Taxes on Property for the RES Exam

Unit 4.8 is the most figure-heavy unit in Paper 2. Candidates are expected to compute property tax from an annual value, work buyer’s stamp duty through the bands, apply the right additional buyer’s stamp duty rate to a joint purchase, decide whether seller’s stamp duty bites and at what rate, and say when GST applies. Every figure below is stated as at October 2026, because the rates move: the residential property tax bands were reset on 1 January 2025, the ABSD rates were last revised on 27 April 2023, the buyer’s stamp duty bands on 15 February 2023 and the seller’s stamp duty schedule on 4 July 2025.

Property tax: annual value and the current bands

Property tax is a tax on ownership. It is payable whether the property is occupied, vacant or let, and the vacancy refund was removed from 2014. The tax is the annual value multiplied by the applicable rate. Annual value is the gross amount at which the property could reasonably be expected to be let from year to year, with the landlord paying the costs of repair, insurance, maintenance and upkeep and all taxes other than GST. It is assessed from the market rents of comparable properties, adjusted for location, size and condition, and it applies to HDB flats and private homes alike, including homes that are not actually let. It is not based on the sale price, and furniture and service charges are excluded. For vacant land or land under development, annual value is typically taken as 5 per cent of the estimated market value of the land. The owner is liable; co-owners share the bill and one payment settles it.

There are three rate structures, as at October 2026. Owner-occupier residential rates, in force since 1 January 2025 and unchanged for 2026, are progressive from 0 per cent to 32 per cent. Non-owner-occupied residential rates, in force since 1 January 2024, run from 12 per cent to 36 per cent. All other properties — commercial and industrial — are taxed at a flat 10 per cent of annual value; MOF confirmed in September 2025 that differentiated vacant and non-vacant rates for commercial and industrial property were not introduced.

The owner-occupier concession is narrow. It is available to an individual or married couple who own and reside in the home, and to only one property per owner or married couple, even where the spouses live in different homes. Parents living in the owner’s flat while the owner lives elsewhere does not qualify. An owner working abroad keeps the rates if the home is kept as their home and not let, but once it is let the non-owner-occupied rates apply, and when the lease ends and the owner moves back they must reapply for owner-occupier rates. Where an HDB seller takes an extension of stay of up to three months after completion, the buyer is liable for the tax and the owner-occupier rates do not apply until the new owner moves in.

• Owner-occupier (from 1 Jan 2025): first $12,000 nil; next $28,000 at 4%; next $10,000 at 6%; next $25,000 at 10%; next $10,000 at 14%; next $15,000 at 20%; next $40,000 at 26%; above $140,000 at 32%
• Non-owner-occupied residential (from 1 Jan 2024): first $30,000 at 12%; next $15,000 at 20%; next $15,000 at 28%; above $60,000 at 36%
• All other properties: 10% of annual value

Working out property tax, rebates and the notification duties

Take an owner-occupied private home with an annual value of $36,000. The first $12,000 is free of tax and the remaining $24,000 falls in the 4 per cent band, so the tax is 4 per cent of $24,000, or $960. The 2026 one-off rebate for owner-occupied private homes is 10 per cent capped at $500, so the rebate is $96 and the amount payable is $864. The common errors are applying 4 per cent to the whole $36,000, which gives $1,440, and using the pre-2025 bands, where the first $8,000 was free of tax, 4 per cent ran to $30,000 and 6 per cent applied above that, which gives $1,240.

Now let the same home at an annual value of $50,000. At owner-occupier rates the tax is $1,120 on the band to $40,000 plus 6 per cent of the next $10,000, that is $600, giving $1,720. Let the property out and the non-owner-occupied rates apply instead: 12 per cent of the first $30,000 is $3,600, 20 per cent of the next $15,000 is $3,000, and 28 per cent of the remaining $5,000 is $1,400, giving $8,000. The same annual value therefore produces a tax bill more than four and a half times higher once the home is no longer owner-occupied, which is why the tax consequence of letting is examined alongside Units 4.5 and 4.6. A shop with an annual value of $60,000 is taxed at the flat 10 per cent, or $6,000.

For 2026 the Government granted a one-off rebate of 15 per cent for owner-occupied HDB flats and 10 per cent, capped at $500, for owner-occupied private homes, offset automatically against the bill. All one- and two-room HDB owner-occupiers pay no property tax. An HDB flat with an annual value of $15,000 would be taxed at 4 per cent of $3,000, or $120, less a 15 per cent rebate of $18, leaving $102 for 2026.

Property tax is billed yearly in advance and is due on 31 January. GIRO allows up to twelve interest-free monthly instalments, and late payment attracts a 5 per cent penalty. The owner’s notification duties are tested: a sale or transfer must be notified within 1 month, and a new letting, a rent increase, or ceasing to occupy the property as owner within 15 days. On a sale the seller is billed for the full year in January, and the lawyer or HDB apportions the tax at completion, with the seller reimbursed for the buyer’s share; once the transfer is registered the new owner is liable for all property tax on the property, including arrears, which is why the buyer’s lawyer checks for outstanding tax.

Buyer’s stamp duty

Buyer’s stamp duty is payable by the buyer or transferee on every purchase, including a Singapore citizen’s first home, and is computed on the higher of the purchase price or the market value. The bands below have applied since 15 February 2023. Residential and non-residential rates are identical up to $3 million and diverge only above it, where residential pays 6 per cent and non-residential 5 per cent.

Duty is due within 14 days of the date of acquisition, which is the date the option to purchase is exercised or, where no option was granted, the date the sale and purchase agreement is signed — not completion. A document signed overseas must be stamped within 30 days after it is received in Singapore. Where parties sign on different dates the period runs from the first signature, and stamping can be done before signing. The penalty for late stamping is up to four times the duty. CPF cannot be deducted directly for stamp duty: the buyer pays cash within the deadline and is then reimbursed from the Ordinary Account.

Work the bands rather than guessing a flat rate. On a residential purchase at $1,650,000 the duty is 1 per cent of $180,000 ($1,800), plus 2 per cent of the next $180,000 ($3,600), plus 3 per cent of the next $640,000 ($19,200), plus 4 per cent of the next $500,000 ($20,000), plus 5 per cent of the remaining $150,000 ($7,500) — a total of $52,100. A useful check is that duty on the first $1.5 million is always $44,600. A commercial shophouse at $3,400,000 pays $44,600 plus 5 per cent of the $1.9 million above $1.5 million, that is $95,000, giving $139,600; the same price as a residential property would attract $143,600, because the residential 6 per cent band applies above $3 million.

Classification follows land zoning, not actual use, so a semi-detached house on residentially zoned land that has been approved as a childcare centre pays residential rates. Mixed-use property is apportioned, with residential and non-residential rates applied to the value attributable to each component. A gift attracts duty on market value. Inheritance under a will, the Intestate Succession Act or Muslim law attracts no stamp duty, and transfers under matrimonial proceedings are remitted if the conditions are met. On a rescinded or aborted sale, duty above $50 can be remitted on application through myTax Portal.

• First $180,000 — 1% (residential and non-residential)
• Next $180,000, to $360,000 — 2%
• Next $640,000, to $1,000,000 — 3%
• Next $500,000, to $1,500,000 — 4%
• Above $1,500,000 to $3,000,000 — 5%
• Above $3,000,000 — 6% residential, 5% non-residential

Additional buyer’s stamp duty by profile

Additional buyer’s stamp duty applies to residential property only, on top of buyer’s stamp duty, on the higher of price or market value. The rates below were set on 27 April 2023 and remain current as at October 2026. A Singapore citizen pays nothing on a first home, 20 per cent on a second and 30 per cent on a third or later. A permanent resident pays 5 per cent, 30 per cent and 35 per cent. A foreigner pays 60 per cent on any residential purchase. An entity or a trustee pays 65 per cent, with no first-property concession. A licensed housing developer buying residential land pays 40 per cent, made up of 5 per cent that is not remittable and 35 per cent that is remittable upfront on condition that development commences within two years and the project is completed and all units sold within five years.

The rule that decides most questions is that on a joint purchase the highest applicable rate applies to the entire value — the rates are never averaged and never apportioned by share. A citizen buying a first home with a permanent resident buying a first home pays 5 per cent on the whole price: on $1,600,000 that is $80,000. A citizen buying a second property with a permanent resident buying a first pays 20 per cent on the whole price. Status must have been granted by ICA on or before the purchase date; status granted later gives no refund. The count of properties includes property acquired by purchase, inheritance, gift, settlement, trust or exchange, so an inherited flat counts even though no duty was paid on the inheritance. An HDB occupier who is not an owner does not count that flat. Buying out a co-owner or decoupling attracts no additional duty on the extra share, though buyer’s stamp duty is still payable on it.

Two reliefs for married couples are tested almost every paper. Where a married couple with at least one citizen spouse jointly buy their first home and neither spouse owns any residential property, there is an upfront remission. Where such a couple jointly buy a second home, they pay the duty upfront and may claim a refund if they sell the first home within 6 months of the purchase date, if the new home is completed, or of the temporary occupation permit or certificate of statutory completion date, whichever is earlier, if it is not. The purchase must be joint: a purchase in one spouse’s sole name does not qualify, which is the fact pattern the exam uses to make the refund unavailable. There is also an upfront remission on HDB flats and new executive condominium units where at least one buyer is a citizen, so a citizen and permanent resident couple who own a four-room flat and buy a five-room flat pay no additional duty; two permanent residents, or a couple including a foreigner, get no such remission. Under the United States–Singapore Free Trade Agreement a United States citizen is treated like a citizen for stamp duty, so a first home attracts no additional duty.

A worked example brings the two duties together. A Singapore citizen couple who still own their HDB flat buy a completed condominium at $1,650,000 jointly. Buyer’s stamp duty is $52,100. As the condominium is their second residential property, additional buyer’s stamp duty is 20 per cent of $1,650,000, or $330,000. Both are payable in cash within 14 days of exercising the option, a total of $382,100, and the $330,000 is refundable if the flat is sold within six months of the purchase date.

Seller’s stamp duty

Seller’s stamp duty is charged on the seller, at the rate applicable to the holding period, on the higher of the selling price or market value at the date of sale. It is due within 14 days of the executed sale contract, payable in cash only with no CPF and no deferment. Which schedule applies depends on when the property was acquired, and that is the distinction candidates most often miss.

For residential property acquired on or after 4 July 2025, the holding period is 4 years and the rates are 16, 12, 8 and 4 per cent for a disposal within the first, second, third and fourth year respectively. For residential property acquired between 11 March 2017 and 3 July 2025, the holding period is 3 years at 12, 8 and 4 per cent. MOF’s announcement extended the holding period from three years to four and raised each rate by four percentage points, with the change applying to residential property purchased on and after 4 July 2025. HDB flats are in practice unaffected, because the five-year minimum occupation period is longer than the four-year holding period.

So a unit bought on 12 November 2026 and sold on 30 June 2029 has been held more than two but not more than three years; the rate is 8 per cent, and on a price of $1,800,000 the duty is $144,000. A unit bought on 15 August 2024 and sold on 20 October 2026 falls under the older schedule: more than two but not more than three years gives 4 per cent, and on $2,900,000 that is $116,000. A sub-sale is a disposal and is not exempt.

The holding period runs from the date of acquisition to the date of disposal, and the date of disposal is the date the buyer exercises the option, failing which the date of the sale and purchase agreement, failing which the date of transfer. For inherited property the acquisition date is the date the deceased first acquired it, so an heir selling soon after a death usually pays nothing. Where an HDB shop with living quarters is sold within the holding period, the duty applies only to the value of the residential part. No duty arises on a matrimonial transfer that meets the remission conditions, on the assent of an inheritance, or on a transfer of an HDB flat within the family, and duty above $50 on an aborted sale can be remitted.

Industrial property acquired on or after 12 January 2013 has its own schedule: 15 per cent if sold within a year, 10 per cent for more than one and up to two years, 5 per cent for more than two and up to three years, and nothing after three years. “Industrial” means premises with permitted industrial use, or land or whole buildings zoned Business 1, Business 2, Business Park or their White variants. There is no seller’s stamp duty on purely commercial property, and no additional buyer’s stamp duty either.

Lease duty, mortgage duty and GST

Lease duty is covered in Unit 4.5, and the two figures to carry across are 0.4 per cent of the total rent for a lease of four years or less and 0.4 per cent of four times the average annual rent for a longer or indefinite term, with an exemption where the average annual rent is $1,000 or less and the lessee liable unless the lease says otherwise. Mortgage duty is 0.4 per cent of the loan for a legal mortgage and 0.2 per cent for an equitable mortgage, capped at $500. The cap is the examined point: 0.4 per cent of a $900,000 loan is $3,600, so the duty is $500.

GST has been 9 per cent since 1 January 2024. The sale and lease of all property in Singapore is subject to GST except the sale and lease of residential property, which is exempt. So a GST-registered owner must charge GST when selling or letting commercial or industrial property, while a developer selling a condominium unit charges none, however large the sale. A non-registered owner cannot charge GST at all, which is why a small landlord’s office rent carries none. Mixed-use property is apportioned, with GST on the part approved for non-residential use, supported by an independent valuation. Registration becomes compulsory when taxable supplies at the end of a calendar year exceed $1 million, with application within 30 days; commercial rental income counts towards the threshold, exempt residential rent does not.

The point most often missed is that estate agency services are a taxable supply regardless of whether the property is residential or non-residential. A GST-registered agency charges 9 per cent on its commission even on an HDB or condominium deal. So commission of 2 per cent on a $1,720,000 sale is $34,400, and the GST on it is $3,096, making $37,496; the commission is payable to the estate agent, not to the salesperson personally. In a co-broke each agency charges GST on its own share, and services relating to property outside Singapore can be zero-rated as international services. Note also that “rent” for lease duty excludes GST.

Income tax completes the picture. Rent is taxable at personal income tax rates, and from the 2016 year of assessment an individual letting residential property may claim 15 per cent of gross rent as deemed expenses plus actual mortgage interest instead of actual expenses, applied consistently to all tenanted residential properties in that year. On gross rent of $48,000, deducting $7,200 of deemed expenses and $9,500 of mortgage interest leaves net rent of $31,300. The costs of securing the first tenant — commission, advertising and legal costs — are not deductible, nor are initial repairs and renovations or the repayment of loan principal. Singapore does not tax capital gains, but a gain can be taxed as trading income where the badges of trade point to dealing rather than investment, in which case seller’s stamp duty applies as well.

Terms to know

Annual value (AV)

The gross amount at which a property could reasonably be expected to be let from year to year, with the landlord bearing repair, insurance, maintenance and taxes other than GST; the base for property tax.

Owner-occupier rates

The lower progressive property tax rates available to an individual or married couple who own and reside in the home, for one property only.

Buyer’s stamp duty (BSD)

Duty payable by every buyer or transferee of property, computed on the higher of the purchase price or market value through progressive bands.

Additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD)

Duty charged on residential property in addition to BSD, at a rate depending on the buyer’s profile and the number of residential properties owned.

Seller’s stamp duty (SSD)

Duty charged on a seller who disposes of residential or industrial property within the applicable holding period, on the higher of price or market value.

Holding period

The time from acquisition to disposal that determines the seller’s stamp duty rate, measured from the date of acquisition to the date the option is exercised or the sale and purchase agreement is made.

Exempt supply

A supply on which no GST is charged and no input tax can be recovered; the sale and lease of residential property are exempt supplies.

Badges of trade

The factors IRAS weighs — among them the length of ownership, frequency of transactions, motive and mode of financing — in deciding whether a property gain is taxable trading income rather than a capital gain.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• IRAS — property tax rates (all other properties at 10% of AV)
• gov.sg — property tax on residential property (current AV bands and 2026 rebates)
• MOF — buyer's stamp duty rates raised for higher-value properties (15 Feb 2023)
• MOF — measures for a sustainable property market (ABSD rates from 27 Apr 2023)
• MOF — extension of the SSD holding period and higher SSD rates (from 4 Jul 2025)
• IRAS — FAQs on seller's stamp duty for industrial properties
• MOF — goods and services tax (9% and exempt supplies)
• IRAS e-Tax Guide — GST: real estate agency industry

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