Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD): the baseline everyone pays
BSD applies to every property purchase — residential, commercial or industrial — calculated on tiers of the purchase price or market value, whichever is higher.
| Portion of price | Residential | Commercial / Industrial |
|---|---|---|
| First $180,000 | 1% | 1% |
| Next $180,000 | 2% | 2% |
| Next $640,000 | 3% | 3% |
| Next $500,000 | 4% | 4% (remainder above $1.5m) |
| Next $1,500,000 | 5% | — |
| Remainder above $3,000,000 | 6% | — |
Non-residential BSD stops at 5% (no 6% top tier) and its top bracket starts above $1.5m rather than $3m. Rates are revised periodically — verify current figures with IRAS.
ABSD: the multiplier for extra residential properties
Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty sits on top of BSD, applies to residential property only, and scales with citizenship and how many properties you already own:
| Citizenship | 1st property | 2nd property | 3rd & beyond |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore Citizen | 0% | 20% | 30% |
| Permanent Resident | 5% | 30% | 35% |
| Foreigner | 60% | 60% | 60% |
In effect since 27 April 2023, subject to change in future Budget or cooling-measure announcements. Commercial and industrial property is not subject to ABSD at all, regardless of property count.
SSD: the exit-side duty, briefly
Seller's Stamp Duty applies if you sell within a holding period, and the rules differ by property type:
- Residential: 3-year holding period at 12/8/4/0% if bought before 4 July 2025; 4-year holding period at 16/12/8/4/0% if bought on or after.
- Industrial: 3-year holding period at 15/10/5/0%.
- Commercial (office, retail, shophouse): exempt from SSD entirely.
Full detail and worked context on SSD lives in the Selling guides for each property type — this is just the summary.
TDSR & MSR: what actually caps your loan
Stamp duties affect your upfront cost. TDSR and MSR affect whether the bank will lend you the money at all.
TDSR applies to every property loan and counts everything — car loans, credit card minimums, other mortgages, personal loans — not just the new home loan.
MSR applies only to HDB flats and Executive Condominiums (during the MOP window), and looks only at the mortgage instalment itself — you still need to clear TDSR separately on top of it.
Two details that catch people out: banks calculate your instalment for this test using a stress-tested interest rate — the higher of 4% per annum or the loan's actual reference rate plus spread — not the real rate you'll pay, so your "paper" affordability is more conservative than your actual repayment. And only 70% of variable income (commissions, bonuses) counts toward the ratios, even if it's reliably part of your take-home pay.
Stress-test rates and income treatment are MAS rules, revised periodically. Verify current figures with your bank before relying on them for planning.
Which situation fits you?
- First-time buyer: BSD is your main upfront cost — no ABSD to worry about on a first residential property.
- Adding a 2nd or 3rd property: ABSD (residential) can be a bigger line item than BSD itself — run the full stamp duty stack before you commit.
- Not sure how much you can actually borrow: TDSR/MSR, not your savings, is usually the real ceiling — worth checking before you fall in love with a unit.
Get your actual numbers
Tell me a little about your situation and I'll work out your real BSD/ABSD stack and TDSR/MSR headroom — not just the general formulas above.