Like many of us ‘would be’ property investors in Victoria, we’ve been plagued by SRO (State Revenue Office) significant increases in Land Tax – some as much as 400-500% over the past 12 months or so.

Substantial increases in Land Tax is a strategic approach by the Victorian Government to offset our mounting state debt. However, it doesn’t address the ongoing shortages of public housing; in fact exacerbates the problem of housing shortages throughout the state.

But don’t despair, there are things you can do to potentially offset the Land Tax debt:

1. sell the property and suffer two losses as Land tax has to be paid, and if you’re selling, there’s the implications of CGT (Capital Gains Tax) to consider as well!
2. refinance the mortgage over the property as many lenders have credit incentives including a ‘upfront’ cash component which could help to mitigate the Land Tax loss

If you have investment property with current loans, you would do well to contact us for an appraisal of your current financial situation with respect to your investment property/s. While there’s limited opportunity to reduce the tax debt, there are other avenues we can explore together including refinancing through other lending institutions which provide a credit incentive to migrate.

Give us a call for an obligation free chat.