GST and the sale of vacant land

If you’re selling vacant land, everyone needs to turn their mind to the application of GST. A couple of first things to think about. GST applies to the sale of all real estate unless the property falls into a class of exemptions. Existing residential dwellings is a classic exemption. Another first is, are you as the vendor registered for GST? If you’re not registered, most likely GST will not apply. Otherwise GST will apply and your lawyer / conveyancer and your estate agent needs to take this into account when preparing the Contract of Sale. There is scope for reduction of GST by looking at the rules of the Margin Scheme. . In all cases we recommend seeking the advice of an experienced property lawyer and tax accountant familiar with the rules.

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