NSW small business stamp duty exemption

You can visit the NSW Government Revenue website to find out more information about how the state budget changes will affect your insurance stamp duty.

No. To be eligible for the small business stamp duty exemption, the NSW Government requires you to complete a written declaration stating your business is eligible for the exemption. To obtain an exemption, you’ll need to complete a written declaration.

Business Insurance customers - declare your exemption online now.

Personal Insurance customers (with business use) - call us on 132 132 to declare your exemption.

When you take out a new business insurance policy with us, we’ll apply the exemption once we receive your written declaration.

If you’re an existing customer, you’ll also need to declare your eligibility in writing prior to the renewal of your policy.

Business Insurance customers - declare your exemption online now.

Personal Insurance customers (with business use) - call us on 132 132 to declare your exemption.  

No.

It’s important you declare if your business is eligible before your insurance cover period starts. Unfortunately, we're unable to backdate exemptions if you declare your eligibility after the start date of your cover. We can only apply an exemption after your cover has started by cancelling your current policy and taking out a new one.

Yes, you'll need to pay the stamp duty. You're only exempt from stamp duty for policies with an effective date of 1 January 2018 onwards.

The NSW Insurance Stamp Duty is a tax on insurance transactions. Stamp duty is collected by the insurer when your policy renews or you pay your first premium.

The amount of stamp duty payable depends on the type of insurance product, and ranges between 2.5% and 9% of your insurance premium. You can find out more about the NSW Insurance Stamp Duty on the NSW Government Revenue website.

As part of their budget announcements, the NSW Government introduced legislation to make insurance more affordable for small businesses by removing stamp duty from certain insurance products.

From 1 January 2018, small businesses (generally with under $2 million in turnover) are not required to pay stamp duty on certain types of insurance, if they declare their business is eligible for the exemption.

Small businesses that meet the eligibility requirements set out by the NSW Government are eligible.

You're considered a small business for the current year if you carry on a business in the current year, and one or both of the following applies:

• You carried on a business in the previous year and your aggregated turnover for that previous year was less than $2 million
• Your aggregated turnover for the current year is likely to be less than $2 million

If your policy renewal date falls before 1 January 2018, the current Stamp Duty will still apply.

Yes. You'll still be able to apply for a stamp duty exemption on any policy that starts from 1 January 2018 and onwards. If you're currently paying by instalments, you'll be able to apply for the stamp duty exemption at your policy’s renewal in 2018.

Yes, penalties apply if you make a false declaration. It's important that you ensure your business is eligible for an exemption before completing the declaration. For more information about false declarations, please visit the NSW Government Revenue website.

No. Crop and livestock insurance stamp duty exemption are automatically applied at renewal and for new quotes from 1 January 2018.

The stamp duty exemption applies to the following types of business insurance:

• Commercial vehicle insurance (for a motor vehicle used primarily for business purposes)
• Occupational indemnity insurance
• Product and public liability insurance

In addition to the small business stamp duty exemption, effective 1 January 2018, farmers and growers are no longer required to pay stamp duty on Crop and Livestock insurance. This will be automatically applied for eligible clients, and does not require a declaration.