With immediate effect, the Government has introduced two new measures to cool down the property market.

Introducing Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) for Properties Sold Within a Year

Properties that were bought before 20th February 2010 will not be subjected to the SSD. The SSD will be levied on sellers of residential properties and lands bought on or after today.

HDB flats are exclused from the SSD as they do already have a minimum occupancy period of at least one year.

The objective is to discourage possible speculation in the market and is not meant for purchase of properties for owner-occupation or longer term investment.

Calculation of the SSD will be of the same manner as the stamp duty when the purchaser bought the property.

The seller will have to pay the stamp duty fees immediately after the buyer exercises the option or sales & purchase agreement within 14 days.

Download the official IRAS e-Tax Guide on both BSD (Buyer’s Stamp Duty) and SSD

Lowering Loan-To-Value (LTV) Limit to 80% for Housing Loans

The LTV limit will be lowered from 90% to 80% for all housing loans provided by financial institutions (FIs) regulated by MAS. This is applicable to all housing loans granted by FIs to private residential properties, ECs, HUDCs and HDBs.

Loan from HDB will still be capped at 90% to assist first time home buyers and second upgraders. Since HDB has already many criteria to prevent speculations, the LTV cap will only be limited to FIs.

Most FIs have already been practicising 80% LTV since the last measures from the Government to cool down the market.

This move will ensure that the FIs have a better credit standing and practice prudence when granting loans to property purchasers.

Pumping Supply of Housing in the Pipeline

The Government will ensure that there is adequete supply of housing to meet demand.

In the statistics, they have already released 8 residential sites, the highest ever potential supply since the GLS (Government Land Sales) has started in 2001.

Read the official statement from URA here.

Related posts:

1. Calculating Stamp Duty for Sale of Property in Singapore
2. Government Takes Measure To Cool Property Market – IAS Abolished

An email from a reader who asked when is it exactly do you have to pay stamp duty when buying a property in Singapore.

When do you pay stamp duty on real estate?  I have been thinking about this for a while and was hoping you might be able to shed some light on the subject.

A little advice would go a long way right now.  Thankyou.

This is the textbook answer from IRAS’s website,

A document can be presented for stamping at any time before executing (signing). However, once a document is executed (signed), stamp duty must be paid within:

• 14 days from the date of execution if the document is signed in Singapore;
• 30 days of its receipt in Singapore if the document is signed overseas.

Penalties will be imposed on documents that are stamped late or for which stamp duty is underpaid.

To Avoid Penalty

Usually, your conveyancing lawyer will advice you to draft two cheques, one for exercising the option of the property and the other cheque is to pay for your stamp duty to IRAS to avoid penalties.

The late penalty fee is as calculated as 5% per annum calculated on a daily basis on the stamp duty payable

Can I use my CPF Money For Stamp Duty?

Yes, you can! But you’ll have to come out with the amount in your own cash or cheque first before CPF reimburses it back to your bank account; So make sure you have the amount for stamp duty ready first.

How to Calculate Your Stamp Duty Fees

Read this entry which I’ve created for a very easy digest of calculating your stamp duty fees when you’re purchasing your property.

If you have questions with regards to buying or selling a home, feel free to contact me anytime. I won’t bite

No related posts.

So you’re about to purchase a property in Singapore, you’ve probably heard about Stamp Duty, a tax which the Inland Revenue of Singapore (IRAS) collects upon a new sale or tenancy of a real estate.

Stamp duty is a tax on documents relating to properties or shares.

How do you actually calculate your stamp duty for sale of property? Let’s find out.

Stamp Duty for Sale of Property

I’m referring to the IRAS website on Stamp Duty and you’re suppose to pay this tax if:

• You have purchased a HDB Flat
• You have purchased a completed property issued with Temporary Occupation Permit
• You have purchased a property under construction
• You have purchased a property by way of a sub-sale
• You have acquired properties an enbloc purchase

The Formula

For Realtors, we simply use the formula of (Sale Price multiply by 3%) minus $5,400.0 for a quick guide, but if the price of the property falls below $360,000, this would be inaccurate. Remember we also have to round up to the nearest hundred dollar before calculating.

Example

Peter bought a walk up apartment at the price of $500,000.00, his stamp duty fees will be [($500,000 x 3%) - $5400] = $9,600

The real formula would be,

1% of the first $180,000, 2% of the next $180,000 and 3% of the remaining amount balance.

Let’s use the same formula for the above mentioned property Peter bought.

[3% of ( $500,000 - $180,000 - $180,000)] + (2% of $180,000) + 1% of ($180,000) = ( 3% of remaining $140,000 ) + (2% of 180,000) + (1% of 180,000) = $4,200 + $3,600 + $1,800 = $9,600

Who To Pay?

Most of the time, the purchaser will be responsible for paying the stamp duty fees unless otherwise stated on the Sales & Purchase or Option to Purchase terms and conditions.

The persons liable to pay stamp duty will be in accordance to the terms of the document. If the terms of the document are silent on this, under the Stamp Duties Act (Cap 312), the transferee or grantee has to pay stamp duty.

When To Pay?

Please take note that upon execution of Sales and Purchase agreement in most cases, you’ll have to get your documents stamped within 14 days or within 30 days if you are overseas. Late stamping would be subjected to penalties for violating the Stamp Duties Act (Cap. 312)

Penalties will be imposed on documents that are stamped late or for which stamp duty is underpaid.

If the delay does not exceed 3 months, the penalty is $10 or equal to the amount of the deficient duty, whichever is higher.

If the delay exceeds 3 months, the penalty is $25 or 4 times the amount of deficient duty, whichever is the higher.

Now that’s pretty hefty, so please make sure your Realtor gets this properly done up upon a sale of your new home or property!

Related posts:

1. New Seller’s Stamp Duty & Lower Housing Loan Limit