Share
[mk_page_section padding_top=”0″ padding_bottom=”0″ visibility=”hidden-sm” sidebar=”sidebar-1″]
Singapore Property Guide 101: Stamp Duty
[/mk_fancy_title]
Buying property in Singapore can be confusing. Since cooling measures were implemented in 2013, there’s been a shake-up in stamp duty regulation that can leave both new home buyers and experienced ones equally confused. With that in mind, the EasyRates team have compiled an easy to understand guide on stamp duty in Singapore.
For Buyers
| Applicable Stamp Duty/ Profile of Buyer |
Buyers Stamp Duty | Additional Buyers Stamp Duty | Mortgage Duty |
| Singapore Citizen buying first home |
X | X | |
| Singapore Citizen buying a second home or more |
X | X | X |
| Singapore PRs/ Foreigners | X | X | X |
Buyers Stamp Duty (BSD)(All Property)
BSD is payable by all prospective homeowners seeking to purchase a property in Singapore, regardless of the amount of property you already own and applies to purchases of any property (Industrial, Commercial or Residential). The stamp duty payable in this case is calculated as below:
| Purchase Price or Market Value of the Property | BSD Rates |
| First $180,000 | 1% |
| Next $180,000 | 2% |
| Remaining Amount | 3% |
Things to note
- When assessing the stamp duty payable, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) uses the higher value of either the purchase price or market value of the property, so don’t be surprised if you end up paying more in BSD than you should based on the purchase price of the property.
- BSD is generally applicable to all property in Singapore
Additional Buyers Stamp Duty (ABSD)(Residential Only)
As part of the cooling measures announced in 2013, the Additional Buyers Stamp Duty or ABSD was revised upwards from its previous levels. ABSD is applicable only to residential property and is based on the number of homes you currently own. ABSD is currently set at 0% for Singapore citizens who at the time of buying do not hold any other residential property and increases based on the number of homes you own in Singapore. A little known fact is that for the purposes of ABSD calculation, because of Free Trade Agreements, Citizens of the USA, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland will be treated the same as Singapore Citizens.
| Profile of Buyer | 1st Property | 2nd Property | 3rd Property and more |
| Singapore Citizen | Not applicable | 7% | 10% |
| Singapore PRs | 5% | 10% | 10% |
| Foreigners and Entities | 15% | ||
Things to note
- If you’re buying a property with another individual, IRAS will base the ABSD payable on the individual with the highest amount payable.
- g John is buying his 1st property with his wife Jane who already owns a property in Singapore. In this case, IRAS will charge ABSD based on his wife Jane, meaning that even though John doesn’t own a home in Singapore at the moment, the two of them will have to pay 7% ABSD.
- Corporate entities buying a residential property will be charged the same ABSD rates as that of a foreigner.
- ABSD is only applicable to residential property and not commercial or industrial property.
Want to own a second or third residential property but don’t want to pay ABSD?
Speak to our consultants for a free no obligation consultation to find out if you qualify for decoupling!
Mortgage Duty
When securing a mortgage in Singapore, the amount mortgaged is subjected to a mortgage duty which varies between 0.2 – 0.4% but is however capped at $500. In practice, you can assume that you’ll be paying $500 in mortgage duty as long as you’re taking out a mortgage, since banks do not normally grant a loan quantum of less than $100,000 in Singapore
For Sellers
Sellers Stamp Duty (SSD)
While the calculation of Sellers stamp duty for Industrial property is fairly straight forward, residential sellers stamp duty is a bit more complex and is based on the period in which you purchased your property, to find out more please see the table below:
Residential Property SSD Table
| Profile of Buyer | Less than 1 year | 1 – 2 Years | 2 – 3 Years | 3 – 4 Years | 4 Years or more |
| Between 20 Feb 2010 and 29 Aug 2010 (all inclusive) | 1% on first $180,000 2% on next $180,000 3% on remainder |
Not Applicable | |||
| Between 30 Aug 2010 and 13 Jan 2011 (all inclusive) | 1% on first $180,000 2% on next $180,000 3% on remainder |
0.67% on first $180,000 1.33% on next $180,000 2% on remainder |
0.33% on first $180,000 0.67% on next $180,000 1% on remainder |
Not Applicable | |
| On and after 14 Jan 2011 | 16% | 12% | 8% | 4% | Not Applicable |
Industrial Property SSD Table
| Date of Purchase / Acquisition or Date of Change of Zoning / Use | Holding Period | SSD Rate (on the actual price or market value, whichever is higher) |
| On or after 12 Jan 2013 | Up to 1 year | 15% |
| More than 1 year and up to 2 years | 10% | |
| More than 2 years and up to 3 years | 5% | |
| More than 3 years | No SSD payable |
Things to note
- SSD is calculated based on the selling price or the market value of the property as at the date of sale or disposal, whichever is higher
- If you’re acquiring only a part of the residential property, SSD payable will be based on the selling price or market value of the partial interest, whichever is higher.
- SSD is not applicable for industrial properties purchased before 12 Jan 2013
Need more advice on stamp duty and the best ways to minimize it?
Speak to our consultants for a free no obligation consultation to find out more!
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading our guide on stamp duties in Singapore, if you’d like to know more about stamp duties do feel free to leave a comment below! Think this article would be useful for your friends? Share it! Have questions about buying property in Singapore and getting a mortgage? Feel free to get a no obligation consultation with our mortgage experts here at EasyRates!
EasyRates is Singapore’s preferred portal for home loans, refinancing, equity loans, overseas loans, personal and business loans, having long standing partnerships with more than 20 banks. Our experienced consultants are advocates for our customers and work hard to ensure you get the best packages available. The best part? Our services are 100% free of charge. Here at EasyRates we pride ourselves on providing unbiased advice on all loans and financial products and putting our customers above all else. So what are you waiting for? Get a FREE Mortgage consultation today!
GERRY ONG
Former banking lizard, startup ninja and trainer turned writer. A coffee to content conversion system who writes by day and codes by night. Lives simply, thinks deeply and exercises never.
Singapore Property Guide 101: Stamp Duty
[/mk_fancy_title]
Buying property in Singapore can be confusing. Since cooling measures were implemented in 2013, there’s been a shake-up in stamp duty regulation that can leave both new home buyers and experienced ones equally confused. With that in mind, the EasyRates team have compiled an easy to understand guide on stamp duty in Singapore.
For Buyers
| Applicable Stamp Duty/ Profile of Buyer |
Buyers Stamp Duty | Additional Buyers Stamp Duty | Mortgage Duty |
| Singapore Citizen buying first home |
X | X | |
| Singapore Citizen buying a second home or more |
X | X | X |
| Singapore PRs/ Foreigners | X | X | X |
Buyers Stamp Duty (BSD)(All Property)
BSD is payable by all prospective homeowners seeking to purchase a property in Singapore, regardless of the amount of property you already own and applies to purchases of any property (Industrial, Commercial or Residential). The stamp duty payable in this case is calculated as below:
| Purchase Price or Market Value of the Property | BSD Rates |
| First $180,000 | 1% |
| Next $180,000 | 2% |
| Remaining Amount | 3% |
Things to note
- When assessing the stamp duty payable, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) uses the higher value of either the purchase price or market value of the property, so don’t be surprised if you end up paying more in BSD than you should based on the purchase price of the property.
- BSD is generally applicable to all property in Singapore
Additional Buyers Stamp Duty (ABSD)(Residential Only)
As part of the cooling measures announced in 2013, the Additional Buyers Stamp Duty or ABSD was revised upwards from its previous levels. ABSD is applicable only to residential property and is based on the number of homes you currently own. ABSD is currently set at 0% for Singapore citizens who at the time of buying do not hold any other residential property and increases based on the number of homes you own in Singapore. A little known fact is that for the purposes of ABSD calculation, because of Free Trade Agreements, Citizens of the USA, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland will be treated the same as Singapore Citizens.
| Profile of Buyer | 1st Property | 2nd Property | 3rd Property and more |
| Singapore Citizen | Not applicable | 7% | 10% |
| Singapore PRs | 5% | 10% | 10% |
| Foreigners and Entities | 15% | ||
Things to note
- If you’re buying a property with another individual, IRAS will base the ABSD payable on the individual with the highest amount payable.
- g John is buying his 1st property with his wife Jane who already owns a property in Singapore. In this case, IRAS will charge ABSD based on his wife Jane, meaning that even though John doesn’t own a home in Singapore at the moment, the two of them will have to pay 7% ABSD.
- Corporate entities buying a residential property will be charged the same ABSD rates as that of a foreigner.
- ABSD is only applicable to residential property and not commercial or industrial property.
Want to own a second or third residential property but don’t want to pay ABSD?
Speak to our consultants for a free no obligation consultation to find out if you qualify for decoupling!
Mortgage Duty
When securing a mortgage in Singapore, the amount mortgaged is subjected to a mortgage duty which varies between 0.2 – 0.4% but is however capped at $500. In practice, you can assume that you’ll be paying $500 in mortgage duty as long as you’re taking out a mortgage, since banks do not normally grant a loan quantum of less than $100,000 in Singapore
For Sellers
Sellers Stamp Duty (SSD)
While the calculation of Sellers stamp duty for Industrial property is fairly straight forward, residential sellers stamp duty is a bit more complex and is based on the period in which you purchased your property, to find out more please see the table below:
Residential Property SSD Table
| Profile of Buyer | Less than 1 year | 1 – 2 Years | 2 – 3 Years | 3 – 4 Years | 4 Years or more |
| Between 20 Feb 2010 and 29 Aug 2010 (all inclusive) | 1% on first $180,000 2% on next $180,000 3% on remainder |
Not Applicable | |||
| Between 30 Aug 2010 and 13 Jan 2011 (all inclusive) | 1% on first $180,000 2% on next $180,000 3% on remainder |
0.67% on first $180,000 1.33% on next $180,000 2% on remainder |
0.33% on first $180,000 0.67% on next $180,000 1% on remainder |
Not Applicable | |
| On and after 14 Jan 2011 | 16% | 12% | 8% | 4% | Not Applicable |
Industrial Property SSD Table
| Date of Purchase / Acquisition or Date of Change of Zoning / Use | Holding Period | SSD Rate (on the actual price or market value, whichever is higher) |
| On or after 12 Jan 2013 | Up to 1 year | 15% |
| More than 1 year and up to 2 years | 10% | |
| More than 2 years and up to 3 years | 5% | |
| More than 3 years | No SSD payable |
Things to note
- SSD is calculated based on the selling price or the market value of the property as at the date of sale or disposal, whichever is higher
- If you’re acquiring only a part of the residential property, SSD payable will be based on the selling price or market value of the partial interest, whichever is higher.
- SSD is not applicable for industrial properties purchased before 12 Jan 2013
Need more advice on stamp duty and the best ways to minimize it?
Speak to our consultants for a free no obligation consultation to find out more!
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading our guide on stamp duties in Singapore, if you’d like to know more about stamp duties do feel free to leave a comment below! Think this article would be useful for your friends? Share it! Have questions about buying property in Singapore and getting a mortgage? Feel free to get a no obligation consultation with our mortgage experts here at EasyRates!
EasyRates is Singapore’s preferred portal for home loans, refinancing, equity loans, overseas loans, personal and business loans, having long standing partnerships with more than 20 banks. Our experienced consultants are advocates for our customers and work hard to ensure you get the best packages available. The best part? Our services are 100% free of charge. Here at EasyRates we pride ourselves on providing unbiased advice on all loans and financial products and putting our customers above all else. So what are you waiting for? Get a FREE Mortgage consultation today!
GERRY ONG
Former banking lizard, startup ninja and trainer turned writer. A coffee to content conversion system who writes by day and codes by night. Lives simply, thinks deeply and exercises never.
Leave a comment
2 Comments
Leave a Comment
Next Up
Most commercial properties in Singapore are either 60 years leasehold or freehold. If you are an investor, it will be best to work out what fits your budget. Naturally, a leasehold property will be much cheaper.
Forestwood Residences
How does IRAS determine the market value of a property?