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Do I pay stamp duty again when I upsize?
Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 11 November 2026 · 2 min read
The short answer
Of course you do. Two things are certain in life, death and taxes, and the government wants its share in the form of stamp duty, based on the purchase price of whatever you're buying. There's no way around it.
If you're selling and buying, you get hit on both sides: agent fees on the sale, stamp duty on the purchase. The real question isn't whether you pay it, it's how we fund it, from your equity, your cash, or the sale of your current place.
The 60 second version, filmed from the driver's seat. The rest of this page is the detail underneath it.
Why you pay it every time
Stamp duty is a state government tax on buying property, and it's charged on the purchase, not on you as a person. So it doesn't matter that you paid it when you bought your first place, or that you're selling one home to buy another. Each purchase gets its own bill, worked out on the price of the place you're buying.
The first home buyer concessions you may have had the first time around generally don't come with you. Those are for first home buyers, and once you've owned a home, you're paying the full amount like everyone else. So when you upsize to a more expensive home, you're usually paying more stamp duty than you did last time, because it scales with the price. It's the price of being able to buy property in the lucky country.
How we fund it
Depending on how much equity you've got, we may be able to fund the stamp duty as part of the loan. If your current place has gone up in value and you've paid the loan down, there's often enough equity to cover the deposit and the costs on the next one, stamp duty included, without needing cash on top.
Otherwise, you've got the cash to pay for it, or you've sold first and the sale proceeds cover it. Either way, it's coming out of somewhere, so it needs to be in the numbers from the very first conversation. When I work out what you can buy next, I'm working it back from what's in and out the door, which means agent fees on the sale, stamp duty and legals on the purchase, and whatever's left over for the deposit.
The honest bit: budget it before you fall in love with a place
Stamp duty on a bigger home is a big number, and it's money that doesn't build any equity. Upsizers get caught when they budget for the price and forget the costs on both sides of the move.
Each state sets its own rates and a few have narrow concessions, so check the current amount with your state revenue office's calculator before you set your budget.
Working out what you can upsize to?
A 30 minute call. We go through what your place is worth, what you owe, and what's left once agent fees and stamp duty are taken out, so you know your real budget.
No cost to you. The bank pays me when a loan settles. · How I get paid
Next question
What does it actually cost me to sell a property?My conservative budget is 3% of the sale price for the agent and selling costs, then stamp duty on whatever you buy next.
Related answers
The full guide: Buying your next home The full guide: What buying a home actually costs Do first home buyers still pay stamp duty? Do I need to save a full 20% deposit again for my next home? Can I take my current loan with me to the next house? Do I have to sell my current home before I buy the next one?Not your question? Book a call and ask it, or call 0437 189 939.