The cash still needed for a commercial property purchase is more than a deposit percentage. You need to know what has already been paid, what falls due before settlement and how much the lender will actually release.
This hypothetical NSW example brings those amounts together. It is a preparation guide, not a tax assessment, loan offer or confirmation that a transaction can complete. For the separate question of how valuation affects borrowing, see our commercial property LVR guide.
Which price and payments should you start with?
Use the contractual amount and GST treatment confirmed for your purchase. Record whether GST is included, additional or still unresolved. Do not automatically add a percentage to an advertised price or assume a future tax credit will fund settlement.
Revenue NSW's dutiable-value guidance explains that GST included in the price is not removed from the consideration for duty. An additional contractual GST payment can increase that consideration. Your legal and tax advisers need to confirm the treatment of your contract.
Then separate paid amounts from unpaid amounts. A contract deposit credited against the price reduces the price still owing once. A paid valuation invoice is a historical cost, not another bill to deduct from a cash balance that already reflects the payment.
A hypothetical purchase: what is already paid?
All figures below are invented and in Australian dollars. As of 19 October 2026, assume an ordinary direct commercial purchase in NSW, with no special duty treatment or additional dutiable amounts. It is not an SMSF, development or mixed-use example.
- Contract signed: 1 September 2026. Settlement is scheduled for 15 January 2027.
- Confirmed contract total: $1,100,000, including $100,000 GST. Assume the property's unencumbered value is also $1,100,000.
- Already paid: a $110,000 contract deposit credited against the price, plus a $2,200 valuation invoice.
- Current available cash: $300,000 after those payments.
The remaining contract price is therefore $990,000. The $112,200 already paid belongs in the transaction's history; it is not added to the remaining cash requirement.
When is duty needed, and how much?
Revenue NSW's ordinary payment rule requires duty by the earlier of settlement or three months after signing the contract. In this example, that is 1 December 2026, before the January settlement. Confirm your actual deadline and payment instructions with your legal representative.
The contract date selects the applicable rate year. Using Revenue NSW's 2026/27 general rates and the assumed $1,100,000 dutiable value, the duty estimate is:
$11,602 + ($1,100,000 − $387,000) × 4.5% = $43,687.
This checks the example's arithmetic, not your liability. Actual duty depends on the applicable value and treatment, including any relevant exemption or concession. Here, paying the $43,687 leaves $256,313 of the stated cash balance. The fictional loan is unavailable until settlement, so it cannot meet this earlier payment.
What cash remains for settlement?
Assume a fictional funding statement shows a $770,000 gross loan, with $7,700 establishment costs and $3,300 lender legal costs deducted. The net amount available at settlement is $759,000. These invented figures are not a lending limit or offer.
Also assume the buyer must pay these separate amounts at settlement:
- Own solicitor: $4,400 quoted.
- Registration and settlement charges: $900 quoted.
- Purchaser debit adjustments: $1,500 estimated.
Those amounts total $6,800. They are stipulated all-in figures; GST is not added again. Final invoices and adjustments remain to be confirmed.
The settlement cash top-up is $990,000 remaining price + $6,800 separate costs − $759,000 net loan proceeds = $237,800. Do not add the $11,000 withheld lender costs again after using the net advance.
The example therefore has two cash calls:
- $43,687 by 1 December for duty.
- $237,800 for settlement on 15 January, subject to the actual cleared-funds instructions, which may require transfer earlier.
That is $281,487 additional cash from the 19 October snapshot, leaving $18,513 from the supplied $300,000. The balance covers only the listed amounts; it does not establish an adequate contingency, cover ongoing ownership costs or confirm settlement readiness.
What if a figure is unknown or changes?
If the contract's GST treatment or total remains unresolved, keep the final cash requirement unresolved too. If only the gross loan is known, ask for the actual net proceeds and availability conditions. Do not substitute the headline loan amount.
Keep future tax credits separate from available cash. This example counts no GST refund or credit as funding and makes no finding about entitlement or timing.
Update both payment status and the cash balance as payments occur. After the example's duty is paid, the cash balance becomes $256,313 and the remaining call is $237,800. Charging the paid duty again would double-count it.
For each unresolved amount, note whether it is an estimate, quote or final figure, what has been paid, when the balance is due and who will confirm it. Use the contract, receipts, current funding statement and settlement figures rather than treating this example's numbers as a budget for your purchase.
How can you bring the figures together?
Ask your legal or settlement representative to confirm contractual credits, duty and settlement adjustments; your tax adviser to confirm GST treatment; and the lender to confirm net funding and its conditions. A proposed loan and an expected settlement date do not by themselves establish that funds will be available.
Flexdoc can help you discuss the finance requirement and relevant lender options alongside those confirmed purchase figures. Explore our commercial property lending service or book a conversation. This is general information; the example does not replace legal, tax or individual finance advice.