Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) Singapore: Rates, Who Pays and How to Reduce It

Last updated: September 2026 | Category: PROPERTY

Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) is a tax the Singapore government charges on top of the standard Buyer’s Stamp Duty when you buy residential property, with the rate depending on your residency status and how many properties you already own.

Not financial advice. All figures for educational reference only. Data as at September 2026.

Key Takeaways

ABSD rates have stayed unchanged since 27 April 2023: 0% for a Singapore Citizen’s first home, rising to 20% for a second and 30% for a third or subsequent property.
Permanent Residents pay 5% on a first property, 30% on a second, and 35% on a third or subsequent property.
Foreign buyers pay a flat 60% ABSD on any residential property, and entities such as companies or trusts pay 65%.
ABSD is calculated on the higher of the purchase price or the property’s market valuation, and must be paid within 14 days of exercising the Option to Purchase.
Some buyers reduce ABSD legitimately through decoupling, remission schemes for married couples buying their first matrimonial home, or by structuring purchase timing around an existing sale.

What Is ABSD?

ABSD was introduced in December 2011 and has been raised several times since, most recently in April 2023, as part of Singapore’s broader package of property cooling measures. The tax sits on top of the standard Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD), which every buyer pays regardless of citizenship or property count. Where BSD tops out at 6% of the purchase price for higher-value homes, ABSD can add anywhere from 0% to 65% depending on who is buying and what they already own.

The policy exists to cool speculative and investment demand in a small, land-scarce market where housing affordability for citizens is a persistent political priority. By making a second or third property materially more expensive to acquire, and by charging foreign buyers and corporate entities the steepest rates, ABSD channels genuine owner-occupier demand toward citizens buying their first home while still allowing investors and foreigners to participate in the market at a real, if higher, cost.

How Does ABSD Work in Singapore?

ABSD is assessed per buyer, based on residency profile and the number of residential properties that buyer already holds at the time of the new purchase. It applies to private residential property, HDB resale flats, and Executive Condominiums, and it is payable within 14 days of signing the Option to Purchase (OTP) or the Sale and Purchase Agreement, whichever is signed first.

The current rate schedule, unchanged since 27 April 2023 and still in force as at September 2026, is as follows:

Singapore Citizens: 0% on the first residential property, 20% on the second, 30% on the third and beyond.
Singapore Permanent Residents: 5% on the first property, 30% on the second, 35% on the third and beyond.
Foreigners: a flat 60% on any residential property purchase, including the first.
Entities (companies, societies, most trusts): a flat 65%.

ABSD is calculated on whichever is higher: the actual purchase price stated in the option, or the property’s valuation by IRAS at the point of purchase. This prevents buyers from under-declaring the price to reduce the tax base.

ABSD Example

A Singapore Citizen who already owns one condominium buys a second private property for S$1,800,000. As a second-property buyer, they fall into the 20% ABSD bracket, so ABSD alone comes to S$360,000, on top of the standard BSD of roughly S$60,600. Total stamp duty on this purchase is therefore around S$420,600, payable within 14 days of the OTP being exercised.

By contrast, a first-time Singapore Citizen buyer purchasing the same S$1,800,000 property pays 0% ABSD and only the standard BSD of about S$60,600 — a difference of S$360,000 purely because of property count and citizenship status.

Advantages of ABSD

Protects housing affordability for citizens. By taxing second, third and foreign purchases more heavily, ABSD keeps a larger share of genuine housing stock accessible to first-time citizen buyers.
Dampens speculative flipping. The higher cost of holding multiple properties discourages short-term speculative buying that can inflate prices.
Predictable and rules-based. Unlike ad-hoc price controls, ABSD rates are published and calculated mechanically, so buyers can model the exact cost before committing.
Revenue for the state. ABSD collections contribute meaningfully to government revenue without raising income or consumption taxes broadly.

Risks and Limitations

It can materially increase the total cost of a purchase — a foreign buyer effectively pays an extra 60 cents on every dollar of property value in tax alone.
ABSD must be paid within 14 days of the OTP, which can strain cash flow for buyers who have not yet sold an existing property or secured financing.
Structuring a purchase purely to avoid ABSD (for example, artificial decoupling arrangements with no genuine change in beneficial ownership) can be challenged by IRAS and result in penalties.
Rates and remission rules can change with little notice as part of future cooling measures, so buyers planning multi-year property strategies face policy risk.
ABSD paid is generally non-refundable except in specific remission scenarios (e.g. selling the first property within the required window under the Married Couple’s remission).

ABSD vs Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD)

Feature	ABSD	SSD
When it applies	At the point of purchase	At the point of sale, within the holding period
Who pays	Buyer	Seller
Rate range (2026)	0% to 65%, by residency/property count	16% to 4%, tapering over the holding period
Purpose	Discourage multiple-property ownership	Discourage short-term flipping
Based on	Purchase price or valuation, whichever is higher	Sale price or valuation, whichever is higher

Source: IRAS stamp duty schedules, as at September 2026

The Bottom Line

For Singapore investors, ABSD is the single biggest line item to model before buying a second or third property, and it can easily exceed the property’s entire down payment. Anyone considering an additional purchase should calculate the exact ABSD bracket they fall into first, since the difference between owning zero, one or two existing properties changes the tax bill by tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty in Singapore?

Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) is a tax on top of standard stamp duty that applies when buying residential property in Singapore, with the rate depending on the buyer’s residency status and the number of properties already owned.

Do Singapore Citizens pay ABSD on their first home?

No. Singapore Citizens pay 0% ABSD on their first residential property. ABSD only applies from the second property onward, at 20% for the second and 30% for the third or subsequent property.

How much ABSD do foreigners pay in Singapore?

Foreign buyers pay a flat 60% ABSD on any residential property purchase in Singapore, including their very first, as of the rates that have been in force since 27 April 2023.

When is ABSD due?

ABSD must be paid within 14 days of exercising the Option to Purchase or signing the Sale and Purchase Agreement, whichever happens first.

Can ABSD be avoided legally?

ABSD cannot be avoided outright if you meet the criteria, but it can be legitimately reduced through mechanisms such as decoupling between spouses, remission for a married couple buying a replacement first home, or timing a purchase after disposing of an existing property. Arrangements designed purely to dodge ABSD without genuine change in ownership can be challenged by IRAS.

Is ABSD calculated on the purchase price or the valuation?

ABSD is calculated on whichever is higher: the actual purchase price agreed in the Option to Purchase, or the property’s market valuation at the time of purchase.

Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) Singapore