Seller’s stamp duty in Singapore (SSD) is a tax on selling a home soon after buying it. For residential property bought on or after 4 July 2025, it is 16% if you sell within a year, falling to 4% in the fourth year, and nothing after four years. It is charged on the price or market value, not on your profit, so a quick sale at a loss can still cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Below are the IRAS rates, how the holding period is counted and three worked examples. Figures are as at November 2026.
Seller’s Stamp Duty Rates
IRAS’s SSD rates depend on when you bought:
| Holding period | Bought on or after 4 July 2025 | Bought 11 March 2017 to 3 July 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1 year | 16% | 12% |
| More than 1, up to 2 years | 12% | 8% |
| More than 2, up to 3 years | 8% | 4% |
| More than 3, up to 4 years | 4% | None |
| More than 4 years | None | None |
IRAS applied the longer four-year period from 4 July 2025 with no transition period. If you bought before that date, the old three-year table applies to you.
How the Holding Period Is Counted
The clock starts on the date you acquired the property, which IRAS generally takes as the date you accepted the Option to Purchase, signed the Sale and Purchase Agreement, or signed the Agreement for Lease for a new HDB flat. It stops on the date the buyer accepts your Option to Purchase or signs the sale agreement.
That means the dates on the paperwork, not the date you got the keys or moved in. A home bought off-plan starts its clock when you signed the option, years before completion. Other rules apply to divorce transfers, inheritance and HDB family transfers; IRAS sets them out on its SSD page.
If you bought parts of a property at different times, each part has its own holding period.
The short version: SSD is a flat percentage of the sale price or value, payable within 14 days, if you sell within four years of buying (three years if you bought before 4 July 2025). Count from the option date, not the keys.
Seller’s Stamp Duty in Singapore: Three Worked Examples
Our own illustrative figures, using IRAS’s rates.
1. Sold in year three, bought after July 2025 A condo bought with an option accepted on 1 August 2025 for $1,200,000 is sold with an option accepted on 1 October 2027 for $1,300,000. The holding period is more than two years but not more than three: SSD at 8% of $1,300,000 = $104,000. The $100,000 gain is wiped out.
2. Sold at a loss in year one The same condo, sold in March 2026 for $1,150,000 after a job move. SSD at 16% of $1,150,000 = $184,000, on top of a $50,000 loss and the Buyer’s Stamp Duty already paid.
3. Bought before July 2025 A condo bought with an option dated 1 May 2024, sold with an option dated 1 June 2027. The holding period is more than three years, and the old table applies: no SSD.
Our Seller’s Stamp Duty calculator works out the rate from your dates, and the MOP and SSD date calculator shows when your flat or home clears each threshold.
Does SSD Apply to HDB Flats?
The rules cover all residential property, but in practice a normal HDB resale rarely triggers it. Most HDB flats cannot be sold until their minimum occupation period ends: five years for Standard flats and ten for Plus and Prime flats. Both are longer than the SSD holding period. See our MOP guide.
IRAS exempts certain HDB disposals outright, including flats returned to HDB on repossession or under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS), inherited flats and some cases where a married couple must dispose of one flat.
Who Else Is Exempt
IRAS lists exemptions that need no application, including:
- housing developers selling units in their own projects;
- public authorities such as HDB and JTC;
- properties compulsorily acquired by the Government;
- sales forced by bankruptcy, or by a company’s involuntary winding up;
- foreigners required to sell under the Residential Property Act.
In a collective sale, every owner who sells within the holding period is liable, whether or not they agreed to the sale.
Paying SSD
The seller pays, within 14 days of the executed sale contract. There is no deferment. Late payment attracts a penalty of 5% a year, calculated daily. Your lawyer completes an SSD declaration as part of the sale.
What To Do Next
- Before you sign an option to sell, check your acquisition date on your purchase documents.
- Run the numbers with the Seller’s Stamp Duty calculator.
- If you are buying, factor in the four-year rule: see stamp duty on Singapore property for what you pay at purchase.
- Selling an HDB flat? Our guide to selling an HDB flat covers the costs that do apply.
