Calculate the additional buyer stamp duties for your 2nd property with ease
The following 2nd property stamp duty calculator was built specifically for investors looking to purchase their second property.
Let’s address your primary objective first, input the relevant values into the fields below. We will share more insights on whether it is worthwhile paying the additional buyer stamp duty and how you can avoid it.
A little bit about ourselves
Quick primer before you commit the next 5 mins of your time to this article.
We are a team of investor-first realtors, we specialise in helping property owners find the best ways to acquire a second property.
A large part of our work revolves around decoupling property, deriving strategies to help like minded investors avoid ABSD and investment property research.
If you reading is not your thing, drop us a text to clarify your doubts or work out your financial calculation
How is 2nd property stamp duty calculated ?
Two cost components need to be accounted for when calculating the total amount of stamp duty you will need to pay for your 2nd property.
- Buyer stamp duty
- Additional buyer stamp duty
In essence both are tax levied on stamping your official contractual documents that are being used to facilitate the purchase of your property.
Without footing the bill for stamp duties your contractual documents will not be recognised legally.
Buyer stamp duty (BSD)
Buyer stamp duty is a tax levied on all residential and non-residential property purchase in Singapore.
It’s tax rate varies in accordance to the purchase price or market valuation of your property, whichever is higher.
| Purchase price/ Market Value | Rate in percentage for residential properties |
| First S$180,000 | 1% |
| Next S$180,000 | 2% |
| Next S$640,000 | 3% |
| Next S$500,000 | 4% |
| Next S$1,500,000 | 5% |
| Amount exceeding S$3,000,000 | 6% |
Additional buyer stamp duty (ABSD)
Aspiring second property investor’s worst foe. It is a tax levied in addition to the buyer stamp duty when you own more than one property.
Essentially, it is instilled to deter property investors from bidding up home prices in Singapore.
Its rates move in accordance with two variables: you or your spouse citizenship Status and the property you own.
Regarding citizenship Status, the higher applicable tax rate will be applicable depending on either spouse citizenship Status.
So if you are a PR or foreigner, you won’t get away with a lower ABSD tax rate simply by purchasing a property with a Singapore citizen spouse.
| Singapore ABSD Table Overview | Singapore ABSD Rates (2024) |
| ABSD for 2nd property, Singapore Citizen | 20% |
| ABSD for 3rd and subsequent properties, Singapore Citizen | 30% |
| ABSD for PR, first property | 5% |
| ABSD for PR, 2nd property | 30% |
| ABSD for PR, 3rd and subsequent properties | 35% |
| ABSD for foreigners, any and all properties | 60% |
Check out the following article for new ABSD 2023 impact on the property market
Should you be paying the 2nd property additional buyer stamp duty ?
To adequately answer this question, we should consider the average profit made by private condo owners.
On average a property owner would make a average capital gain of between $300k to $400k over a 3 to 4 year holding period.
And this is based on the assumption that you make a decent property selection.
Now back to stamp duties, an average 3 bedroom condo will cost between $1.4mil to $1.8mil.
Using $1.4 mil as an example. You would be looking at the following stamp duties
- Buyer stamp duty – $40,600
- Additional buyer stamp duty – $280,000
- Total – $320,600
If you were to take the damage and purchase a 2nd property with additional buyer stamp duties, you would be set back by a cost of at least $320k from the onset. Not a good way to kick start your real estate investment.
But having said that there are some instances that you may want to consider paying ABSD and we have covered these situations in the article that follow.
Is it worth paying ABSD on your second property
Ways to avoid paying 2nd property stamp duty, ABSD
There are several ways you can legally avoid ABSD.
And this includes
- Decoupling
- Sell one buy two (selling current property to purchase two property each under one name)
- Purchasing property by creating a trust
- Purchasing property under a child that is above 21 years of age
- Transfer of property ownership to spouse or child as a gift
Each method has its pros and cons and are suitable for property owners with different investment objectives, financial and family circumstances.
For example, if your goal is to retain the current property that you are living in and to purchase a second investment property. Decoupling would be the most suitable option for you, it will allow you to keep your current property, “free up” one of your joint owner name to purchase the second property without ABSD.
If your goal is to unlock the profits in your current property and purchase two new private condos then the sell one buy two approach would be suitable for you, on the condition that both you and your spouse can each support one property independently.
For a more in depth discussion on what is the best method to legally avoid ABSD in Singapore, check out the following article inline.
Decoupling property being one of the most popular way to avoid 2nd property stamp duty
What is decoupling property ?
Decoupling property works by freeing up one party’s name in a jointly owned property. It does that via an internal buy and sell transaction between joint owners, in most cases between husband and wife.
Property owners typically appoint a realtor, acting as decoupling consultants to string the entire process together.
Cost of decoupling vs Cost of 2nd property stamp duties
There is a cost to decoupling.
One of the key considerations would work out if the cost saving from not paying additional buyer stamp duty on the 2nd property, significantly supersedes the cost of decoupling.
From our experience, in most cases property owners save between 150k to 250k from not paying ABSD by decoupling property.
To calculate the cost of decoupling, feel free to head over to the decoupling calculator.
As a side note decoupling also helps ease the limitation in 2nd property loan to valuation and 2nd property cpf usage listed in the section below.
In case you are seriously considering paying 2nd property stamp duty
In case you are looking to stick to the option of paying ABSD on your second property, the sections that follow will help highlight the other consideration that you will need to take note of.
How much loan can you take for your second property ?
Assuming you are currently shouldering a mortgage for your existing property, you will not be able to enjoy the full 75% loan to valuation ratio that was applicable when you purchased your first property.
You will only be eligible to take a 45% loan. For the remaining 55% payment, it is mandatory that 25% needs to be paid in cash and the rest in cash or CPF.
For more insights on 2nd property loan LTV, refer to article link inline.
How much CPF can you use for your second property ?
Similarly there are some limitations on CPF usage when you are purchasing a 2nd property.
You would have to first satisfy the basic retirement sum in your CPF account first before you can utilise any CPF for your second property.
For more insights on how much CPF can I use for the second property, refer to article inline.
Other costs you must take note of when purchasing 2nd property
Aside from stamp duties, these are some of the other recurring cost that you would need to take note of when purchasing your second property.
- Non owner occupier property tax
- Rental income tax
- Condo maintenance fee
We discuss all the cost elements and challenges to be encountered in purchasing a 2nd property, the comprehensive guide to Buying 2nd property Singapore.
FAQ
Can I use cpf to pay for stamp duty ?
Yes CPF can be used to pay for both buyer stamp duty and additional buyer stamp duty. Due to completion timeline constraints for completed properties, you may have to pay in cash first and get your conveyancing lawyer to seek reimbursement from your CPF account later.
When do you need to pay buyer stamp duty and ABSD ?
Both buyer stamp duty and additional buyer stamp duty needs to be paid 14 days from the date of signing contractual agreement to purchase property. In this case, you will need to pay relevant stamp duties 14 days from signing the option to purchase or sale and purchase agreement if no OTP is involved for the property.
Do you have to pay ABSD when inheriting property ?
You will not have to pay ABSD when inheriting a property, but the inherited property will count towards your overall count of property ownership and will be accounted for when you seek to purchase your next property.
