Vendors who have entered into a contract for sale of land in New South Wales on or after 1 July 2016 are now required to serve a section 47 Land Tax Clearance Certificate on the purchaser:

• for a contract scheduled to complete within 14 days, at exchange; or
• for a contract scheduled to complete in more than 14 days, at least 14 days before completion.

Land tax is a charge on land owned in New South Wales and is calculated at the taxing date (midnight on 31 December) each year. A land tax charge remains on land until the tax is paid or an exemption is allowed. The most common exemption is principal place of residence.

Due to recent updates of Commonwealth reporting requirements, new vendor information will be required in the application for the Land Tax Clearance Certificate.  This is, of course, in addition to the clearance certificate now required for sales of residential properties over $2M.

For further information, please contact us.