VIC DEADLINE

Victoria's VRLT 2026: The 15 February Deadline Every Landlord Must Meet (or Pay 1% of Property Value)

16 APRIL 2026·10 MIN READ·BY LODGEY

NEXT VRLT NOTIFICATION DEADLINE

Monday 15 February 2027

DAYS

HOURS

MINUTES

SECONDS

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Victoria's Vacant Residential Land Tax went statewide on 1 January 2025. 2026 is the first full year every Victorian residential landowner is in scope — regional towns included. If your property was vacant for more than six months in the 2025 calendar year, VRLT applies at 1% of capital improved value for year 1, rising to 2% and then 3% for consecutive vacancy. Notification is mandatory, even if you're claiming an exemption.

Of CIV

Year 1 rate — escalates to 2% Y2, 3% Y3+

Vacancy Trigger

6 months

Total vacant days across the calendar year

Absentee Surcharge

On land value — stacks on VRLT for foreign owners

TL;DR — WHAT YOU MUST DO BY 15 FEBRUARY

Every Victorian residential landowner must notify the SRO by 15 February through the VRLT portal — whether or not VRLT ends up applying.
If your property was vacant more than 6 months in the previous calendar year, VRLT applies at 1% of Capital Improved Value.
The rate escalates to 2% in year 2 and 3% in year 3 of continuous vacancy.
Exemptionsapply: holiday home, under-construction/renovation, changed ownership in the year, uninhabitable dwellings, and genuine "unable to occupy" circumstances.
Foreign owners pay the VRLT plus a separate 4% absentee owner surcharge on unimproved land value.

What Changed on 1 January 2025

VRLT has existed in Victoria since 2018, but until recently it only applied to 16 inner and middle Melbourne municipalities. The State Taxation Acts and Other Acts Amendment Act 2023 widened the scope twice: first from 1 January 2025 to the entire state of Victoria, and second to capture vacant residential land (bare blocks that have been vacant for 5+ consecutive years in metropolitan councils).

The practical effect is that every Victorian residential property owner — not just Melbourne investors — is now in scope. The SRO is running the 2025 calendar year as the first full year of data collection, and notifications for that year are due by 15 February 2026. The next cycle (2026 data, due 15 February 2027) is the one the countdown above tracks.

Era	Coverage	Rate
2018 – 2024	16 inner/middle Melbourne councils only	1% of CIV (flat)
1 Jan 2025 onwards	Entire state of Victoria	1% Y1 → 2% Y2 → 3% Y3+
1 Jan 2026	First full statewide data cycle — regional properties now in scope	As above

Does the Vacancy Test Catch You?

VRLT is triggered by more than 6 months of vacancy in a calendar year — continuous or non-continuous. Tap each month below to cycle its status. The tool will tell you whether the threshold is crossed.

INTERACTIVEVACANCY CHECKER

Tap each month to cycle its status: OCCUPIED → VACANT → EXEMPT. Seven or more vacant months (continuous or not) triggers VRLT for the year.

OCCUPIED12

VACANT0 / 12

EXEMPT0

✓Not subject to VRLT this year. Under the 6-month threshold — but you still need to notify the SRO that you qualify for an exemption or that the property was sufficiently occupied.

→

"Occupied" means meaningfully lived in.The SRO's test looks at actual residential use — family members, bona fide tenants, or permitted short-stay guests. A single weekend spent by the owner doesn't count a whole month as occupied.

What It Actually Costs — Put Your Numbers In

The rate is progressive: 1% of Capital Improved Value (CIV) in year 1, 2% in year 2 of continuous vacancy, 3% in year 3 and beyond. Absentee owners pay an additional 4% surcharge on unimproved land value. Slide your property's CIV to see what vacancy actually costs.

INTERACTIVEVRLT LIABILITY CALCULATOR

Capital Improved Value ($)

$900,000

Value for a vacant sale + improvements — not land value.

Absentee owner?

Escalating rate if you stay vacant

Year 1(1%)

$9,000

Year 2(2%)

$18,000

Year 3+(3%)

$27,000

3-YEAR VRLT TOTAL

$54,000

3-YR COMBINED

$54,000

Simplified model — assumes CIV is static (it typically isn't) and vacancy continues into each year. Absentee surcharge is on top of any regular land tax and is calculated on unimproved land value. Estimate only — verify with a registered tax agent before acting.

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CIV is not land value.It's the value of the property including improvements — broadly, what it would sell for vacant possession. You'll find it on your council rate notice. It is typically higher than the site (unimproved) land value shown on your SRO land tax assessment.

Five Exemptions Worth Claiming

Crossing the 6-month threshold doesn't automatically mean you pay. Several exemptions are available — but each has conditions and all require you to notify the SRO and claim them actively.

Available if the owner used the property as a genuine holiday home for at least four weeks (continuous or aggregated) during the relevant year. From 1 January 2025, joint owners and some corporate/trust structures can also claim. Must be able to evidence actual use — photos, travel records, utility readings, bookings.

If you have a current building permit and the property is undergoing construction or substantial renovation, VRLT is waived for up to 2 years. Extensions are possible in limited circumstances. Keep the permit documentation and evidence of active work progressing.

Properties that changed ownership during the year generally get a one-year reprieve. This covers genuine transactions, not internal restructures between related entities.

If the home was uninhabitable (fire-damaged, flood, serious defect requiring rectification) during any part of the year, a partial or full exemption can be claimed for that period.

Narrower exemption for cases where the owner intended to occupy or rent the property but was genuinely unable to — extended work overseas, medical care, etc. Expect to provide strong evidence.

How to Notify — Four Steps Before 15 February

Notification happens through the SRO's online VRLT portal. It's free and most owners complete it in about 15 minutes. Miss the deadline and you face default assessment plus penalty interest; notify late voluntarily and the penalty is usually minimal.

Log in to the SRO VRLT portal

Use your existing SRO portal credentials (the same login used for land tax). If you don't have an account, the registration takes about 5 minutes — you'll need your council property reference and the full title address.

Declare occupancy status for the year

Select one of the standard options: occupied as a main residence, occupied by a bona fide tenant, holiday-home usage, under construction/renovation, changed ownership, uninhabitable, or vacant.

Claim any applicable exemption

If you're relying on an exemption, select it explicitly and attach the supporting evidence — permit, travel records, tenancy agreement, photos of works. Exemptions aren't automatic; unclaimed exemptions default to a VRLT assessment.

Lodge and save the confirmation

The portal issues a notification receipt — save it with your tax records. If VRLT applies, the SRO issues an assessment notice separately, usually in March or April. You then have 60 days to pay or set up a payment plan.

What Happens If You Miss It

Scenario	Consequence
Notify on time, VRLT applies	Standard assessment. Pay or set up payment plan within 60 days.
Notify on time, valid exemption	Exemption applied. No VRLT for the year. You still need to re-notify each year.
Notify late (voluntarily)	VRLT assessed with minor administrative penalty. Better than discovery.
Don't notify — SRO discovers vacancy	Default VRLT assessment + up to 90% penalty on the tax shortfall + interest.
Make false declaration	Up to 90% penalty on shortfall + possible fraud referral for serious cases.
Continue to not notify after assessment	Enforcement, debt collection, title caveat, public action in worst cases.

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Voluntary disclosure is dramatically cheaper.If you realise you've missed a notification — even from a prior year — lodge it now with a short covering letter explaining the oversight. Penalties for unprompted disclosures are usually capped at 5-10% rather than the 50-90% that applies to SRO-discovered breaches.

How VRLT Has Expanded

January 2018

VRLT introduced — 16 inner and middle Melbourne councils only, flat 1% rate

2023

State Taxation Acts Amendment Act 2023 legislates the statewide expansion

1 January 2024

Progressive rate structure introduced — 1% Y1, 2% Y2, 3% Y3+

1 January 2025

Statewide coverage commences; all Victorian residential land in scope

1 January 2025

Joint-owner and certain trust holiday home exemptions extended

15 February 2026

First statewide VRLT notification deadline (for 2025 calendar year)

15 February 2027

Next notification deadline (for 2026 calendar year)

FAQ

The questions Lodgey's agent sees most from Victorian owners in the notification window.

Yes. Every Victorian residential landowner must lodge a notification, even main-residence owners. The portal has a fast "occupied as principal place of residence" pathway that takes a couple of minutes. Not notifying is itself a breach, regardless of whether VRLT would have applied.

Short-stay isresidential use and counts as occupied — but only for the days/weeks actually booked with paying guests. The Short-Stay Levy separately applies to short-stay income, but it doesn't make the property "vacant" for VRLT if it's being actively and genuinely let.

Brief gaps between tenants (typically under 2 months) are generally accepted as normal residential-use periods — they don't automatically clock up as "vacant" unless the property was also sitting idle between tenancies. Keep the letting agent's records and any listing evidence.

Yes — to any residential dwelling on a taxable parcel. New builds get the 2-year under-construction exemption until certificate of occupancy. Off-the-plan purchases during construction are typically exempt until the property is first capable of occupation.

Only if your actual use doesn't meet the holiday-home exemption threshold (at least 4 weeks of genuine use per year), or if the ownership structure doesn't qualify. The 2025 statewide expansion is what brings the coastal exposure in — from 2026 the exemption needs to be actively claimed every year.

They're stacked but separate. Regular Victorian land tax applies to the unimproved site value at the general tiered rates. VRLT sits on top of that at 1–3% of Capital Improved Value. An absentee owner pays both, plus the 4% absentee surcharge on land value.

Yes — within 60 days of assessment via the SRO's formal objection process. The most common successful objections relate to vacancy period disputes (you had tenants, records prove it) or missed exemption claims (permit documents post-assessment). VCAT review is the next step if the objection fails.

The Bottom Line

The statewide expansion makes this a compliance exercise every Victorian landowner now has, not just Melbourne investors. The notification itself is routine — it's the price of not notifying that's now sharp: a default assessment at 1% of Capital Improved Value plus penalty interest, escalating to 2% and 3% if vacancy persists.

The sensible pattern is a 15-minute portal session every January — declare, claim any exemption, keep the receipt. For a second property or a holiday home, build the evidence (bookings, utility usage, photos of actual use) through the year, not in a panic the week of the deadline.

This article is general information only and does not constitute tax or legal advice. VRLT rules interact with regular land tax, the absentee owner surcharge, the short-stay levy, and trust/company structures. Get independent advice for your specific circumstances.

BEYOND VRLT

What's VRLT actually costing your overall tax position?

VRLT is one line on a much bigger page. The calculator estimates your full property-tax picture — deductions missed, CGT cost base, PAYG opportunities — and tells you what Lodgey would change.

See my full position →

Sources

Victorian State Revenue Office — "Vacant residential land tax" (primary guidance)
SRO — "Exemptions from vacant residential land tax"
SRO — "Absentee owner surcharge" (4% rate from 2024-25 land tax year)
State Taxation Acts and Other Acts Amendment Act 2023 (Vic) — statewide expansion and progressive rate schedule
MST Lawyers — "Victorian Vacant Residential Land Tax: 2026 Notification Guide"
Alexander Spencer — "VRLT & Absentee Owner Surcharge: 2026 Property Tax Obligations"
SW Accountants & Advisors — "Navigating Victoria's 2026 land tax environment"
Rising Returns — "Land Tax VIC vs NSW in 2026 and the Role of Trust Structures"