that departure triggers duty on the non-conforming portion.
What the ACT Revenue Office requires
Before completing the land title transfer, the executor or conveyancer needs to obtain confirmation from the ACT Revenue Office that the transfer is either duty-exempt or correctly assessed.
For exempt transfers, you'll need to demonstrate:
- The Will (or intestacy rules) directing the specific transfer
- Evidence that the beneficiary who receives the property is the person the Will names
- No side agreements altering the distribution
The ACT Revenue Office administers conveyance duty through its online portal. All deceased estate property transfer applications need to run through this step before the Access Canberra Land Titles office will complete the title change.
The "family arrangement" trap
The scenario that catches executors most often is not a deliberate arrangement — it's a family conversation that ends with someone saying "well, you keep the house and we'll sort out the cash between us." That informal agreement, if it results in a transfer that differs from what the Will says, creates a dutiable transaction.
Before any family arrangement is agreed to, the executor should understand exactly what the conveyance duty implications are. A one-hour consultation with a solicitor or conveyancer at this stage is far cheaper than discovering the duty liability after the fact.
Joint tenants: the stamp duty picture is different
If the property was held as joint tenants (not tenants in common), it bypasses the Will entirely and passes automatically to the surviving owner on death. The surviving owner files Form 015-ND (Notice of Death by Surviving Proprietor). No stamp duty applies to this kind of transfer — it operates by survivorship, not as a testamentary disposition.
Quick reference
| Transfer Type | Stamp Duty? |
|---|---|
| Joint tenant → surviving proprietor (Form 015-ND) | No |
| Will beneficiary receives property exactly as directed | No |
| One beneficiary buys out another's share | Yes — on the buy-out portion |
| Family agreement alters distribution from Will | Yes — on the varied portion |
| Intestate distribution follows statutory formula | No |
| Intestate family arrangement departs from formula | Yes — on the departed portion |
Understanding the stamp duty rules before you complete the property transfer — not after — is what separates executors who close estates cleanly from those who end up with unexpected tax assessments.
The ACT Estate Settlement Guide covers the full conveyance duty exemption rules, the ACT Revenue Office process, and how to structure family arrangements to minimise duty exposure where legally possible.
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