For those that have been following the news headlines of late, you may have caught the recent announcement of the HomeBuilder Incentive Scheme.
The $680 million program, which is part of the federal Government's economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic, aims to support more than 1 million tradespeople across the nation.
It's envisaged that the program will provide an incentive for many Australians already contemplating the purchase of a new home; or those considering embarking upon a substantial home renovation.
The program itself will also run concurrently with existing state and territory first homeowner grant programs, stamp duty concessions, and other federal schemes.
Eligibility Details
According to the Australian Treasury factsheet; to access HomeBuilder scheme, owner-occupiers must:
Be an individual, not a company or trust;
Be aged 18 years or older;
Be an Australian citizen; and have an income of less than $125,000 per annum for an individual applicant, or $200,000 for a couple (income caps are based on 2018/19 tax returns or later).
At the same time, applicants must enter into a building contract between 4 June 2020 and 31 December 2020 to either:
Construct a new home as a principal place of residence valued up to $750,000 (including land); or;
Substantially renovate the existing home as a principal place of residence, with renovations valued at between $150,000 and $750,000, and with the dwelling not valued at more than $1.5 million before the renovation.
Construction must be contracted to commence within 3 months of the contract date.
Key Takeaways
The HomeBuilder scheme will be implemented via a National Partnership Agreement, signed by the Commonwealth, state, and territory Governments.
This approach will utilise existing state and territory mechanisms to distribute the HomeBuilder payments.
When the states and territories begin accepting HomeBuilder applications, they will backdate the acceptance of these applications to 4 June 2020.
Information on when and how you will be able to access HomeBuilder will become available through the relevant state or territory revenue offices.
To read more about this scheme visit the Australian Treasury fact sheet here.
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Bradley Wearne - General Manager & Head of Research at Meridian Australia
P: (02) 9939 3249
References
[1] Australian Treasury - HomeBuilder Fact Sheet