Additional Buyer Stamp Duty Remission for Singles who Bought Second Property and Sold First Property within Six Months

Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked the Minister for Finance whether the Additional Buyer Stamp Duty remission can be extended to singles who have bought a second property and subsequently sold the first property within six months from their purchase of the second property.

The policy intent for the Additional Buyer Stamp Duty (ABSD) is to moderate demand among home buyers and to ensure a stable and sustainable property market. This, in turn, will help both existing and aspiring home owners, by keeping price increases in line with economic fundamentals.

ABSD is applicable on the second and subsequent residential property purchases of all Singaporeans. This applies regardless of whether they dispose of their first property subsequently. This is because even if the first property is eventually disposed of, the purchase of the second property adds to the demand for residential properties.

We have made one exception, namely, for Singaporean married couples. A Singaporean married couple may need to change home due to changing family needs, such as when they have more children or when their children are growing up. It is in this context that we have an ABSD concession for Singaporean married couples buying a second property. Under the concession, we allow Singapore married couples to claim a refund of the ABSD paid on their second property, provided they sell their first property within six months after the purchase of a completed property, or the Temporary Occupation Permit date of an uncompleted property.

This ABSD concession is not available to other groups of property buyers, as our overall key objective remains to moderate the demand for residential properties, including that for second residential property of Singaporeans. Buyers who do not wish to incur the higher ABSD on second residential properties may wish to consider selling their first property before purchasing their replacement property.