ABSD in Singapore: rates, remissions and worked examples

Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) is the tax that most shapes who buys what in Singapore. It was introduced in 2011 to cool demand, and has been raised several times since. The current rates took effect on 27 April 2023.

Current ABSD rates

ABSD is charged on the purchase price or the market value, whichever is higher. It is calculated on the whole amount, not in bands, and is rounded down to the nearest dollar.

How ABSD is calculated

ABSD always comes on top of Buyer’s Stamp Duty. Take a $2,000,000 condo:

How your property count is worked out

The rate depends on how many residential properties you own at the moment you sign for the new one.

• Any share counts as one property. Owning 1% of a flat with a parent counts the same as owning all of it.
• HDB flats count. So do condos, landed homes, and shophouses with permitted residential use.
• A purchase counts from the day the contract is signed, even before you collect the keys.
• Property held on trust counts for each identifiable beneficial owner.
• Overseas property does not count.

Buying with someone else

When co-buyers have different profiles, IRAS applies the highest rate among them to the entire price. A citizen who owns nothing and buys jointly with a foreigner pays 60%, not a blend.

The same logic applies to property counts. If one spouse already owns a home and the other owns none, a joint purchase is taxed as a second home.

ABSD remission for married couples

Two reliefs matter to most families. Both need at least one Singapore Citizen spouse.

Buying a first matrimonial home together. A citizen married to a PR or foreigner can get full ABSD remission on a jointly bought home, as long as neither spouse owns any other residential property.

Buying a replacement home before selling the first. A married couple with a citizen spouse must pay ABSD on the second home up front. They can then claim a refund if they sell the first home within 6 months of:

• the date of purchase, for a completed property, or
• the Temporary Occupation Permit or Certificate of Statutory Completion date, whichever is earlier, for a property still under construction.

The couple must not buy any other property in between, and the refund has to be claimed within 6 months of selling the first home.

Watch the cash flow. On a $2,000,000 replacement home, a citizen couple pays $400,000 in ABSD within 14 days and waits for the refund. Plan for that amount in cash, because it cannot be borrowed from a bank.

Free trade agreement nationals

Under free trade agreements, the following buyers pay the same ABSD as Singapore Citizens:

• Nationals and permanent residents of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland
• Nationals of the United States

They still need to meet the usual rules on what foreigners can buy. See Can foreigners buy property in Singapore?

How much ABSD is collected

ABSD has become a significant source of revenue. The amount swings with how many second-home and foreign buyers are active in a given year.

Be careful with ABSD workarounds

Arrangements such as “99-to-1” purchases, where one spouse buys 99% and later sells 1% to the other, have been audited by IRAS as tax avoidance. Where IRAS finds avoidance it can recover the duty with a 50% surcharge. If someone proposes a structure that makes ABSD vanish, take independent legal advice before you sign.