Seller's Stamp Duty Singapore 2026: Rates and Exemptions

Model house with a calculator and pen on a desk — Sell too soon and the tax can take a large share of your gain. Photo: Sasun Bughdaryan on Unsplash

At a glance

Bought from 4 Jul 2025: 16%, 12%, 8%, 4% if sold within 1, 2, 3 or 4 years
Bought 11 Mar 2017 to 3 Jul 2025: 12%, 8%, 4% if sold within 1, 2 or 3 years
Charged on: The higher of the selling price and the market value
Who pays and when: The seller, within 14 days of signing; no instalments
HDB flats: Not affected in practice, because the 5-year MOP outlasts the holding period

The short answer

Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) is a tax you pay when you sell a Singapore residential property within a few years of buying it. For anything bought on or after 4 July 2025, the holding period is 4 years and the rate falls from 16% to 4%. Homes bought between 11 March 2017 and 3 July 2025 stay on the old 3-year scale. Once the holding period has passed, you pay nothing. We checked the rules below against IRAS, MOF and MAS on 14 October 2026.

SSD rates and holding periods in 2026

The rate depends on when you bought and how long you held the property before selling.

Holding period	Bought 11 Mar 2017 to 3 Jul 2025	Bought on or after 4 Jul 2025
Up to 1 year	12%	16%
More than 1 year, up to 2 years	8%	12%
More than 2 years, up to 3 years	4%	8%
More than 3 years, up to 4 years	No SSD	4%
More than 4 years	No SSD	No SSD

The government raised the rates and went back to a 4-year holding period from 12am on 4 July 2025. MOF said short-term sales had risen sharply, including sub-sales of uncompleted units. The 4-year period is not new: it also applied to homes bought from 14 January 2011 to 10 March 2017.

SSD is worked out on the higher of the selling price and the market value, so selling cheaply to a relative does not shrink it. Our stamp duty calculator shows the SSD for your dates and the first day you could sell without it.

How the holding period is counted

IRAS counts from the date you bought to the date you sell. In most resale deals, the purchase date is the day you exercised the option to purchase, and the sale date is the day your buyer exercises the option you grant. If there was no option, the sale and purchase agreement date is used.

The exercise date matters more than the option date. IRAS answered a case where the buyer paid the option fee on 15 May 2025 and exercised on 9 July 2025. The purchase counted as 9 July 2025, so the 4-year rules apply even though the option came before the change.

When SSD applies

Private homes, ECs and landed property. SSD applies to any residential property sold inside the holding period. A new launch unit counts from the date you bought it, not from TOP, so selling an uncompleted unit as a sub-sale inside the holding period attracts SSD too.

HDB flats. MOF said the higher rates “will not affect HDB owners” because of the Minimum Occupation Period. A standard flat has a 5-year MOP, and Plus and Prime flats have 10 years. You cannot sell before then, and by that point the holding period is over.

Inherited property. No stamp duty is payable when a beneficiary receives a property under a will, the Intestate Succession Act or Muslim law. If you then sell, IRAS takes the date the deceased first acquired the property as the purchase date. A parent who bought in 2015 leaves a home you can sell immediately with no SSD.

Gifted or transferred shares. A share you receive by gift is treated as bought on the date of the gift. In one IRAS reply, a husband who received his wife’s half share in March 2022 and sold in September 2022 paid SSD on that half, even though the couple had owned the home since 2005. Check this before any decoupling of a private property.

Exemptions and situations with no SSD

IRAS does not charge SSD in a small set of cases where the owner has no real choice about selling. The main ones:

Situation	SSD
Property compulsorily acquired by the government	Not payable
Owner declared bankrupt and required to sell	Not payable
Foreigner required to sell under the Residential Property Act	Not payable
HDB flat returned to HDB under repossession or SERS	Not payable
HDB owner who must sell after inheriting another HDB flat	Not payable
Couple who must sell one of two HDB flats after marrying	Not payable
Transfer to a spouse under matrimonial proceedings	Not payable on the transfer, if remission conditions are met

The bankruptcy relief only applies if you were bankrupt when you sold. IRAS has turned down a refund claim from someone who became bankrupt after the sale.

Worked example: selling a condo early

A couple buys a resale condo for S$1.5 million and exercises the option on 1 November 2025. A job move means they want to sell in October 2026 at S$1.6 million.

Sale date	Holding period	Rate	SSD on S$1.6 million
October 2026	Up to 1 year	16%	S$256,000
After 1 Nov 2026	Year 2	12%	S$192,000
After 1 Nov 2027	Year 3	8%	S$128,000
After 1 Nov 2028	Year 4	4%	S$64,000
After 1 Nov 2029	Over 4 years	0%	Nil

Selling now wipes out their S$100,000 gain more than twice over. Renting the unit out for a few years, or waiting for the rate to step down, is usually cheaper.

Compare a buyer who exercised on 1 March 2024, before the change. In October 2026 they are in their third year, so the rate is 4%, or S$64,000 on the same price. From 2 March 2027 they pay nothing.

Paying SSD

The seller pays SSD within 14 days of signing the sale document, or 30 days if it is signed overseas. It must be paid in full, not in instalments, and late payment attracts penalties. Your conveyancing lawyer usually stamps the document through IRAS e-Stamping.

If you are selling to upgrade, SSD sits alongside ABSD on the next purchase. Our HDB to condo upgrading guide shows how the timing of both fits together.

This page is general information from IRAS, MOF and MAS, checked on 14 October 2026. Confirm your own dates with your lawyer before you sign.

Common questions

What are the SSD rates in 2026?

For residential property bought on or after 4 July 2025: 16% if you sell within the first year, 12% in the second, 8% in the third and 4% in the fourth. After 4 years there is no SSD. Homes bought from 11 March 2017 to 3 July 2025 stay on the old 3-year scale of 12%, 8% and 4%.

Do I pay SSD when I sell my HDB flat?

In practice, no. MOF said the 2025 changes do not affect HDB owners because of the Minimum Occupation Period. A standard flat has a 5-year MOP and Plus and Prime flats have 10 years, so by the time you can sell, the 4-year holding period has passed.

Is SSD payable if I sell an inherited property straight away?

Only if the deceased had not held it long enough. IRAS counts the holding period from the date the deceased first acquired the property. If that period has already passed when you sell, no SSD is payable. No stamp duty is payable on the inheritance itself.

My spouse gifted me their share. Does the SSD clock restart?

For the share you received, yes. IRAS treats the gifted share as acquired on the date of the gift, so if you sell within the holding period, SSD applies to that share. Your original share keeps its original purchase date.

Which date counts as my purchase date?

Usually the date you exercised the option to purchase, or the sale and purchase agreement date if there was no option. IRAS gave the example of a buyer who paid the option fee on 15 May 2025 and exercised on 9 July 2025: the purchase date is 9 July 2025, so the 4-year rules apply.

Can I use CPF or pay SSD in instalments?

SSD is due within 14 days of signing the sale document and must be paid in one go. Your conveyancing lawyer usually handles the stamping. Plan to pay it from the sale proceeds or cash before completion.

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Sources

Facts on this page were checked against these sources on 14 October 2026.