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First Home Loans Grant |
First Home Owner Grant
FHOG General Information
To offset
the impact of the introduction of the
goods and services tax (GST), the
Commonwealth has requested that the States
and Territories assist first home buyers
through the establishment of the First
Home Owner Grant (FHOG).
The First
Home Owner Grant applies from 1 July 2000.
Each State and Territory Revenue Office is
responsible for administrating the grant
in their respective jurisdictions.
The broad
principles of the grant are:
You are eligible for
the Australian Government’s First Home
Owner Grant and Boost if you:
- Are an Australian citizen or
permanent resident
- Are buying or building your
first home in Australia
- Have the intention of occupying
the property as your principal place
of residence within 12 months of the
settlement.
First Home Owner Boost extended
In October 2008, the
Australian Government introduced a Boost
to the First Home Owner Grant giving
eligible first home buyers' additional
funds towards their first home purchase.
The FHOB will be gradually phased
out. New details regarding the Boost are
as follows:
Until 30
September, eligible first home buyers
will receive:
- $21,000 ($7,000
FHOG + $14,000 FHOB) of assistance
if they buy a newly built home
- $14,000 ($7,000 FHOG + $7,000
FHOB) of assistance if they buy an
existing home
From 1 October
until 31 December, eligible first home
buyers will receive:
- $14,000 ($7,000
FHOG + $7,000 FHOB) of assistance if
they buy newly built homes
- $10,500 ($7,000 FHOG + $3,500
FHOB) of assistance if they buy
existing homes
- The First Home Owners Boost will
no longer be available after
December 31, 2009
How
the changes will effect you
- Contracts must be
exchanged before the stated cut-off
dates
- Some State
Governments have announced
additional incentives for new homes
- To be eligible for the full
amount you need to act quickly
before Sept 30, 2009
Other
things to consider:
If you are buying the
property in conjunction with others,
they must also meet the same criteria
for the Grant to be applicable.
If you’re eligible you can receive
the Grant regardless of your income, the
area in which you are planning to buy or
build, or the value of your first home.
The Grant is not means tested and no tax
is payable on it.
The grant
assistance will not be means tested and
joint applicants will be restricted to a
single application for a single property
and only one payment will be made. If the
consideration of the home is less than the grant amount paid to the
applicant will equal the consideration.
You may be eligible for the
Federal Government First Home
Owner Scheme (FHOG) or stamp
duty concessions. For more
information, please contact
your local State or
Territorial Revenue Office:
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