Independent Member for Alfred Cove Dr Janet Woollard is warning homeowners that their primary residence will be subject to The Land Tax Assessment Act 2002 (Act) if it is rented out for a short period of time, including midnight of 30 June.

“Primary residences are normally exempted from land tax, but if you are not at home and are renting your house out at midnight on the 30 June, you may end up with a land tax liability in the following financial year,” said Dr Woollard.

“Even renting out your residence for short periods of time may result in a full land tax bill for the coming financial year.”

Dr Woollard said this is because there are no provisions within the Act to allow for a pro-rata exemption. This means anyone renting their primary residence for three months for example while they are on an extended holiday including midnight of 30 June will have to pay the full year’s land tax bill the following year instead of paying only for the period of time their house was not used as their primary residence.

“I have asked the Office of State Revenue to consider using a sliding scale tax system to take into account the length of time a property is not used as a primary residence. This would ensure homeowners only pay land tax for their house for the duration when they are not using it as their primary residence.

“The Office of State Revenue has ruled out using such a sliding scale tax system stating it would be too much of an administrative cost to implement,” said Dr Woollard.

“I have been advised by the Real Estate Institute of WA that real estate agents and their employees are not able to provide tax or investment advice to clients seeking to rent their primary residence.

“I urge homeowners to obtain advice, from a qualified professional, regarding their land tax liability should they wish to rent out their primary residences for short periods of time,” said Dr Woollard.