Unit 2.7 Paper 1

Gift of Land for the RES Exam

Last reviewed 12 October 2026

A gift is a transfer of property made without consideration. That one missing element — the price — is what the whole of Unit 2.7 turns on: it changes how the transfer must be made, how stamp duty is calculated, and how vulnerable the transfer is if the donor later goes bankrupt. The unit is small but it is examined heavily, usually as a stamp duty computation or an insolvency look-back question.

Key points

A gift is a transfer without consideration; for registered land it is complete at law only when the transfer is registered.
A gratuitous promise is unenforceable unless made by deed — equity will not assist a volunteer or perfect an imperfect gift.
Where there is no consideration, stamp duty is computed on the market value of the property.
BSD, and ABSD where applicable, are payable by the transferee, assessed on the donee’s own residency status and property count.
There is no general stamp duty exemption for gifts within a family; property passing on death by assent to beneficiaries attracts no duty.
A gift can also trigger SSD, payable by the donor, if the donor is still within the holding period.
Under the IRDA 2018, a transaction at an undervalue within 3 years before the bankruptcy application may be set aside — not 5 years, and not automatically.
Insolvency is presumed where the transfer was to an associate such as a child or sibling; registration does not protect the donee.

What makes a gift of land valid

Three things make a gift: the donor intends to give, the donor receives nothing in return, and the gift is completed by the proper formalities. The third is where candidates lose marks.

Because there is no consideration, the transfer cannot rest on a contract. The Conveyancing and Law of Property Act requires a conveyance of any estate or interest in land, other than a short lease, to be made by deed, and for land under the Land Titles Act legal title passes only when an instrument of transfer in the approved form is registered at the Land Titles Registry. A gift of registered land is therefore complete at law only on registration. Signing the transfer is a step towards that; paying the stamp duty is another; neither, by itself, passes title.

An oral statement that a property “will be yours one day” transfers nothing. It is not a conveyance, there is no consideration to make it a contract, and there is no writing signed by the owner to satisfy section 6(d) of the Civil Law Act. Someone in that position is not a co-owner, is not on the title, and cannot stop the owner from selling.

Imperfect gifts: equity will not assist a volunteer

A promise to give is enforceable only if it is supported by consideration or made by deed. A donee who has given nothing is a volunteer, and the long-standing equitable principle is that equity will not assist a volunteer: the court will not compel a donor to complete a gift that the donor has left incomplete, and it will not treat a bare promise to give as creating a trust. A condition attached to the gift — “this flat is yours when you graduate” — is a condition of the gift, not something bargained for, so it does not supply consideration.

It follows that a gift which has not been perfected generally fails, and the donee has no claim. Candidates sometimes assume that because the donor clearly meant to give, equity will step in; the opposite is true. A person who says they were promised a property, but who is not on the title and holds no registered transfer, has no interest a salesperson can act on.

Note the contrast with resulting trusts, covered in the trust unit. Where someone actually pays for property put into another’s name, equity presumes a trust in their favour — but that is because they provided value, not because a gift was promised.

Stamp duty on a gift or a transfer for no consideration

A gift is a transfer of an interest in property, so it is dutiable. IRAS puts it directly: “Stamp duty will be computed based on the market value of the property where there is no consideration.” Buyer’s Stamp Duty is charged on the higher of the price or the market value, so a transfer at a nominal $1 is assessed on the full market value. BSD is payable by the buyer or transferee — the person receiving the gift — not by the donor, and there is no general exemption for gifts between family members.

Residential BSD is charged in bands (as at October 2026): 1% on the first $180,000, 2% on the next $180,000, 3% on the next $640,000, 4% on the next $500,000, 5% on the next $1.5 million and 6% above $3 million. Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty is then assessed on the donee’s own profile — residency status and the number of residential properties the donee already owns — and not on the donor’s. So a Singapore Citizen receiving a first residential property pays no ABSD, while a citizen who already owns an HDB flat pays the second-property rate of 20% on the market value. Seller’s Stamp Duty can also arise, because a gift is a disposal: if the donor is still within the SSD holding period, SSD is payable by the donor on the market value.

Stamping deadlines are the usual ones: within 14 days of signing in Singapore, or within 30 days of receipt in Singapore if signed overseas, with penalties of up to four times the duty. Some transfers for no consideration are treated differently. Property passing on death under a will, the Intestate Succession Act or Muslim law attracts no stamp duty on the assent to beneficiaries — although an inherited property still counts towards the beneficiary’s property count for ABSD on later purchases. Transfers under matrimonial proceedings on a divorce can be free of BSD, ABSD and SSD where the remission conditions are met, and a transfer of an HDB flat within the family can qualify for remission of BSD and SSD, with ABSD possibly still applying.

Gifts, bankruptcy and transactions at an undervalue

A gift is the clearest example of a transaction at an undervalue, and this is the single most heavily examined point in the unit. Under the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (sections 361 and 363), the Official Assignee may apply to court to set aside a transaction at an undervalue entered into within three years before the bankruptcy application. The look-back runs back from the date of the bankruptcy application, not the date of the bankruptcy order. The old five-year period belonged to the repealed Bankruptcy Act and applies only to applications made before 30 July 2020.

Two further conditions matter. The individual must have been insolvent at the time of the transaction or have become insolvent because of it; and that insolvency is presumed where the transaction was with an associate, such as a spouse, child or sibling. Where the recipient is a friend rather than a relative, the Official Assignee has to prove the insolvency. A sale for consideration significantly less than the property’s value is also a transaction at an undervalue — paying $400,000 for a unit worth $1.4 million does not take the transfer out of the provisions, and nor does putting the gift into a trust.

Setting aside is not automatic. The transaction is not void; the court must make an order, which can restore the position as if it had not taken place, for the benefit of creditors. Registering the transfer does not shield it, which is why a buyer’s solicitor searches for bankruptcy against the donor as well as the seller. The Act does protect a person who later acquires the property in good faith, for value and without notice of the relevant circumstances — but once the Official Assignee has lodged a caveat, anyone searching the title is on notice, and the caveat will stop a transfer being registered without being dealt with. A salesperson marketing a property that came in by gift within the look-back period should recommend legal advice and must not describe the title as unaffected.

Gifts into trust and gifts to minors

Parents sometimes want to put a property into a child’s name. A person under 21 cannot hold legal title to registered land in Singapore, so the property is held by an adult trustee “in trust for” the child, and legal title passes to the child at 21 when the trust ends. Section 35 of the Civil Law Act is the related point: a minor who has reached 18 generally contracts as if of full age, but the exceptions include the sale, purchase, mortgage or assignment of land and the transfer of a beneficial interest under a trust, so full capacity for land transactions comes at 21.

Putting residential property into a living trust also triggers ABSD (Trust), which has applied since 9 May 2022 and has been 65% since 27 April 2023 (as at October 2026). It is payable upfront whether or not the beneficial owners can be identified. A refund may be sought where all the beneficial owners are identifiable individuals whose interests have vested and are not variable or revocable; the application must be made within six months after the instrument is executed, and the refund is the ABSD (Trust) paid less the ABSD that would have applied at the highest rate among the beneficial owners’ profiles. BSD remains payable in any event.

For exam purposes, keep the two threads separate: whether the gift is effective is a question of formalities and equity, while what it costs is a question of stamp duty assessed on market value and on the recipient’s profile.

Terms to know

Gift: A transfer of property made without consideration, which must still be completed by the formalities required for that kind of property.
Volunteer: A person who has given no consideration; equity will not assist a volunteer by perfecting an incomplete gift.
Imperfect gift: A gift the donor has intended but not completed by the required formalities, which generally fails and leaves the donee with no claim.
Transaction at an undervalue: A gift, or a transfer for consideration significantly less than the property’s value, which the Official Assignee may apply to set aside under the IRDA 2018.
Associate: A person such as a spouse, child or sibling, where a transfer to them raises a presumption that the transferor was insolvent at the time.
Assent to beneficiaries: The transfer of property to a beneficiary under a will, the Intestate Succession Act or Muslim law, on which no stamp duty is payable.
ABSD (Trust): The Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty charged upfront on residential property transferred into a living trust, at 65% as at October 2026, subject to refund conditions.

Frequently asked questions

Is stamp duty payable on a property given as a gift?

Yes. IRAS computes stamp duty on the market value of the property where there is no consideration, so Buyer’s Stamp Duty and, where applicable, Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty are payable by the person receiving the gift. Transferring at a nominal $1 does not reduce the duty, and there is no general exemption for gifts between family members.

When does a gift of land actually take effect?

For land under the Land Titles Act, on registration of the instrument of transfer. Signing the transfer and paying the stamp duty are steps towards registration but do not pass legal title. A spoken promise or an unsigned letter transfers nothing.

Can a gift of property be undone if the donor goes bankrupt?

It can be challenged. Under the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018, the Official Assignee may apply to court to set aside a transaction at an undervalue made within three years before the bankruptcy application, provided the donor was insolvent at the time or became insolvent because of it. The transaction is not automatically void — a court order is needed.

Does the recipient of a gift pay ABSD based on the donor’s property count?

No. ABSD is assessed on the transferee’s own profile — their residency status and how many residential properties they already own. A Singapore Citizen receiving a first residential property pays no ABSD, while one who already owns a flat pays the second-property rate on the market value.

Can a parent put a property directly into a child’s name?

Not if the child is under 21, because a minor cannot hold legal title to registered land in Singapore. An adult trustee holds the property in trust for the child until the child turns 21, and if the property is placed into a living trust, ABSD (Trust) applies at 65% as at October 2026, subject to the refund conditions.

Official sources

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