Land tax, payroll tax and stamp duty lawyers in NSW

A Revenue NSW dispute usually starts with an objection to the Chief Commissioner of State Revenue, which generally must be lodged within 60 days after the notice of assessment is served (Taxation Administration Act 1996 (NSW) s 89). As land tax, payroll tax and stamp duty lawyers, we prepare objections and act in any review that follows in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) or the Supreme Court of NSW.

We act for businesses, property owners, trustees and families, alongside their accountants. Our team includes lawyers and a Chartered Accountant, so we test Revenue NSW's figures as well as its reading of the law. Other states have their own revenue offices, Acts and deadlines, and we advise on those generally.

Who is Revenue NSW?

Revenue NSW assesses and collects NSW taxes. Assessments are made by the Chief Commissioner of State Revenue, an office held by the Deputy Secretary of Revenue NSW (Taxation Administration Act 1996 (NSW) (NSW TAA) s 60). The NSW TAA sets common rules on assessments, interest, penalty tax, investigations and objections for each "taxation law" (s 4), including:

• Land tax, including surcharge land tax for foreign owners of residential land (Land Tax Management Act 1956 (NSW); Land Tax Act 1956 (NSW) s 5A).
• Payroll tax (Payroll Tax Act 2007 (NSW)).
• Duty, often still called stamp duty, including transfer duty, landholder duty and surcharge purchaser duty (Duties Act 1997 (NSW)).

Section references below are to the NSW TAA unless stated.

Common land tax, payroll tax and stamp duty disputes

Land tax

Land tax is charged on the taxable value of the land you own at midnight on 31 December, for the following calendar year (Land Tax Act s 3AL). Disputes usually turn on exemptions, such as principal place of residence (Land Tax Management Act Sch 1A) or primary production (Land Tax Management Act s 10AA), trust and company ownership, or foreign person status. A dispute about the land value itself generally goes to the Valuer-General, not Revenue NSW, and the objection usually must be lodged within 60 days after the land tax assessment is served (Valuation of Land Act 1916 (NSW) s 35(1)(b)). See land tax objections in NSW.

Payroll tax

• Grouping. Grouped businesses get at most one threshold between them (Payroll Tax Act Sch 1 Pts 3, 4), and every member is jointly and severally liable for any member's unpaid payroll tax, including interest and penalty tax (Payroll Tax Act s 81). The Chief Commissioner may exclude a member whose business is carried on independently of, and is not connected with, the business of any other member, but can't exclude a company related to another group member under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Payroll Tax Act s 79). See payroll tax grouping in NSW.
• Contractors. Payments under a "relevant contract" can be taxed as wages unless an exclusion applies, for example services of a kind the business ordinarily needs for less than 180 days in a financial year (Payroll Tax Act ss 32, 35). See payroll tax on contractors.

Stamp duty

• Transfer duty disputes often concern the dutiable value, whether a transaction is dutiable, and exemptions or concessions. See stamp duty disputes and objections.
• Landholder duty can apply when someone acquires a significant interest in a company or unit trust whose NSW land holdings have an unencumbered value of $2 million or more (Duties Act s 146). See landholder duty in NSW.
• Surcharge purchaser duty is extra duty on residential land transactions that are, or are taken to be, transfers to foreign persons (Duties Act s 104G), so disputes often turn on who is a "foreign person" (Duties Act s 104J).

What happens in a Revenue NSW audit?

Revenue NSW can require you, by written notice, to give information, attend and give evidence, or produce records (s 72(1)). Not complying in time is an offence (s 72(8)), so ask in writing if you need more time.

The Chief Commissioner generally can't reassess more than 5 years after the initial assessment. Exceptions include where the relevant facts weren't fully and truly disclosed and the tax was assessed too low as a result (s 9(3)).

What penalty tax and interest does Revenue NSW charge?

Situation	Penalty tax
Tax default	25% of the tax unpaid, or 50% for a significant global entity (s 27(1))
Intentional disregard of the law	May be increased to 75% (s 27(2))
Reasonable care taken, or default solely due to circumstances beyond your control (not financial incapacity)	May be nil (s 27(3))
Voluntary disclosure	Reduced by 80% before you're told of an investigation, or 20% during it (ss 28, 29)
Records deliberately destroyed, or investigation hindered, after you're told of an investigation	Increased by 20% (s 30)

Interest runs daily on unpaid tax from the end of the last day for payment (s 21). The rate is a market rate component (generally the Reserve Bank's published monthly average yield on 90-day Bank Accepted Bills), reset each quarter, plus a premium component of 8% a year (s 22).

The Chief Commissioner may remit interest, but only in line with Revenue NSW's Remission of Interest Guidelines (TAA 001, from 1 July 2025) (s 25(2)–(3)). It may remit penalty tax by any amount (s 33), and Revenue NSW's practice note CPN 024 explains its approach to penalty tax. The two are decided separately (ss 25(4), 33(2)).

Voluntary disclosure to Revenue NSW

The 80% reduction needs a written disclosure, with enough information to work out the nature and extent of the tax default, made before you're told an investigation is to be carried out (s 28(1)). Neither reduction applies where a registered taxpayer's default involved failing to lodge a return or pay tax on time (ss 28(2), 29(2)). Get advice before you disclose.

How do you object to a Revenue NSW assessment?

1. Check it can be objected to. Assessments and most other decisions under a taxation law can be, with exceptions such as a compromise assessment you agreed to (s 86).
2. Lodge within 60 days after the notice is served (s 89(1)). The objection is lodged only when it is served on the Chief Commissioner, and one served after business hours counts as served the next business day (ss 89(2), 115). A late objection needs permission and a full written explanation of the delay, and can't be lodged more than 5 years after the initial assessment notice was served (s 90).
3. State the grounds fully and in detail, in writing (s 87), with evidence. For a reassessment, the grounds are limited to the extent of the reassessment (s 87(2)). You carry the onus of proving your case (s 88).
4. Allow time for a decision. A note to the Act says the Chief Commissioner should try to decide within 90 days (s 91). If there's no decision after 90 days, you can apply for review.

An objection doesn't stop Revenue NSW recovering the tax in the meantime, and neither does an application for review (ss 94, 103). If you succeed, overpaid tax is refunded with interest at the market rate component, without the 8% premium (ss 104, 105). If paying now is a problem, ask about a payment arrangement (s 47).

NCAT or the Supreme Court?

If you're dissatisfied with the objection decision, or it hasn't been decided within 90 days after the objection was served (not counting any suspension), you can generally apply to NCAT or the Supreme Court (ss 96(1), 97(1)). Decisions prescribed by regulation as exempt can't go to NCAT (s 96(2)).

	NCAT	Supreme Court of NSW
Kind of review	Administrative review under the Administrative Decisions Review Act 1997 (NSW) (s 96)	A review by the Court, treated as an appeal for the purposes of the Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW) and its rules (s 97(4))
Deadline	60 days after the date of issue of the notice of determination, not the date you receive it. NCAT can allow a later application (s 99(1))	The same. The Court can allow a later application
Objection undecided	Any time after 90 days, on 14 days' written notice (ss 99(2), 100(1))	The same

You can't pursue both for the same decision unless the first application is withdrawn with approval (ss 96(3), 97(2)). Neither side is limited to the objection grounds, and you carry the onus of proof (s 100).

Can directors be liable for a company's NSW tax?

Yes. If a company doesn't pay a NSW tax assessment, the Chief Commissioner can serve a compliance notice on a current or former director, with a compliance period of at least 21 days from the date the notice is served (s 47B(1)–(2A)). Unless, within that period, the company pays, makes a payment arrangement, obtains a Hardship Review Board waiver or deferral, appoints an administrator or begins to be wound up, the director becomes jointly and severally liable for the tax, interest and penalty tax (ss 47A, 47B(3)–(4)). A former director isn't liable for tax the company first became liable for after they ceased to be a director (s 47B(5)). Defences include all reasonable steps, and illness or similar good reason (s 47E).

This resembles an ATO director penalty notice, but the taxes covered and the ways to avoid personal liability differ.

How our land tax, payroll tax and stamp duty lawyers help

• Assess. We check the figures, the law and the deadlines, and tell you plainly whether there's a case.
• Audits and disclosures. We handle information notices and advise on timing before anything is disclosed.
• Objections and review. We prepare objections, act in NCAT and Supreme Court reviews, and seek remission of penalty tax and interest.
• Accountants. We work with you on your clients' state tax disputes. See how we work with accountants.

Next step

Send us every page of the notice of assessment or Revenue NSW letter, the date it was served, any earlier correspondence, and a short note on what you think is wrong. If a director has received a compliance notice, include it and its date of service. In a short first call we'll tell you when your deadlines end, whether an objection looks worthwhile and what to do first.