Total Property Stamp Duty Formula Explained, With Examples
Every total property stamp duty result comes from one formula. Once you understand what goes into it, you can sanity-check any figure you are given, whether by an employer, a bank, a teacher or another website.
The formula
Total = BSD (tiered 1%–6%) + ABSD (price × ABSD rate for your profile).
What each input means
- Purchase price or market value, whichever is higher (S$): the value you enter in the calculator.
- Buyer profile: choose from Singapore Citizen, Singapore PR, Foreigner, Entity / company.
- Which residential property is this?: choose from First, Second, Third or subsequent.
Example
For example, with these inputs:
- Purchase price or market value, whichever is higher (S$): 1,200,000
- Buyer profile: Singapore Citizen
- Which residential property is this?: First
the calculator returns:
- Buyer's Stamp Duty: S$32,600.00
- Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty: S$0.00
- Total stamp duty: S$32,600.00
- Total as % of price: 2.72%
How the result changes
The table keeps the other inputs at their example values and changes purchase price or market value, whichever is higher (s$).
| Purchase price or market value, whichever is higher (S$) | Buyer's Stamp Duty | Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty | Total stamp duty | Total as % of price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,200,000 | S$32,600.00 | S$0.00 | S$32,600.00 | 2.72% |
| 600,000 | S$12,600.00 | S$0.00 | S$12,600.00 | 2.10% |
| 900,000 | S$21,600.00 | S$0.00 | S$21,600.00 | 2.40% |
| 1,500,000 | S$44,600.00 | S$0.00 | S$44,600.00 | 2.97% |
| 1,800,000 | S$59,600.00 | S$0.00 | S$59,600.00 | 3.31% |
Why it matters
Property is the largest purchase most Singaporeans make, and stamp duties, loan limits and cash requirements are front-loaded. Small mistakes in these figures can mean a shortfall at completion, so it pays to run the numbers before you commit to an option to purchase.
CPF Ordinary Account savings can pay for the downpayment, stamp duties and monthly instalments, but using CPF reduces the money compounding for retirement, and the amount withdrawn plus accrued interest must be refunded to your CPF account when you sell.
Stamp duties are paid upfront. Buyer's Stamp Duty applies to every purchase at tiered rates up to 6%, while ABSD depends on the buyer's residency status and how many residential properties they already own. Sellers who dispose of a property within the holding period pay Seller's Stamp Duty.
Singapore's property market is shaped by cooling measures introduced since 2009, including Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty, loan-to-value limits and debt servicing ratios. These rules are adjusted when the market runs hot, so the numbers you see today may differ from what friends paid a few years ago.
Related calculations
- Rental Yield Calculator: Measures the return from rent before and after costs such as property tax, maintenance fees and agent fees.
- Home Loan Refinancing Calculator: Compares your current mortgage with a new rate to show the monthly saving and how long switching costs take to recover.
- Property Downpayment Calculator: Splits the downpayment into cash and CPF and shows the remaining loan.
- Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD) Calculator: Calculates Buyer's Stamp Duty on a Singapore residential property using the tiered rates from 1% to 6%.
Use the Total Property Stamp Duty Calculator to plug in your own numbers.
Run your own numbers: Total Property Stamp Duty Calculator