WA First Home Owner Grant 2026: $10,000 and $800k Cap

The Grant Amount and the Two WA Caps

WA pays $10,000 per eligible transaction, or the price you paid if it's lower. RevenueWA's first home owner grant page (opens in a new tab) also says only one grant is paid per transaction, so joint buyers don't double up.

What sets WA apart is a split cap based on latitude. The RevenueWA fact sheet (opens in a new tab) sets these limits:

The commencement date is the contract date for a purchase or a building contract, and the date the foundations are laid for an owner-builder. That's what decides which cap applies, not settlement.

How RevenueWA counts the value. It isn't just the price on the contract:

• Buying a new home: the greater of what you paid and the home's value on the contract date.
• Building under a contract with a builder: the building contract, including variations, plus the land value.
• Owner-builder: the finished home's value plus the land.

That last point catches people. A common mistake is assuming upgrades signed after the contract don't count. Variations are added in, so a $640,000 build that grows to $660,000 on a $170,000 lot ends up at $830,000 and over the Perth cap.

North of the 26th parallel. The higher $1,000,000 cap covers the Pilbara, Kimberley and northern Gascoyne. Specifically, a family building in Karratha can spend up to $1,000,000 on land and house and still get the grant.

Who Qualifies in Western Australia

There's no income test and no assets test, and RevenueWA says your income won't affect eligibility. The South Australian grant has no income test either, and since June 2024 it has no price cap at all. What decides it is your ownership history, your age, residency and whether you'll live there.

According to RevenueWA's fact sheet, you must:

• be 18 or over when you apply (you can ask for an exemption if you're younger);
• have at least 1 applicant who's an Australian citizen or permanent resident when you apply; and
• hold an ownership interest in the land and own the home in your own right.

You're not eligible if you or your spouse or de facto partner have:

• already received the grant, or the first home owner rate of duty, in any state or territory;
• owned residential property anywhere in Australia before July 1, 2000;
• owned property after July 1, 2000 and lived in it before July 1, 2004; or
• owned a home and lived in it for 6 continuous months starting on or after July 1, 2004.

The duty concession counts as a grant for this test. If you got WA's first home owner rate of duty on an earlier purchase, you've used your entitlement even though you never received $10,000. That's easy to forget years later.

The 6-month rule applies to every applicant. WA requires each applicant to live in the home for 6 continuous months, starting within 12 months of completion. That's stricter than the Victorian grant, where one applicant is enough, though Victoria's stay is 12 months. The Lodgement Guide says you won't meet it if the home sits empty for 6 months without being leased, or if you're renovating while cooking, showering and sleeping somewhere else.

There's some flexibility. If something unforeseen stops you, the Commissioner can consider a written request to shorten the 6 months, extend the 12-month move-in window, or exempt one of two or more joint applicants. Apply before you break the rule, not after.

May 2026 Changes: Bigger Duty Savings Than the Grant

The 2026-27 State Budget raised the first home owner duty thresholds by $100,000. According to the WA Government's May 7, 2026 media statement, linked from RevenueWA's 2026-27 Housing Taxation Package page (opens in a new tab), buyers now save up to $22,515 on a new or established home and up to $25,390 when buying land and building, more than double the grant.

Grantsights compared the four sets of thresholds on RevenueWA's first home owner rate of duty fact sheet (opens in a new tab):

Data: RevenueWA, Duties Fact Sheet: First Home Owner Rate, last updated August 27, 2026, read October 29, 2026. Vacant land thresholds before March 21, 2025 apply to all agreements before that date.

Above the no-duty level, the current concessional rate is $16.15 for every $100 over $600,000 for a home. On a $700,000 home that's $16,150 in duty. For vacant land it's $20.14 for every $100 over $450,000.

Duty and grant are no longer tied together. Before May 7, 2026, a first home buyer whose land and planned house went over the grant cap also lost the duty concession on the land. RevenueWA's Circular 23 (opens in a new tab) says the amending Act removes that link, and buyers already assessed under the old rules can ask for a reassessment and refund of the difference. An established home also qualifies for the duty rate even though it can't get the grant.

Shared equity homes. Circular 23 also says new homes bought by the Housing Authority for its shared equity schemes can be treated as new for the grant, so a buyer taking a share isn't knocked out just because the Housing Authority bought the home first.

Off-the-plan buyers. The same package extended WA's off-the-plan duty concession to June 30, 2028. For an agreement signed before construction starts, it's 100% of the duty, capped at $50,000, on dwellings up to $800,000, tapering to 50% at $900,000.

Grantsights Analysis of WA Grant Spending

RevenueWA paid $41.8 million in grants in 2024-25, about half the $85.8 million it paid in 2021-22. Grantsights analysis of the Treasury and Finance administered accounts in four State Budgets shows spending fell 51% from 2021-22 to 2024-25.

Data: Western Australian State Budget, Budget Paper No. 2, Volume 1, Treasury and Finance administered expenses line "First Home Owner Grant Act 2000" in the 2026-27 budget (opens in a new tab) and the 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 budgets, downloaded October 29, 2026. Approximate grant numbers divide spending by $10,000; some grants are less than $10,000, so the real count may be slightly higher. These aren't RevenueWA's own counts.

Three things stand out:

Budgets keep overestimating. The 2024-25 budget allowed $54.2 million and RevenueWA spent $41.8 million, 23% less. The 2025-26 budget allowed $53.2 million and the estimated actual is $42.8 million, 20% less. That suggests fewer first home buyers are buying new than the government expects.

The new cap is expected to lift numbers. Budget Paper No. 3 lists a $13.8 million expense to raise the cap to $800,000, and spending is budgeted to rise 39% to $59.6 million in 2026-27. Whether that happens depends on builders delivering homes under $800,000.

Most WA first home buyers get duty relief, not the grant. The Australian Bureau of Statistics counted 14,513 owner-occupier first home buyer loans in WA in the 12 months to June 2026, as our national guide reports. Against about 4,200 to 4,300 grants a year, that's under a third. The duty package is worth $197.4 million over five years, according to Budget Paper No. 3, and the WA Government expects it to help more than 25,000 first home buyers over four years.

How to Apply and the Real Payment Timeline

You can apply once all parties have signed the contract, and RevenueWA's application page (opens in a new tab) says late applications can't be accepted after 12 months from completion.

There are 3 ways to lodge:

1. Through your lender, if it's an approved agent. This is the only way to have the money at settlement.
2. Online through the FHOG Application Portal (opens in a new tab). Only an applicant can submit it; RevenueWA won't accept applications from a broker or settlement agent this way. Each applicant and partner gets a summary and a Unique Identification Number, then uploads documents.
3. On paper, using form F-FHOG1, sent via RevenueWA's web enquiry form or by mail, if you can't apply online.

The FHOG Lodgement Guide (opens in a new tab) sets out when you'll be paid:

Owner-builders can apply once the foundations are laid, but eligibility can't be decided until the home's finished, and RevenueWA may need a valuation. Modular homes can be treated either way depending on the contract; Revenue Ruling FHOG 5 covers it.

Check bank details twice. RevenueWA warns that if the grant goes to the wrong bank account, it may not be possible to get it back. You can track an application through RevenueWAConnect, or call RevenueWA on (08) 9262 1299, or 1300 368 364 from a WA country landline.

What RevenueWA Doesn't Tell You Up Front

RevenueWA's pages are thorough on rules, but some things only become clear when you read the budget papers and fact sheets side by side.

The grant is the smaller benefit for most buyers. With duty savings of up to $22,515 on a home, the exemption is now worth more than double the grant. If you're choosing between a new home just over $800,000 and an established home well under $600,000, the established home may cost less overall even with no grant.

Grant spending halved in three years. Spending fell 51% between 2021-22 and 2024-25, while the southern cap stayed at $750,000 until May 2026. The Budget papers say the new $800,000 cap is meant to stop buyers being disadvantaged by rising building costs, which suggests the old cap was shutting people out.

Missing the 30-day notice is what turns a problem into a penalty. If you can't move in, telling RevenueWA promptly keeps your options open. If you stay quiet, the fact sheet says you may have to repay the grant, be reassessed for duty with penalties, and lose future eligibility.

False statements cost far more than $10,000. RevenueWA can impose penalties of up to $20,000 for knowingly false statements on a grant application, and the duty fact sheet adds three times the tax avoided under the Taxation Administration Act 2003.

Keystart and the 5% Deposit Scheme

According to Housing Australia, the federal 5% Deposit Scheme caps prices at $850,000 in Perth and WA's regional centres and $600,000 elsewhere in the state, as listed on its property price caps page (opens in a new tab). It's a loan guarantee, not cash.

Keystart (opens in a new tab), the WA Government's home lender, offers loans with a 2% deposit and no lenders mortgage insurance. It's a loan you repay, not a grant. Grantsights read Keystart's loan page on October 29, 2026 and it didn't show income or price limits, so check eligibility with Keystart directly.

You can combine the grant, the duty concession and either Keystart or the federal guarantee. Just remember that each one has a different price limit: $800,000 for the grant in Perth, $800,000 for the home duty concession, and $850,000 for the federal guarantee.

Scams and Payment Redirection

WA ScamNet's guidance on giving away bank details (opens in a new tab) says to contact your bank straight away if your details have been compromised, because the sooner you act, the more you can limit losses.

• Only RevenueWA or your lender pays the grant. No one can sell you faster approval or a guaranteed grant.
• Apply only at firsthome.gov.au/apply/wa or through your lender. Type the address yourself rather than following a link from a text or email.
• Confirm any change of settlement payment details by phone with your settlement agent on a number you already have.

Grantsights doesn't process grants, so a message claiming to be from Grantsights about your application is a red flag.

Related Guides

Comparing states? Our Victoria first home owner grant guide covers a $10,000 grant with a $750,000 cap and a 12-month residence rule, and our South Australia first home owner grant guide covers SA's $15,000 grant with no price cap. Setting up a new home? The solar battery rebate guide explains the federal battery discount.

Sources Checked

Grantsights read or downloaded each of these on October 29, 2026:

• Government of Western Australia, First home owner grant (FHOG) (opens in a new tab) and About the first home owner grant (opens in a new tab) (updated July 29, 2026)
• RevenueWA, Apply for the first home owner grant (opens in a new tab) (updated October 1, 2026) and FHOG Lodgement Guide (opens in a new tab)
• RevenueWA, Duties Fact Sheet: First Home Owner Rate (opens in a new tab) (updated August 27, 2026)
• RevenueWA, Circular 23: Finance Legislation Amendment (Housing Affordability) Bill 2026 (opens in a new tab) (republished October 23, 2026)
• WA Government, 2026-27 Housing Taxation Package announcement and May 7, 2026 media statement on the $297 million first home buyer tax package
• Western Australian State Budget 2026-27, Budget Paper No. 2 Volume 1 and Budget Paper No. 3; 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 Budget Paper No. 2 Volume 1
• FHOG Application Portal for WA (opens in a new tab)
• Housing Australia, 5% Deposit Scheme price caps by state (opens in a new tab)
• Keystart, Low deposit home loans (opens in a new tab)
• WA ScamNet, Gave away bank details