Everything You Need to Know About Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD)

Thinking of selling your condo? Before you do, consider this one important factor that might affect your property transaction plans: Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD).

Everything you need to know about Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD)

What is a Stamp Duty?

Before we get into SSD, let’s first define the term ‘stamp duty’ — a term commonly used for property transactions in Singapore.

In essence, it is tax levied on documents relating to properties, stocks or shares, and is payable just like other taxes, to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS).

There are three notable stamp duties in the lion city: the Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD), Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD), and Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD).

What is Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD)?

SSD is the tax payable to IRAS if you sell a property within the first three years of purchasing it. The three-year, minimum holding period requires you to hold onto your property for three years before selling it. This is only applicable to private properties as HDB flat owners are required to follow the Minimum Occupation Period of 5, or up to 10, years.

The government imposed the SSD as a cooling measure to curb the practice of ‘property flipping’, where property investors sell their properties within months of purchasing them. The current SSD rates are as follows.

SSD rates in 2024

These are the latest Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) rates for residential properties purchased on and after 11 March 2017. The SSD amount payable depends on how long you have held the property before selling it.

The SSD you have to pay is calculated off your property selling price or market valuation, whichever is higher.

Also, in the event that the sale comprises only a partial interest in the residential property (which means that you own a portion of the property only), the payable SSD will be based on the selling price or market value of the partial interest, whichever is higher.

Condos reaching SSD-free status in 2024

Date of purchase or acquisition

Another thing to note is the date of purchase or acquisition, as it will determine when the holding period will begin. In most instances, the date of purchase or acquisition of a property refers to any of the following:

• Date of Acceptance of the Option To Purchase (OTP)* or
• Date of Sale and Purchase Agreement or
• Date of Agreement for Lease (for new HDB flat) or
• Date of Transfer where the first three points are not applicable

*Excludes an OTP that is subject to the execution or signing of the Sale and Purchase Agreement

Date of disposal

Meanwhile, the date of disposal of a property refers to any of the following:

• Date of Acceptance of the OTP* by the buyer to the seller’s offer to sell or
• Date of Sale & Purchase Agreement or
• Date of Transfer where (a) and (b) are not applicable

*Excludes an OTP that is subject to the execution or signing of the Sale and Purchase Agreement

Sample calculation of when to pay SSD and how much

Let’s say Seller A purchased his property on 17 March 2017 and sold it on 1 February 2018 for $1.5 million. The holding period here is less than one year; for properties bought on and after 11 March 2017, the SSD rate is 12%.

As such, the SSD payable for Seller A is: $1.5 million x 12% = $180,000.

Pro tip: When computing the SSD, you need to consider two main factors, which are the period of transaction and the holding period. From there, calculating the percentage payable will be relatively straightforward and easy to do.

Are you exempt from paying SSD?

You could be exempted from paying SSD, if you fall in any of the following categories:

• Licensed housing developers who are governed under the Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Act when selling residential properties developed by them.
• Public authorities (such as HDB or JTC) in exercising their functions and duties when selling residential properties.
• Residential property owners when their properties are acquired by the Government under the Land Acquisitions Act.
• Residential property owners when selling their residential properties due to bankruptcy or involuntary winding up.
• Foreigners when they have to sell their residential properties as required under the Residential Properties Act.
• HDB flat sellers or transferors who bought or acquired their flats on or after 30 Aug 2010 and their flats have been identified for Selective En-Bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) but sell their flats in the open market prior to HDB claiming them.
• HDB flat sellers or transferors who return their flats to HDB as a result of re-possession by HDB or under the SERS.

If you need to pay SSD to sell your condo, is your home value higher than your selling price?

Find out how much your home is valued on Homer AI, where you can also stay updated on all the recent transactions in your area.

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