In short: Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) is a tax charged on top of the standard Buyer’s Stamp Duty when you buy residential property in Singapore. How much you pay depends on who is buying and how many residential properties you already own. A Singapore Citizen pays no ABSD on a first home, 20% on a second, and 30% on a third or later. Permanent Residents pay 5% / 30% / 35%. Foreigners pay a flat 60% on any residential purchase, and most companies and trusts pay 65%. These rates have applied since 27 April 2023. A few buyers — married couples with a Singapore Citizen spouse, and nationals of certain treaty countries — can have ABSD remitted if they meet the conditions.
Why ABSD exists and who it hits
ABSD was introduced in December 2011 as a property cooling measure and has been raised several times since, most recently on 27 April 2023. Its job is to make it more expensive to buy a second or subsequent Singapore home, and much more expensive for foreign buyers and entities to buy at all — dampening investment demand and keeping owner-occupier housing within reach.
For most people buying their first home as a Singapore Citizen, ABSD is a non-event: the rate is zero. It becomes the single biggest number in the transaction the moment you are buying a second property, buying as a Permanent Resident or foreigner, or buying through a company or trust.
BSD and ABSD are two separate duties
Every residential purchase attracts Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD). It applies to everyone — citizen or not, first property or tenth — and is charged on a progressive scale on the higher of the purchase price or the market value:
| Portion of price or value | BSD rate |
|---|---|
| First $180,000 | 1% |
| Next $180,000 | 2% |
| Next $640,000 | 3% |
| Next $500,000 ($1,000,001–$1,500,000) | 4% |
| Next $1,500,000 ($1,500,001–$3,000,000) | 5% |
| Amount above $3,000,000 | 6% |
The 5% and 6% bands were added in February 2023. In practice BSD works out to about $24,600 on a $1 million home, $44,600 on a $1.5 million home, and $119,600 on a $3 million home.
Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) sits on top of BSD. Unlike BSD, it is not charged on everyone — it depends on the buyer’s profile and on how many residential properties they already count as owning.
Both duties are payable within 14 days of signing the sale contract or exercising the Option to Purchase if the document is signed in Singapore, or 30 days if signed overseas.
ABSD rates by buyer profile (from 27 April 2023)
| Buyer | 1st residential property | 2nd | 3rd or subsequent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore Citizen | 0% | 20% | 30% |
| Singapore Permanent Resident | 5% | 30% | 35% |
| Foreigner | 60% | 60% | 60% |
| Entity (company, most trusts) | 65% | 65% | 65% |
| Housing developer | 35% (remittable, conditions apply) + 5% non-remittable | ||
A few points that regularly trip buyers up:
- The count is of residential properties you have an interest in — not the number of loans or names. A part-share counts as owning the property. A property you have booked but not yet completed still counts.
- Overseas property does not count. ABSD only looks at Singapore residential property.
- Foreigners pay 60% from the first property. There is no first-home concession for foreign buyers.
- The highest profile in the purchase sets the rate. If a Singapore Citizen buys jointly with a foreigner, the entire purchase is charged at the 60% foreigner rate. If a citizen buys with a PR, the PR rate applies to the whole purchase.
- HDB flats count too. If you own an HDB flat and buy a private property, that private purchase is your second property for ABSD.
How ABSD is calculated
ABSD is a flat percentage of the higher of the purchase price or the market value — there are no bands the way BSD has. Some worked examples on an $1.8 million property:
| Buyer | BSD | ABSD | Total duties |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore Citizen couple, first property | ~$59,600 | $0 | ~$59,600 |
| Singapore Citizen, second property | ~$59,600 | 20% = $360,000 | ~$419,600 |
| Permanent Resident, first property | ~$59,600 | 5% = $90,000 | ~$149,600 |
| Foreigner, any property | ~$59,600 | 60% = $1,080,000 | ~$1,139,600 |
That spread is the entire design of the tax: a first home for a citizen carries almost no duty, while a second property or a foreign purchase carries a duty bill that can rival a deposit.
What counts as a property you already own
For the ABSD property count, you are treated as owning a residential property if you:
- hold it solely or as a co-owner, including a small share;
- have an equitable or beneficial interest in it, for example as the beneficiary of a trust;
- have exercised an Option to Purchase or signed a sale and purchase agreement for it, even if it has not been completed or built.
An inherited share of a property counts. A property held overseas does not. Non-residential property — commercial or industrial — does not count towards the ABSD residential count.
ABSD remission for married couples
The most-used relief is for married couples where at least one spouse is a Singapore Citizen who are buying a replacement home before selling the old one. It works as a refund, not an upfront waiver:
- The couple buys the second property in both their names only and pays the ABSD in full at purchase.
- They sell their first residential property within 6 months of buying the second one — or, if the second property was still under construction, within 6 months of its Temporary Occupation Permit or Certificate of Statutory Completion, whichever is earlier.
- They apply to IRAS for the refund within 6 months of selling the first property.
The conditions are strict. The couple must remain married throughout, neither spouse may own any other residential property, there must be no change of ownership in the second property before the first is sold, and they must not have bought any further residential property in the meantime. The refund is not automatic — if the application window closes, the money is gone.
Single buyers do not get this remission. The government has repeatedly declined to extend it, on the basis that it is targeted at families upgrading their matrimonial home.
Foreign buyers treated as Singapore Citizens
Under Singapore’s free trade agreements, some foreign nationals receive the same ABSD treatment as Singapore Citizens — 0% on a first residential property, 20% on a second, 30% on a third. This covers:
- Nationals and Permanent Residents of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland;
- Nationals of the United States of America.
The relief must be claimed: ABSD is charged at the foreigner rate first, then a remission is applied for with proof of nationality. US treatment covers nationals only — not US permanent residents or green-card holders.
ABSD on property held in a trust
Transferring residential property into a living trust attracts ABSD (Trust) at 65%, whoever the beneficiaries are. This was introduced on 9 May 2022 (originally at 35%) to close a gap where a trust with no identifiable owner escaped ABSD, and raised to 65% on 27 April 2023.
A trustee can apply for a partial refund — the difference between the 65% paid and the ABSD rate that would apply to the beneficial owner with the highest rate — but only where the trust has identifiable individual beneficial owners whose interest is vested and cannot be revoked or varied. Buying through a trust for a child does not avoid ABSD; at best it defers part of it, and the upfront 65% is a real cash outlay.
Ways buyers legally manage ABSD
None of these are loopholes, and each has real trade-offs worth taking advice on before committing:
- Buy the first property in one name only. That leaves the other spouse able to buy a future property as their own first purchase, ABSD-free. The cost is a single income for loan servicing and the CPF and ownership implications of sole ownership.
- Decoupling — one co-owner buys out the other’s share of an existing property, freeing that person to buy again as a first-time buyer. It works, but it triggers BSD on the transferred share and, for private property, only makes sense if the sums beat the roughly 20% ABSD it is trying to save. We cover this in a separate article.
- Sequence the sale and the purchase carefully. Because a citizen’s first Singapore property is ABSD-free, the order and timing of buying and selling matters more than most buyers expect.
Frequently asked questions
Does ABSD apply to my first property?
For a Singapore Citizen, no — a first residential property carries no ABSD. A Permanent Resident pays 5% on a first property. A foreigner pays 60% on any property, first or not.
Is ABSD calculated on the loan amount or the purchase price?
On the purchase price or the market value of the property, whichever is higher. The loan amount is irrelevant.
Do overseas properties count towards my ABSD property count?
No. Only Singapore residential property is counted. Non-residential property in Singapore is not counted either.
Can I get the ABSD back if I sell my old home after buying the new one?
Only if you are a married couple with a Singapore Citizen spouse, you bought the new home in both names, and you sell the old one within 6 months of buying the new one (or of its TOP/CSC). Singles and other buyers do not get this remission.
When is ABSD payable?
Within 14 days of signing the sale contract or exercising the Option to Purchase, if signed in Singapore — 30 days if signed overseas. It is paid together with BSD.
Which nationalities are exempt from the foreigner ABSD rate?
Nationals and PRs of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, and nationals of the United States, are treated as Singapore Citizens for ABSD under free trade agreements. All other foreign buyers pay the 60% rate.
Working out the stamp duty on a specific purchase, or trying to time a sale and a new purchase to keep ABSD down? Talk to Smartnest for a straight read on the numbers — or start with our free guide to leasehold vs freehold and new launch vs resale on the same page.