Introduction
The fact that you landed on this article, it is safe to assume that you have been reading up on decoupling property and are eager to find out more about how you can purchase your second property while legally avoiding ABSD.
In your course of research, you will definitely come across the term 99-1 tenancy in common or its synonymous reference 99-1 decoupling.
Focus for this article
In this article, we will cover everything you need to know about 99-1 tenancy in common, tie its use case specifically back to decoupling and finally highlight key pointers you need to take note of when applying 99-1 tenancy in common when decoupling.
A little bit about ourselves
If this is the first time you read our articles, allow us to introduce ourselves.
We are a team of real estate investors turned full time realtors. We specialise in decoupling properties, helping like minded property owners find the optimal way to own their second property.
Our articles were written based on knowledge we have accumulated working on our own property portfolio and also our experience in helping over 89 fellow property owners own their second property till date.
If reading is not your thing, feel free to drop us a text and we will be happy to clarify any doubts you have with regards to property decoupling.
Tenancy in common as a form of manner of holding
In order to set the backdrop for you to understand what is 99-1 tenancy in common, it is important to first understand what is the manner of holding.
Manner of holding refers to the structure that you adopt to govern the property share ownership between you and your joint owners, which in most cases is your spouse.
There are generally two type of manner of holding joint tenancy and tenancy in common.
At the completion phase for the property purchase process, your conveyancing lawyer will ask you what manner of holding you prefer. By default you will be recommended joint tenancy if you do not specify that you would like to adopt tenancy in common.
For more insights on the difference between joint tenancy vs tenancy in common, refer to the link in line.
As a quick summary, tenancy in common is the go-to shareholding structure for investors. It allows the allocation of share between joint owners in specific proportion, i.e 60-40, 80-20, 99-1 etc. As compared to joint tenancy which only allows an equal ownership of property between joint owners.
What is 99-1 tenancy in common ?
99-1 tenancy in common, is the adoption of the tenancy in common shareholding structure with a share allocation of 99% for one party and 1% for the other party.
The 99-1 share allocation split is intentionally structured to maximise cost savings from buyer stamp duties incurred during the decoupling process.
Under the default 50-50 joint tenancy shareholding structure, a couple would have to incur buyer stamp duty on 50% of the share value to be transferred to the other party.
Where else under the 99-1 tenancy in common structure, stamp duty is only levied on the 1% share to be transferred.
We will dive into further details regarding 99-1 joint tenancy and its benefit with regards to decoupling in the sections that follows.
The benefit of 99-1 tenancy in common
There are generally three key reasons that motivates property owners to adopt the 99-1 tenancy in common shareholding structure.
Plans to decouple in the future
For savvy property owners that have made plans to decouple and purchase their second property in the future, adopting a 99-1 tenancy in common shareholding structure will provide significant savings in buyer stamp duties.
What is decoupling ?
For those that are uninitiated, decoupling is a method that property owners utilise to facilitate the purchase of their second investment property without ABSD.
Decoupling work by freeing up one party’s name from a property jointly owned by a couple. It is accomplished through the internal sale of shares from one party to the other.
The party that has transferred share to the other party, will be deemed a first time property owner and can purchase the second property without ABSD.
Cost savings when applying the 99-1 tenancy in common structure.
As described in section above, in the usual 50-50 joint tenancy shareholding structure, buyer stamp duty would be levied on the 50% share that is being sold from one owner to the other.
Using a 1.6mil private property as an example.
Buyer stamp duty would be levied on the 50% shareholding, valued at $800,000, amounting to $18,600.
Where else under the 99-1 shareholding structure, buyer stamp duty is only levied on the 1% share, amounting to $160.
Comparing the two shareholding structures, 99-1 tenancy in common provides a cost savings of $18,440, over the 50-50 joint tenancy structure.
Ease of financing the current property
Relating to the purchase of the current property, instead of purchasing the property under 1 name with a sole 100% ownership, the 99-1 share split allows the both parties income to be taken into consideration when applying for a mortgage.
This facilitates a larger maximum loan quantum and reduces the amount of cash and CPF payment required to finance the property.
Allows both parties CPF to be utilised.
Aside for a larger loan quantum mentioned above, the 99-1 share split also facilitates the use of both parties’ CPF in the purchase of the property.
This further reduces the amount of cash required for the purchase of the property.
Factors to note when adopting the 99-1 tenancy in common structure for decoupling.
While the 99-1 tenancy common structure comes with several benefits, below are some pointers to take note of when adopting the 99-1 tenancy in common structure for decoupling.
Balancing the cpf utilised and the share ownership of the minority shareholder.
When decoupling a property, the “leaving party” that is selling share to the “staying party”, would have to return all the CPF previously utilised in the purchase of the current property, together with accrued interest back to his or her CPF OA account.
Using the same $1.6 mil private property example.
The “leaving party” would only be receiving sale proceeds of 1% on the $1.6 mil property for his minority 1% shareholding, this amounts to a sales proceeds of only $16,000.
Under the situation whereby the party that is selling his or her share has initially utilised a significant amount of CPF when purchasing the property, for example, $100,000 worth of CPF. There will be a need to refund the entire $100,000 cpf with accrued interest back to his or her OA account.
The shortfall between this amount and the $16,000 sales proceeds from decoupling, marks the amount that needs to be covered by cash.
This is a situation often known as negative cash proceeds from decoupling.
To avoid such a situation, it is advisable for the party that is taking up 1% share to utilise the minimum amount for CPF, for the case of a 1.6 mil dollar property, the CPF utilised should not exceed $16,000.
Issue of trust when structuring the 99-1 ownership
When structuring a 99-1 tenancy in common structure, there is always an issue of trust for the 1% minority shareholder.
Assuming the case where by a couple who contributed equally in financing the purchasing of the property but adopting a 99-1 share ownership structure, the 1% shareholder would have concerns of the possible repercussions in asset distribution, if the relationship did not turn out well in the future.
Is the 99-1 tenancy in common and decoupling 99-1 legal ? (Updated with Latest August 2025 News Release)
This article has been updated with the latest news release regarding the legality of decoupling property in Singapore.
In the most recent news release on 02 Aug 2025, pertaining a couple decoupling a property with a 99-1 share split. The court has ruled that it is illegal if the sole purpose of decoupling is to avoid tax.
Similar to the previous cases on the ABSD 99-1 Loophole cases. IRAS has deem schemes intentionally contrived to avoid taxes illegal.
To ensure that decoupling of any share to remain above board, one must ensure that there is a true commercial substance behind the transaction and not solely a scheme contrived to attain a tax advantage.
For more clarification, with regards to this drop us a text to clarify your doubt and we will also refer you to our partnering lawyer for further clarification
Legal Disclaimer : Please do not take this as legal advice, refer to a qualified legal counsel specialising in decoupling for a formal review of your plans based on your specific circumstances.
How to ensure legitimacy when decoupling a 99-1 tenancy in common ?
From our experience, working with multiple clients to decoupling their property, the key to ensuring a legal decoupling process is to ensure a proper arm’s length payment trail and flow of funds between both parties.
In short, payment between spouses should be made via cashier’s order issued from individual bank accounts instead of joint accounts, similar to how you would purchase a property from an unrelated party.
Can you switch from joint tenancy to 99-1 tenancy in common mid way ?
A common question that most readers would have is that assuming you have already adopted a 50-50 joint tenancy structure is it possible to switch to a 99-1 tenancy in common ?
The short answer is yes, you can technically do so. But it will incur cost in the form of legal fee and buyer stamp duty. As any share transfer process will result in the levying of buyer stamp duty and legal fee.
Implication of 99-1 tenancy in common in the unfortunate event of a divorce
A potential concern for the minority 1% shareholder would be, in the event of an unfortunate divorce, will be allocated only to 1% shareholding, despite a proportionately higher contribution financially ?
To find out more about this, refer to our dedicated article on “What happen if divorce after decoupling property“.
Can you still decouple if you have not adopted a 99-1 tenancy in common structure ?
Yes, you can still decouple even though you have not adopted a 99-1 tenancy in common structure. In fact, most property owners decouple with a 50-50 joint tenancy structure, the only drawback is the slightly higher buyer stamp duty incurred in the process of decoupling.
If you would need help calculating the cost to be incurred in decoupling, feel free to drop us a text and we will send across a detailed financial calculation for your decoupling plans.
Final Words
This marks the end of our article. We hope this article clarifies your doubts with regards to 99-1 tenancy in common and equip you with the knowledge to take the next steps in decoupling.
