ACT LMI Calculator

Free · No sign-up · Checked 29 September 2026

Buying in another state? Use the LMI calculator for every state.

From 1 July 2026, ACT buyers who have not owned property in the last 5 years pay no stamp duty at any price, with no income test. That changes stamp duty, not LMI.

How much is LMI in the ACT?

On a $864,998 home in Canberra with a 10% deposit, published lender figures put LMI at about $11,600 to $20,500, with a typical figure of $15,600. The ACT adds no duty, so that is your total. $864,998 was Canberra's median dwelling value as at 31 August 2026 (Cotality Home Value Index, published 1 September 2026).

At $1,000,000, the scheme cap for all of the ACT, a 5% deposit means LMI of about $28,000 to $50,000 without the scheme, and $0 with it if you are eligible. For every state and deposit, see how much LMI costs.

What duty does the ACT charge on LMI?

The ACT charges no duty on LMI, because it abolished insurance duty altogether on 1 July 2016.

The ACT Revenue Office says insurance duty was abolished on 1 July 2016 and that the ACT is the only state or territory to have removed it completely. Before then, 10% duty applied to general insurance premiums. With no insurance duty at all, there is nothing to add to an LMI premium on a Canberra home.

Next door in NSW the answer is also $0, but for a different reason. Other states and the NT charge 9% to 11%.

Abolished, not exempted: how the ACT differs from NSW

NSW reaches $0 through an exemption that names LMI, for premiums paid on or after 1 July 2017, rather than by abolishing insurance duty. The ACT has no insurance duty on any policy, so it needs no LMI rule. For you the result is the same: the premium your lender quotes is the whole cost.

5% Deposit Scheme price caps in the ACT

In the ACT the 5% Deposit Scheme cap is $1,000,000 everywhere. The scheme was called the Home Guarantee Scheme until 1 October 2025, and its first home stream is still the First Home Guarantee in the law.

One cap covers the whole ACT, including Kingston, Hall and Palmerston. Jervis Bay Territory is not part of the ACT for the scheme and has its own $550,000 cap.

Both the price and the lender's valuation must be at or under the cap.

What home buyer help does the ACT offer?

The ACT has no first home owner grant, but from 1 July 2026 its Home Buyer Concession Scheme means no stamp duty at any price, with no income test, for buyers who have not owned property in the last 5 years. Neither changes LMI.

Eligibility is decided by the revenue office, not by this page. Work out transfer duty with your state revenue office's own calculator.

No ACT government lender, but a Land Rent Scheme

The ACT has no government home lender or low-deposit loan. The nearest help is the Land Rent Scheme: you rent your block from the ACT Government at 2% of its unimproved value a year instead of buying it, so you only borrow for the transfer costs and the house. It is open to households earning up to $170,000 (plus $3,330 for each dependent child, up to five). It is not a loan, so any LMI depends on the LVR of your house loan. ACT Land Rent Scheme

Where ACT help and the 5% Deposit Scheme overlap

In the ACT an eligible buyer pays no stamp duty at any price, while the 5% Deposit Scheme stops at $1,000,000 for the whole territory.

Stamp duty from 1 July 2026: no income test and no price limit

Until 30 June 2026, the Home Buyer Concession Scheme had an income limit of $250,000 (plus $4,600 for each dependent child) and a $1,020,000 value limit. From 1 July 2026 both are gone. The test is now whether you or your partner owned any property in the last 5 years, so it is not only for first home buyers.

Canberra's median dwelling value, $864,998, is under the $1,000,000 scheme cap. An eligible buyer at the median with a 5% deposit could pay no stamp duty and, through the 5% Deposit Scheme, no LMI. Without the scheme, published lender figures put the LMI at about $24,200 to $43,200, with no duty on top.

LMI calculators for other states

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