Stamp duty when refinancing

[bubfee]

Hello again andie pandie :wave:

Thanks for your help with my last question. I now have another one :D do I need to pay stamp duty if refinancing in SA? We are hoping to refinance our current house. I have tried to google the answer but can't seem to find much on the topic...

Thanks!

[andie_pandie]

Hi Bubfee

Well done for trying to find the right information, sometimes it is hard when you don't know the right sites to go to. The site that you required is:

www.revenuesa.sa.gov.au


Here is a extract from that site that gives you the information that you require.


"Mortgage Refinancing

From 1 July 2005, a mortgage to secure a loan that has been, or is to be, applied wholly for refinancing purposes will be exempt from stamp duty. A loan will be considered to be applied for refinancing purposes to the extent that the loan has been, or is to be, applied to paying out the outstanding balance of a debt secured by an earlier mortgage on which duty has been paid (or which is exempt from duty) if the following conditions are satisfied:

the borrower under the loan transaction must be the person liable for the debt secured by the earlier mortgage;


at least some of the mortgaged property must be common to both mortgages; and


the earlier mortgage must be fully discharged before, or as soon as practicable after, the first payment of loan money to, or for the benefit of, the borrower under the loan transaction secured by the later mortgage."

Please note you will have some small government fees with transfering the mortgage but these are minimal. You may also have exit fees from your current mortgage depending on how long you have had the mortgage and whether you are fixed or variable.

Now is a time when people are assessing their mortgages and looking at refinancing. Particularly due to some banks raising rates more than the reserve bank. Even with exit costs sometimes it is better to look at changing as a lower interest over the life of the loan might end up being a bigger financial gain in the long run.