The Loyalty Tax — book updates

The book’s live appendix. Grants, schemes and rules move faster than print — this page keeps the score, with every entry dated.

Queensland First Home Owner Grant

The grant is $30,000 for eligible new homes — and it was extended past its original 30 June 2026 end date, when it was legislated to drop back to $15,000. If the edition in your hands hedges on that number, this is the answer: it stayed at $30,000.

Conditions still have teeth: new homes only, value caps apply, and you must move in and live there for six continuous months or the grant can be clawed back.

The book covers this in Chapter 5.

Checked 7 August 2026.

Home Guarantee Scheme (5% deposit, no LMI)

Since 1 October 2025 the scheme has no income caps and no place limits — any eligible first home buyer can use it. Property price caps rose too: $1,000,000 for Brisbane and QLD regional centres, around $700,000 for the rest of Queensland.

The old regional guarantee was folded into the main First Home Guarantee. The single-parent Family Home Guarantee (2% deposit) continues.

Chapter 5, code one.

Checked 7 August 2026.

Help to Buy (shared equity)

Live since 5 December 2025, all states. The government contributes up to 40% of a new home’s price (30% existing) as an equity stake; you need as little as a 2% deposit and pay no LMI. Income caps: $103,000 single, $165,000 for couples and single parents. Places are limited each year and few lenders participate so far — check the current lender list before planning around it.

Chapter 5, code six.

Checked 7 August 2026.

Queensland stamp duty for first home buyers

New builds and off-the-plan: $0 transfer duty, no price cap, for eligible first home buyers (contracts from 1 May 2025). Vacant land to build on: also $0, no cap. Established homes: full exemption to $700,000, phasing out to $800,000.

Occupancy conditions apply — move in, live there, don’t lease it out early, or the concession can be clawed back.

Chapter 5, code four.

Checked 7 August 2026.

HELP (HECS) debts and repayments

Since 1 July 2025 repayments are marginal: nothing on income below $67,000, then 15 cents per dollar between $67,000 and $125,000. On a $103,000 income that’s about $5,400 a year — roughly $450 a month. Lenders count the repayment when they assess you, and paying out a HELP debt before applying is sometimes — not always — the right move.

Chapter 17, Asha’s table.

Checked 7 August 2026.

Negative gearing and CGT — announced changes

The 2026–27 Federal Budget (12 May 2026) announced: rental losses on established investment properties bought after Budget night can only offset rental income (carried forward), not wages. New builds keep full negative gearing. Properties owned before Budget night keep the old treatment.

The 50% CGT discount is set to be replaced with cost-base indexation plus a 30% minimum tax from 1 July 2027, with a choice of method for existing holders. These were announced measures moving through Parliament when checked — confirm the current status with your accountant before acting.

Chapter 10.

Checked 7 August 2026.

Foreign buyer rules

The ban on foreign persons buying established dwellings was extended to 30 June 2029. Australian citizens and permanent residents are exempt from FIRB for residential property no matter where in the world they live. The real traps for expats: NZ citizens whose special category visa only exists while onshore, state surcharge duties with their own residence tests, and expired travel facilities on PR visas.

Chapter 13.

Checked 7 August 2026.

SMSF borrowing for residential property

From 10 August 2026 super funds cannot take out new loans to buy residential property. Existing loans (and contracts signed before that date) are grandfathered and can be refinanced. Commercial property borrowing is untouched, and funds can still buy residential with cash.

Chapter 9.

Checked 7 August 2026.

The steady numbers

First Home Super Saver: up to $15,000 of eligible contributions counted per year, $50,000 lifetime, plus deemed earnings.

Serviceability buffer: lenders still test you at your rate plus 3 percentage points (APRA).

Rates: the cash rate was 4.35% when checked, after three rises in 2026. Every rate in the book is a dated illustration, never a quote.

Checked 7 August 2026.

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