It Depends – Relevant thresholds for company land tax

In this edition of It depends, senior associate Tom Walrut talks about how land tax applies to companies in Queensland.

Video transcript

Hi, my name’s Tom Walrut and welcome to this week’s edition of It depends where we’ll be continuing our series of land tax. it depends, where we’ll be talking about company thresholds.

When does my company have to pay land tax in Queensland?

When does my company pay land tax? And as always, it depends. Usually, a company will pay land tax where the taxable value of the land that it owns are more than $350,000 as at 30June each year. Land tax rates are applied, for companies at a rate of 1.7 % to 2.75%, of the taxable value of the land, as at 30 June, owned by that company.

What land is included when assessing a company’s land tax?

So, what land is included when assessing the company’s land tax? Well, it is all of the land that is owned by the company, as at 30 June in a particular year. So, where the company is a sole owner of land, 100% of the taxable value of that land is included in the company’s land tax assessment. Where the company only owns a proportionate interest, say, a 50% interest in some land, then only 50% of the value of that land is included in the taxable value of the land of the company. And obviously where the company owns land which is exempt from land tax for any particular purpose, that particular value of land is completely excluded when assessing that tax.

How is the taxable value of a company’s land assessed?

How is the taxable value of land determined in any particular year? Well, firstly, the Valuer General determines what the land value is for land tax purposes. So, you generally take whatever the Valuer General has on that particular block of land at a particular time. The second point is that you do get to average over up to three years the Valuer General’s past valuations when determining the taxable value of your land for land held by a company in Queensland. And the third point is that all of the land that the company owns, obviously, including the proportion to earn interest that that company owns, in land, in Queensland for determining your total taxable value in any particular year. As always, we’ve got a very friendly team here at Cooper Grace Ward, so do feel free to give us a call if you have any land tax queries. Thanks.