Land tax assessment

You must pay land tax if you own land valued in excess of $300,000. Liability is assessed on land you are not using as your principal place of residence.
Last updated:

Your Land Tax Notice of Assessment will generally be issued between October and January.

The assessment is based on your ownership of land at midnight 30 June of the previous assessment (financial) year. 

If you own more than one lot, your land holdings will be aggregated. That means the land valuations will be added together before we calculate land tax. If you own lots in a different capacity, they will be assessed separately.

If you sell land between 1 July and 30 June, you are still liable for the land tax based on your ownership on the previous 30 June.

Calculating land tax

Land tax is calculated on the aggregated taxable value of all non-exempt land held in the same ownership at midnight on 30 June.

The taxable value for land is the lesser of the current unimproved value of the land or 150% of the previous year’s unimproved value.

Use the online calculator to calculate your land tax liability.

We apply the appropriate rate of tax to the aggregated taxable value of the land. Generally, we only aggregate land owned by the same owners. For example, the value of land owned solely by you is not usually combined with the value of land you own jointly with another person or with land that you have an interest in through a company or trust.

Metropolitan region improvement tax

If you are liable to pay land tax, you may also be required to pay metropolitan region improvement tax. This is used to finance the cost of providing land for roads, open spaces, parks and similar public facilities.

See a map of the metropolitan region.

Land tax rates

The rate of land tax differs according to the aggregated taxable value of the land.

See the Land Tax Act 2002 for rates from previous years.

Aggregated taxable value of land Rate of land tax
$0 - $300,000 Nil
$300,001 - $420,000 $300
$420,000 - $1,000,000 $300 + 0.0025 dollars for each $1 in excess of $420,000
$1,000,000 - $1,800,000 $1,750 + 0.009 dollars for each $1 in excess of $1,000,000
$1,800,000 - $5,000,000 $8,950 + 0.018 dollars for each $1 in excess of $1,800,000
$5,000,000 - $11,000,000 $66,550 + 0.02 dollars for each $1 in excess of $5,000,000
$11,000,000 + $186,550 + 0.0267 dollars for each $1 in excess of $11,000,000

Metropolitan region improvement tax is imposed on metropolitan property with a land tax liability at a rate of 0.14 cent for every dollar of the aggregated taxable value in excess of $300,000.

If you own land jointly with someone else

The land is assessed separately from any land you own solely, and from any land you own with any other person.

For example, if you owned one lot alone, a second lot jointly with John Citizen, and a third lot jointly with John Citizen and Mary Citizen, each of those lots would be assessed separately.

If you hold land as a trustee

You will be liable for any land tax assessed on land you hold as a trustee as if the land was your own unless you hold the land in trust for different persons.

If you hold land in trust for different persons, land tax is assessed separately on the land owned for each separate trust.

If you hold land in trust for another person and you own other land, land tax is assessed separately on each. In certain circumstances, the land will be assessed jointly.

Land used as a trustee's principal place of residence is not exempt unless the property is specifically held on behalf of a disabled beneficiary who uses it as their principal place of residence.

If your assessment includes land that is held by a trust, advise us in writing to ensure your assessment is correct. When advising of trust ownership, provide the endorsed Offer and Acceptance from the purchase of the land and the Deed of Trust (as a minimum - the schedule and execution pages).

You may be eligible for an exemption if

  • the land is held in trust by an executor or administrator of a deceased estate and is occupied as a primary residence by a beneficiary under the will or
  • if land is held in trust for a disabled beneficiary and is occupied as their primary residence.

If you lease land

If you lease from the WA Government, a government agency, local government or public statutory authority, you are considered the owner of that land and you are liable to pay land tax.

If such a lease or other arrangement is terminated involuntarily before its expiry date, you may be allowed a rebate in relation to the portion of the assessment year after the termination day.

If you subdivide a lot

A newly subdivided lot is assessable for land tax from the 30 June following approval of the subdivision, even if a certificate of title has not been issued for the new lot.

A lot is a defined portion of land approved by the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC).

See Commissioner's Practice LT 19 'Newly Subdivided Land'

When to contact us

Contact us before the due date for payment shown on your assessment notice if

  • any land you owned at 30 June has not been included on the assessment notice
  • you have received separate assessment notices for land owned by the same person (all land in the same ownership must be aggregated in one assessment)
  • you have sold the land and settlement occurred on or before midnight 30 June
  • land you own beneficially has been assessed together with land you own as a trustee
  • land you own as trustee for a trust has been assessed together with land you own as trustee for a different trust
  • land you own as trustee is receiving a residential exemption
  • any exempt land was not used for the exempt purpose shown on the assessment notice or
  • your assessment notice contains any other errors or omissions.

We carry out compliance activities to ensure you pay the right amount of tax or are entitled to any exemption you receive.

Objecting to your assessment

Lodging an objection does not remove or defer your land tax liability. We may apply penalty tax if you don't pay your assessment by the due date.

If you think your assessment is incorrect

Before lodging an objection against your assessment, contact us on 9262 1200 as we may be able to resolve your enquiry over the phone.

Lodge your objection with:
Commissioner of State Revenue
RevenueWA
GPO Box T1600
Perth WA 6845

An objection against your assessment must

  • be lodged within 60 days of the date of issue shown on your assessment notice
  • be in writing with OBJECTION clearly written at the top of the letter and
  • state fully and in detail the grounds of your objection.

See more information about the objection and review process.

If you think your valuation is incorrect

The Valuer-General determines the unimproved values for all land in the State. This valuation is used for your land tax assessment.

If you believe the land has been valued incorrectly, lodge an objection with:

The Valuer-General
Landgate - Valuations and Property Analytics
PO Box 2222
Midland WA 6936

Before lodging an objection, contact Landgate on (08) 9273 7373.

For further information or to download a guide to valuations or an objection form, see the Landgate website at https://www.landgate.wa.gov.au/

Watch a video about land tax assessments

See other videos on our YouTube channel.