Foreign Buyers and Surcharge Purchaser Duty in NSW: What You Need to Know in 2025

Intro

Buying property as a foreign person comes with extra costs—and recent moves by Queensland to increase its surcharge purchaser duty have put this back in the spotlight (more info here).

If you’re buying in NSW, here’s what you need to know about foreign buyer duty (correctly called surcharge purchaser duty), how it applies, and why due diligence matters—especially if you’re investing through a trust, company or cross-border structure.

What Is Surcharge Purchaser Duty in NSW?

As of 2025, NSW applies an 8% surcharge purchaser duty to foreign buyers of residential property. You can find full details on Revenue NSW’s official guidance. This is on top of regular stamp duty and applies to:

• Individuals who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents

• Foreign companies or trusts

• Australian companies with substantial foreign ownership

It’s important to note that citizens of New Zealand and permanent residents with valid visas are exempt, but temporary visa holders are not.

Recent Developments: Queensland’s Increase & Market Tensions

In February 2025, Queensland raised its surcharge duty from 7% to 8%, matching NSW. This sparked renewed criticism from developers and foreign investors, particularly from Singapore and Korea—some of whom have double tax treaty exemptions.

So far, NSW has not made further increases, but scrutiny is growing.

Tip: The risk isn’t just the surcharge—it’s getting the foreign status wrong and being liable for retrospective penalties.

Hidden Traps: Trusts, Nominees & Corporate Buyers

If you’re buying through a discretionary trust (even as an Australian citizen), and the trust doesn’t explicitly exclude foreign beneficiaries, you may be deemed a foreign person under the law.

That can trigger:

• 8% surcharge purchaser duty

• 4% annual land tax surcharge

Tip: Always review your trust deed and structure in advance—this isn’t something you want to discover at settlement.

Case Law in Practice: Monisse v Chief Commissioner [2022]

In Monisse v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2022] NSWCATAD 276, the purchaser acquired property through a discretionary trust. Even though the buyer was an Australian citizen, the trust deed didn’t exclude foreign persons from being potential beneficiaries.

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal upheld the surcharge, confirming that potential foreign beneficiaries are enough to trigger foreign person status.

How to Protect Yourself

• Confirm your buyer profile before contract exchange

• Review trust deeds with a solicitor

• Disclose accurately on the OSR purchaser declaration

• Don’t rely on agents or conveyancers to identify surcharge risks

Why It Matters

Whether you’re an international buyer or an Australian using a corporate or trust structure, surcharge liability is a real cost—and avoidable with the right advice.

For many investors, the issue isn’t the rate—it’s getting caught out later, with penalties and delay.

Need Help?

I work with clients across NSW to review purchase structures, trust deeds and tax risk before the contract is signed. Fixed-fee advice. No surprises.

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