The First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) is a one-off payment from the WA government. It’s designed to help first home buyers purchase or build a principal place of residence. At $7000, it’s of great use for first home buyers.
Am I eligible?
There are a few key criteria that determine whether you’re likely to be eligible. To get the grant, you’ll need to be:
- Buying your first home – you (or your spouse) can’t have bought the property in the past,
- Planning to live in the property – you must live in the property for at least 6 months after it’s purchased or built, and you’re
- Buying a home under $750 000 – or if you’re north of the 26th parallel (which runs between Denham and Kalbarri), the home needs to be under $1 000 000.
These are just a few of the criteria – see the Department of Finance’s website for a First Home Owner Grant fact sheet with the full eligibility criteria.
The First Home Owner grant is not available for:
- vacant land,
- business premises,
- holiday homes, or
- renovations to existing residences.
How can I apply?
Applications for the grant can be made once a contract to buy or build has been signed and dated by all parties to the contract.
To apply for the grant, you’ll need to lodge an application form to the Office of State Revenue. You can either:
- Fill out the application form from www.finance.gov.au and lodge in with the Office of State Revenue yourself, or
- Have your lender (provided they are an Approved Agent) process the grant application as part of the loan process
Your lender will often take care of the applic222222222ation for you.
For more information on the First Home Owner’s Grant, see the the Department of Finance‘s website.
Since this post was written, the state government announced changes to the First Home Owner Grant that came into effect on September 25, 2013. Read What you need to know about changes to the First Home Owner Grant for more info.
The WA State Government has since abolished the $3,000 grant for first home buyers purchasing an established property on or after 3rd October 2015. First home buyers who purchased a property prior to that date can still apply for the FHOG and related first home owner rate of duty for a period of 12 months after completion of the eligible contract.
On or after 3rd October 2015 purchasers of established homes will still be able to apply for the first home owner rate of duty if the value of the home is below the current threshold of $530,000.
The FHOG of up to $10,000 for ‘new’ homes will remain unchanged.
