Housing · the cost of buying

Rent vs buy

Why this matters. Renting and buying are different cash flows. Stamp duty is paid once, from the state table. The weekly comparison is not a forecast of the house price.

You can afford the house. The question is what you give up: stamp duty, land tax, lenders’ insurance (often waived for doctors), and tax if you later sell. Compared with leaving the same cash in shares.

Assumptions

Purchase price$$0 to $99,999,999

Deposit%5 % to 40 %

Rate%3 % to 10 %

Hold (years)years3 years to 25 years

Rent if you don’t buy (weekly)$$0 to $99,999,999Site value (land tax)$$0 to $99,999,999Unimproved value the state uses, not market price.

This is the home you live in — land tax is often nothing

Doctor waiver on lenders mortgage insurance

Sell at the end — only half the gain is taxed

Half the gain is taxed — current law

This applies 50% to the whole gain, so for a sale after 2027 it can overstate the after-tax result. Law since 26 June 2026 (Tax Reform No. 1 Act 2026). From 1 July 2027, negative gearing of residential property is limited to new builds. Properties held at 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026 are exempt from the negative gearing change. From 1 July 2027 the 50% CGT discount is replaced by cost base indexation and a 30% minimum tax rate, for gains that accrue after that date. General information only. ATO: the new law (updated 29 Jun 2026) ↗ · Tax Reform No. 1 Act 2026 ↗

Cash to get in vs years of optionality

Stamp duty: $48,187
LMI: Waived
Deposit: $240,000
Cash to settle: $288,187
Land tax / year (individual owner, est.): $0
Duty as years of 8.5%: 2.2 y

Source: Revenue NSW transfer duty ↗ · checked 22 Oct 2026

Source: Revenue NSW land tax thresholds and rates ↗

Buy · equity after 10y

$1,607,781

Sale $1,776,293. Loan left $0. Tax on the gain $124,105.

Gain after 1 July 2027 is taxed under indexation with a 30% minimum rate, not the 50% discount; this overstates the after-tax result.

Rent · same cash in shares

$1,302Duty tables on this page

Rent paid $447,091. 8.5% on the cash you didn’t settle with.

Gap (buy equity − rent portfolio): $1,606,479. Stamp duty is 4.0% of price — paid once, gone. Confirm duty and land tax with the state revenue office.

Next: What a house costs to hold — Land tax on site value and the weekly hold cost.

What doctors often miss

Stamp duty comes from the state table and is paid once. It is not part of the weekly rent.

What this figure includes

Included

General transfer/conveyance duty from each state's current published table (NSW incl. premium duty; ACT owner-occupier or not, per the owner-occupier input)
Land tax from each state's published rates for the owner type selected; ACT fixed charge; WA MRIT when Perth metro is selected; QLD 3% foreign surcharge for companies/trusts
Source link and the date checked, under each result

Not included

First home buyer concessions, exemptions and grants (any state); ACT Home Buyer Concession Scheme (no duty for eligible buyers from 1 Jul 2026)
Foreign purchaser duty surcharges; QLD foreign surcharge for individuals — see QRO
Off-the-plan, pensioner, primary production, commercial-property and other concessions
Land tax exemptions, rebates, aggregation and trust rules beyond the owner type selected; WA 150% value cap
Mortgage registration/transfer fees (unchanged), legal and conveyancing costs
Rates published after the checked date

Estimates from published state tables, checked 22 Oct 2026. The state revenue office's assessment is the final figure.

A rough figure — not advice. Terms

Also

Home loan

Mortgage

Repayment and extra once you buy.

Investing · to 21 Sep 2026

If you'd invested

If the stamp duty had sat in Australian shares instead.

This month

What's left this month

Weekly rent versus a repayment, in the monthly picture.