First home buyers will no longer pay any stamp duty in the ACT in an Australian-first move the government says is designed to help more people enter the property market.
Anyone buying a new unit-titled home in the ACT for themselves to live in will also no longer pay stamp duty, while the government will temporarily cut lease variation charges in half for "missing middle" developments.
The tax cuts will be included in Wednesday's budget and also include expanded stamp duty exemptions for pensioners, National Disability Insurance Scheme participants and anyone who has not owned property in the past five years.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the change opened the door for more renters to become owners and would support younger households to build their future in Canberra.
"Stamp duty has long been one of the biggest upfront hurdles to entering the housing market. From July 1, 2026, that barrier is gone for first home buyers in the ACT. We made this commitment, and this budget delivers it in full," Mr Barr said.
Mr Barr said extending stamp duty relief to pensioners and people buying new unit-titled homes would give older Canberrans more choice to downsize.
"That, in turn, frees up larger homes for growing families," he said.
Stamp duty concessions and exemptions have been progressively expanded in the ACT, but the change from July 1 allows first home buyers to avoid the transaction tax on a home of any value.
The ACT government is now more than halfway through a 20-year program to phase out stamp duty in favour of higher general rates, a move the government has said would be revenue neutral to the budget.
While the total amount of stamp duty collected by the ACT government has continued to rise each year, the rate levied on individual transactions has fallen.
A "missing middle" pattern book of housing designs, to be chosen through a design competition, will also offer plans for $1000 that can be built without a development application, the government said.
Changes to the Territory Plan to allow "missing middle" housing across Canberra's suburbs are currently before the Legislative Assembly.
Treasurer and Planning Minister Chris Steel said: "The pattern book will fast track more low-rise 'missing middle' homes that are well-designed and will fit in well with Canberra's streets and climate.
"Canberra has a long history of pattern book housing, and it's a model that we are returning to again to speed up the development of new homes and boost supply."
Mr Steel will hand down his second budget on Wednesday afternoon and has used the lead-up to declare housing was its centrepiece.
The government has already announced a $641 million investment in affordable, community and public housing, which it said was the largest ever in the ACT, and outlined a land-release program for 25,000 new homes in five years.
"In uncertain economic times, it is really important to have more homes that are available to provide stability and certainty for Canberra households," Mr Steel said last week.
Mr Steel also told The Canberra Times this week households and businesses were feeling the impact of higher interest rates, meaning the government would not seek to raise as much extra revenue as it did in last year's budget.
"We will also be looking at the revenue side of the budget, but we've had to be measured in the decisions that we've made, given the economic context of this year's budget," he said.
ACT Greens Jo Clay said her party had "secured some important wins" by working behind the scenes with Labor for months in the lead-up to the budget but remained concerned by the government's long-term strategy.
"The government should be looking at getting more federal funding and options like raising gambling tax to the national average - as put forward by economist Saul Eslake - to build a fairer tax system," Ms Clay said.
"Those who can afford it - big corporations and the gambling industry- should be paying their fair share. And the ACT needs to get a better deal from our federal government."
