How much deposit do I need to buy a house in Queensland?

Twenty per cent of the price avoids lenders mortgage insurance, but you also need duty and fees on top, in cash. Buying with less is common - below a 20% deposit LMI usually applies, and eligible first home buyers can use the First Home Guarantee to buy with 5% and no LMI at all.

How much is stamp duty in QLD?

Transfer duty on a $700,000 purchase is $24,525 at standard rates, or $17,350 with the home concession if you are buying somewhere to live. A first home buyer pays nothing up to $700,000, with the concession phasing out in steps and reaching nil at $800,000.

Do first home buyers pay stamp duty in Queensland?

Not on an established home up to $700,000, and above that the concession phases out by $800,000. Since 1 May 2025, a first home buyer purchasing a brand-new home or eligible vacant land pays no transfer duty at any price - which is the largest single saving available and the one most people do not know about.

What is LMI and can I avoid it?

Lenders mortgage insurance protects the lender, not you, and is normally charged above an 80% loan-to-value ratio. You can avoid it with a 20% deposit, through the First Home Guarantee if you are eligible, with a guarantor, or through waivers some lenders offer certain professions. It is usually added to the loan, which means paying interest on it for the life of the loan.

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Deposit, Stamp Duty and LMI Calculator.

Deposit, duty, LMI and the fees nobody mentions.

The deposit is rarely what stops people. Transfer duty, conveyancing, building and pest, the titles registration fee and LMI all come out of your savings before a cent reaches the deposit, and together they are usually the number nobody has budgeted for. This works out what is genuinely left, with Queensland's home and first home concessions applied - including the change that means a first home buyer on a brand-new home pays no duty at all.

The purchase

Purchase price

$200,000$2,000,000

What you have savedeverything available for the purchase

$0$800,000

You are

Buyingduty applies above $700,000, on a stepped concession

Lenders mortgage insurancemost people capitalise it - you then pay interest on it for 30 years

First Home Guarantee5% deposit with no LMI - no income test or place limits since Oct 2025

You'd have this much left for the deposit

$114,333

That is a 16.3% deposit on $700,000, borrowing $592,695 at 83.7% LVR. Above 80%, so LMI of about $7,028 applies.

Transfer duty

Nil

Costs before deposit

$5,667

Loan required

$592,695

Short of a 20% deposit

$25,667

Where your savings actually go

Transfer dutyfirst home concession - nil at this priceNil

Conveyancing−$1,800

Building & pest−$650

Titles registrationtransfer and mortgage lodgement - the transfer fee scales with price−$2,917

Searches−$300

Left for the deposit$114,333

How this is calculated＋

Queensland transfer duty on the scales published by the Queensland Revenue Office, checked as at 15 August 2026: the home concession where you are buying somewhere to live, the first home concession where it applies, and standard rates for an investment. Duty and fees come out of your savings first, because they do, and whatever survives is your deposit.

The first home concession is a stepped rebate, not a smooth taper. It is worth $17,350 up to $709,999, then drops $1,735 for every $10,000 of price, reaching nil at $800,000. Calculators that taper it smoothly are wrong by up to about $1,100 in the middle of that band.
A first home buyer on a brand-new home or eligible vacant land pays no transfer duty at all, with no price cap - a change that took effect 1 May 2025 and is the single biggest saving available here. Switch the "buying" option to see it.
The titles transfer fee is not a flat charge. It scales with the price - roughly $2,670 at $700,000 and $4,070 at $1m - and it is real cash at settlement.
The First Home Guarantee removes LMI entirely for eligible first home buyers with a 5% deposit, and since October 2025 has no income test and no place limits. The Brisbane price cap applies. Confirm your eligibility before relying on it.
From 1 August 2026 the home and first home concessions require the buyer to be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or a specified foreign retiree.
Concessions carry residence conditions - broadly, move in within a year of settlement (two years for land) and do not sell or lease the whole property within a year of moving in. Breaching them triggers a reassessment with interest.
Not modelled: the 8% foreign acquirer surcharge (these figures assume you are not a foreign person), council and water rates adjusted at settlement, moving costs, and body corporate levies. LMI is indicative - real premiums come from the insurer's table. Budget a little beyond this, not exactly this.
Queensland only. Every state prices duty differently and the concessions differ more than the rates do. Buying interstate - ask us rather than trusting a number from here.

Concessions, guarantee eligibility, LMI waivers for some professions and guarantor structures all move this number. LINK Advance knows which ones you qualify for.

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A guide only - not legal, tax or credit advice, and not a quote. Duty rates, concession thresholds and grant amounts change; confirm current figures with the Queensland Revenue Office or your solicitor before relying on them. LINK Advance are licensed finance brokers.

Questions people ask

How much deposit do I need to buy a house in Queensland?: Twenty per cent of the price avoids lenders mortgage insurance, but you also need duty and fees on top, in cash. Buying with less is common - below a 20% deposit LMI usually applies, and eligible first home buyers can use the First Home Guarantee to buy with 5% and no LMI at all.
How much is stamp duty in QLD?: Transfer duty on a $700,000 purchase is $24,525 at standard rates, or $17,350 with the home concession if you are buying somewhere to live. A first home buyer pays nothing up to $700,000, with the concession phasing out in steps and reaching nil at $800,000.
Do first home buyers pay stamp duty in Queensland?: Not on an established home up to $700,000, and above that the concession phases out by $800,000. Since 1 May 2025, a first home buyer purchasing a brand-new home or eligible vacant land pays no transfer duty at any price - which is the largest single saving available and the one most people do not know about.
What is LMI and can I avoid it?: Lenders mortgage insurance protects the lender, not you, and is normally charged above an 80% loan-to-value ratio. You can avoid it with a 20% deposit, through the First Home Guarantee if you are eligible, with a guarantor, or through waivers some lenders offer certain professions. It is usually added to the loan, which means paying interest on it for the life of the loan.

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