Stamp Duty

Stamp Duty When Purchasing a Property

In Singapore, purchasers of any property are required to pay tax known as the Stamp Duty. There are 2 types of stamp duties applicable to purchasers i.e. the  Buyer Stamp Duty (BSD) and the Additional Buyer Stamp Duty (ABSD), which is applicable to certain groups of buyers.

Buyer Stamp Duty

The Buyer Stamp Duty (BSD)  is calculated based on the purchase price or market value, whichever is higher.

Example 1: if you have bought a $1,000,000 property, the BSD payable is

First $180,000 x 1% = $1,800

Next $180,000 x 1% = $3,600

Subsequent $640,000 x 3% = $19,200

Total BSD payable = $1800 + $3600 + $19,200 = $24,600

A simplified calculation method if your property is above $360,000 will be taking the 3% of the purchase price/market value minus $5,400.

Using the above example of a $1,000,000 property, the BSD payable will be $1,000,000 x 3% – $5,400 = $30,000 – $5,400 = $24,600

Example 2: if you have bought a $1,400,000 property, the BSD payable is

First $180,000 x 1% = $1,800

Next $180,000 x 1% = $3,600

Next $640,000 x 3% = $19,200

Next $400,000 x 4% = $16,000

Total BSD payable = $1800 + $3600 + $19,200 + $16,000 = $40,600

A simplified calculation method if your property is more than $1,000,000 but less than $1,500,000 will be taking the 4% of the purchase price/market value minus $15,400.

Using the above example of a $1,400,000 property, the BSD payable will be $1,400,000 x 4% – $15,400 = $56,000 – $15,400 = $40,600

Example 3:  if you have bought a $2,500,000 property, the BSD payable is

First $180,000 x 1% = $1,800

Next $180,000 x 1% = $3,600

Next $640,000 x 3% = $19,200

Next  $500,000 x 4% = $20,000

Next $1,000,000 x 5% = $50,000

Total BSD payable = $1800 + $3600 + $19,200 + $20,000 + $50,000 = $94,600

A simplified calculation method if your property is above $1,500,000 but below $3,,000,000 will be taking the 5% of the purchase price/market value minus $30,400.

Using the above example of a $2,500,000 property, the BSD payable will be $2,500,000 x 5% – $30,400 = $125,000 – $30,400 = $94,600

Example 4 (Applicable for Residential properties only) : if you have bought a $3,500,000 property, the BSD payable is

First $180,000 x 1% = $1,800

Next $180,000 x 1% = $3,600

Next $640,000 x 3% = $19,200

Next  $500,000 x 4% = $20,000

Next $1,500,000 x 5% = $75,000

Remaining $500,000 x 6% = $30,000

Total BSD payable = $1800 + $3600 + $19,200 + $20,000 + $75,000 + $30,000 = $149,600

A simplified calculation method if your property is above  $3,,000,000 will be taking the 6% of the purchase price/market value minus $60,400.

Using the above example of a $3,500,000 property, the BSD payable will be $3,500,000 x 6% – $60,400 = $210,000 – $60,400 = $149,600

Additional Buyer Stamp Duty

Additional Buyer Stamp Duty (ABSD) is an additional tax applicable to certain group of buyers. ABSD is not applicable to the following group of buyers:

1. Commercial or industrial properties buyers.
2. Singapore Citizens who does not own any Singapore residential properties at the time of their purchase.
3. Singapore Citizens who are purchasing HDB flat or Executive Condominium.

For Singapore Citizens,

1. If you own 1 residential property in Singapore, the ABSD payable is 17% of Purchase Price or Market Price, whichever is higher.
2. If you own 2 or more residential properties in Singapore, ABSD payable is 25% of Purchase Price or Market Price, whichever is higher.

For Singapore Permanent Residents,

1. If you are currently do not own any residential property in Singapore, ABSD payable is 5% of Purchase Price or Market Price, whichever is higher.
2. If you are owning 1 residential properties in Singapore, ABSD payable is 25% of Purchase Price or Market Price, whichever is higher.
3. If you own 2 or more residential properties in Singapore, ABSD payable is 30% of Purchase Price or Market Price, whichever is higher.

For Foreigners or Purchasers who are not individuals (Companies)

The ABSD payable is 30% of Purchase Price or Market Price, whichever is higher regardless the number of Singapore residential property you own at the time of purchase.

For Purchasers who are not individuals (Entities)

The ABSD payable is 35% of Purchase Price or Market Price, whichever is higher regardless the number of Singapore residential property the entity own at the time of purchase.

ABSD Applicable for 2 Or More Joint Purchasers

For purchases made jointly by 2 or more parties, the higher ABSD will be imposed.

Example 1: If a Singaporean wish to purchase a property together with a foreigner, the ABSD payable will be 60%.

Example 2: If two Singaporeans jointly purchase a property with one of them already own 2 residential properties at the time of purchase, the ABSD payable will be 30%.

Remission of ABSD

Married Couples (with at least 1 Singaporean) can apply for refund of ABSD if they intend to dispose their current property  to buy a new property. Neither party of the couple must possess any other property at the time of their purchase. The timeline to sell off their current property is within 6 months after their new property has TOP or sales completion date for resale

When are BSD and ABSD Payable?

Purchasers must pay both BSD and ABSD:

• within 14 days from date of execution of the Sales & Purchase Agreement/Option to Purchase  if it is signed in Singapore or:
• within 30 days of its receipt in Singapore if it is signed overseas

Can I use my CPF to pay for BSD and ABSD?

Both the ABSD and BSD can be reimbursed from the buyer’s CPF if you wish to do so.  However, you will have take note of the following:

1. You can only use funds from you Ordinary Account for payment.
2. If you purchasing a second property using CPF, you must set aside the prevailing Basic Retirement Sum (BRS). Only monies in excess of the current BRS remaining in your Ordinary Account can be used.
3. For completed projects, it is in a form of reimbursement, meaning that you first pay up in cash, and receive the amount paid at a later date from your CPF. For purchase of a property that is still under construction, stamp duties can be paid directly from CPF.

Besides Stamp Duties, funds in the Ordinary Account can also be used to pay

• Legal Fees
• Purchase Price
• Monthly repayments of bank loan

Stamp Duty When Selling a Property

Seller Stamp Duty (SSD) is only applicable to private residential properties and industrial properties which a property is sold within a stipulated holding period.  It is calculated from the date that you have exercised your Option to Purchase/Sales & Purchase Agreement to your selling date on the same property.

The selling date refers to the date that your buyer has exercised his/her Option to Purchase. SSD is calculated based on the selling price or market value, whichever is higher.

For Residential property,

Date of Purchase: Between 14 Jan 2011 and 10 Mar 2017

Holding Period

Date of Purchase: On and after 11 Mar 2017

Holding Period

For Industrial property,

Date of Purchase: On and after 11 Mar 2017

Holding Period