You can also transfer title property by selling it to a family member. Parents often do this for children to give them a better deal than buying a property at market rates.
Under Australian law, you can give real estate to a relative as an outright gift. When giving ownership to a third party, there is no exchange of money. The gifting process involves filing a Transfer of Land with your title office. Filing a gift deed may also be necessary.
Gifting a property to a family trust is done by signing a gift deed, which establishes the transfer of ownership to the trust without payment. The process might be more complicated if there's still an outstanding home loan on the property. Selling the property to a family trust is another way to transfer ownership.
If an owner wants to add or remove a name from their Certificate of Title, a Transfer must be lodged with Land Services SA.
A Transfer of land form must be fully completed and is available on the Transfer of Land Act page at www.delwp.vic.gov.au/property-forms>Transfer of Land Act>Transfer. The Certificate(s) of Title must be supplied.
Transfers are usually done via gifting, through a conveyancer, but it's also possible to sell a property to a family member. If a property is jointly owned, a change can be made to the ownership split. Such transfers or mortgage changes incur fees.
It's best to use a conveyancer but it can cost you $500 to $2,000. Your partner must meet standard bank lending policy.
You can give ownership of your property to a family member as a gift. This simply requires filling out the necessary paperwork with your state revenue office and title office, including a transfer of land. Your conveyancer may advise you to organise a deed of gift as well.
In Australia, there are two main ways you can co-own a property, either as “tenants in common” or “joint tenants”. Keep in mind that irrespective of the ownership structure you choose, lenders typically list the same people on the property title and the mortgage.
How much does it cost to set up a family trust? In Australia, the cost of establishing a family trust is relatively low. A family trust generally costs $1,500 (plus GST) in legal documentation to set up, or $2,500 (plus GST) for a trust with a corporate trustee.
Inheriting money and assets
There are no inheritance or estate taxes in Australia. However, you may have tax obligations for the assets you inherit: capital gains tax may apply if you dispose of an asset inherited from a deceased estate.
Principal home owned by company or trust
A person may live in a home that is owned by a company or trust in which they have an interest. The home is assessed as the person's principal home IF the person has reasonable security of tenure.
There's no limit on how much money you can give or receive as a gift! However, there are some occasions where tax may be payable, or capital gains tax (CGT) may apply. For example, when gifting property, shares or crypto assets.
How long do you have to live in a house to avoid capital gains tax in Australia? To avoid CGT, you'll need to live in a property for twelve months for it to be counted as your main residence before you can move out and use it as an investment property.
If you inherit a property and later sell or otherwise dispose of it, you may be exempt from capital gains tax (CGT). The same exemption applies if you are the trustee of a deceased estate. The inherited property must include a dwelling and you must sell them together.
There is no gift tax in Australia (how your children may be affected is dealt with below), but if you're receiving the age pension or any other social security benefit from Centrelink, there are limits to the value of gifts that you can give.
SA Stamp Duty Exemptions
You may be exempt from paying stamp duty in SA in the following instances: Transfers from an estate of a deceased person to a beneficiary under a will. Domestic partnership transfers. Transfer of farming property between family members.
You inherit property when your parents or grandparents, or any other relative pass away. This inheritance can either be through a will or intestate succession. Intestate succession means that the property will pass on to your legal heirs through rules created by the laws of succession.
It is usually paid at settlement but you have up to three months after settlement to pay. You cannot receive transfer of the title to the property until you have paid the duty. For more information, visit State Revenue Office Victoria.
The vehicle registration transfer fee is $29.70 and other fees may apply if the registration renewal has expired.
This means transfers to someone who you are legally married to, or to someone with whom you are in a genuine domestic relationship, irrespective of gender, are free from stamp duty. All other transfers to relatives attract stamp duty even where the property is gifted and no money, or 'consideration' is paid.
Calculate your duty
Duty is calculated on a sliding scale, starting at 1.4% for properties valued at $25,000, and rising to 6.5% depending on the value of your property and when the agreement or arrangement for the transfer was entered into.