The COVID-19 HomeBuilder Grant is designed to provide eligible owner occupiers (not just first home buyers) with a tax-free grant of $25,000 to build a new home or substantially renovate an existing one.
The grant will run from 4 June 2020 until 31 December 2020, with construction required to be commenced within three months of the contract date.
For new homes, the total value of the land and new build cannot exceed $750,000. It must become the grant recipient’s principal place of residence.
Renovation contracts must be between $150,000-$750,000, where the value of the property prior to the renovations does not exceed $1.5 million. Your annual income needs to be less $125,000 for individual applicants, or less than $200,000 for a couple based on your 2018-2019 tax returns or later.
The COVID-19 HomeBuilder Grant will be non-taxable. It will be paid by the relevant State or Territory authority. The grant is not available for investment properties or to owner-builders.
Additions to a property such as tennis courts, swimming pools, sheds and garages that are unconnected to the property, are excluded for renovation contract purposes.