HDB Loan Calculator Singapore 2026

Calculate your HDB concessionary loan monthly repayment, total interest, and CPF coverage — free calculator with real-time results in SGD.

Understanding HDB Loans for Singapore Homebuyers

For most Singaporeans purchasing their first HDB flat, the HDB Housing Loan (also called the HDB concessionary loan) is the default financing option. As at Q1 2026, the HDB loan rate stands at 2.6% per annum — pegged at 0.1% above the CPF Ordinary Account (OA) interest rate of 2.5% p.a. This peg ensures that the loan remains affordable relative to CPF returns, making it a genuinely cost-effective option compared to most floating-rate bank packages. The HDB Board publishes the current rate on its official website, and any changes take effect on 1 January and 1 July each year.

According to HDB’s annual reports and the Ministry of National Development, over 80% of HDB flat buyers continue to choose the HDB concessionary loan over bank loans, primarily because of its rate stability, higher LTV ceiling, and lower cash-down requirement. Understanding how your monthly repayment, total interest paid, and CPF OA usage interact is essential for planning your housing finances — especially given Singapore’s rising flat prices.

Not financial advice. All figures are for educational reference only. Data as at Q1 2026 unless noted.

HDB Loan vs Bank Loan: Key Differences

The HDB concessionary loan offers an 80% Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio, meaning you need a minimum 20% down payment (of which only 5% must be in cash; the remaining 15% can be paid from CPF OA). Bank loans cap LTV at 75%, requiring a minimum 5% cash and 20% total down payment. The HDB loan charges a fixed rate of 2.6% p.a. throughout the loan tenure, while bank loans typically offer lower initial rates (introductory packages around 1.5–2.0% in 2022–2023) but float after the lock-in period, often rising to 3.5–4.0% by 2025. This rate volatility is the primary reason many buyers prefer the HDB loan for long-term financial certainty.

CPF OA and Housing Repayment in Singapore

Singapore’s CPF system allows homeowners to use CPF OA savings for both the down payment and monthly loan repayments. For a typical 35-year-old earning S$5,000/month in 2026, CPF OA contributions are approximately S$900–S$1,000/month (combining employee and employer CPF). This means a significant portion of your monthly HDB loan instalment can be serviced from CPF automatically, reducing the cash burden. However, when you sell your flat, you must return the CPF principal used plus the accrued interest (at 2.5% p.a.) to your CPF OA account, which affects your net sale proceeds.

How to Use This HDB Loan Calculator

1. Enter Your Flat Price: Input the total purchase price of the HDB flat (BTO price or resale valuation). The calculator automatically computes the loan amount based on the applicable LTV ratio (80% for HDB loans, 75% for bank loans).
2. Select Loan Type: Choose between HDB Concessionary Loan (fixed 2.6% p.a.) or Bank Loan (enter your own estimated rate). Switching between the two instantly shows you how much more or less you’d pay over the full tenure.
3. Adjust Loan Tenure: Drag the slider to set your preferred loan tenure (5–25 years for HDB loans). The maximum HDB loan tenure is 25 years or until age 65, whichever is shorter. A shorter tenure means higher monthly payments but significantly lower total interest.
4. Enter CPF OA Contribution: Add your estimated monthly CPF OA contribution to see how much of your monthly instalment is covered by CPF automatically, and how much cash you’d need to top up each month.

The calculator instantly shows your loan amount, required down payment, monthly instalment, total interest paid over the full tenure, CPF coverage percentage, and any additional cash top-up needed each month.

Pro tip: Combine this calculator with our Retirement Planning Calculator to understand how your housing loan repayments affect your long-term retirement savings timeline.

What Is an HDB Concessionary Loan?

The HDB Housing Loan — often called the HDB concessionary loan — is a subsidised mortgage offered directly by the Housing & Development Board (HDB) to eligible Singapore citizens purchasing HDB flats. Unlike commercial bank mortgages, the HDB loan is not subject to full market pricing; its interest rate is administratively set at 0.1 percentage point above the prevailing CPF Ordinary Account rate (currently 2.5% p.a.), giving a rate of 2.6% p.a. as at 2026. This rate is reviewed every six months — in January and July — and has historically been very stable, changing only when the CPF OA rate changes. For comparison, the CPF OA rate has held at 2.5% since 1999, meaning HDB loan borrowers have enjoyed a fixed 2.6% rate for over two decades, even as bank mortgage rates fluctuated dramatically (ranging from under 1% to over 4% in the 2020s alone).

The HDB loan is only available to Singapore Citizens (not PRs) purchasing an eligible HDB flat — both BTO flats and resale flats — provided applicants meet income ceiling requirements (S$14,000/month gross household income for families, S$21,000 for extended families). Buyers must not own or have recently disposed of any private residential property. The loan covers up to 80% of the flat’s purchase price or valuation (whichever is lower), with a maximum tenure of 25 years or until the youngest borrower reaches age 65, whichever comes first.

How HDB Loan Repayment Maths Works

HDB loan repayment is calculated using the standard amortisation formula: Monthly Instalment = P × r(1+r)^n / ((1+r)^n − 1), where P is the loan principal, r is the monthly interest rate (annual rate ÷ 12), and n is the total number of monthly payments (years × 12). For a S$400,000 loan at 2.6% p.a. over 25 years, the monthly instalment works out to approximately S$1,809, with a total interest cost of around S$142,700 over the full tenure — equivalent to about 35.7% of the original loan amount.

Interestingly, because the HDB loan rate is fixed, it is straightforward to plan repayments. For every S$100,000 borrowed at 2.6% p.a. over 25 years, you pay approximately S$452/month. Shortening the tenure to 20 years increases monthly payments to S$541/month per S$100,000, but saves roughly S$25,000 in interest. These numbers illustrate why making voluntary CPF top-ups or lump-sum prepayments early in your mortgage life can dramatically reduce your total interest cost, since the outstanding principal is still high.

Comparison table — S$400,000 HDB loan at 2.6% p.a.:

HDB Loan vs Bank Loan in Singapore

The decision between an HDB loan and a bank loan is one of the most consequential financial choices a Singapore homebuyer makes. Here is a head-to-head comparison based on 2026 conditions:

A key consideration: once you switch from an HDB loan to a bank loan, you cannot switch back. This asymmetry makes the HDB loan the safer default for first-time buyers uncertain about interest rate direction. However, if you have a large CPF OA balance and plan to pay off the loan quickly, a bank loan at a lower introductory rate could save you money — especially with the higher LTV still achievable via bank loans for well-priced flats. See our CPF OA/SA Allocation Calculator to model how CPF grows alongside your housing commitments.

Best Platforms to Manage Your Housing Finances

While HDB loans are administered directly through HDB, managing the broader financial picture — CPF utilisation, emergency fund, and investment portfolio alongside housing debt — benefits from a structured approach. In Singapore, several platforms help homebuyers optimise their finances:

CPF eServices — The official CPF portal lets you track your OA balance, check accrued interest on housing withdrawals, and model future CPF projections. Always use this as the authoritative source for your CPF OA balance before applying for your HDB loan. HDB MyFlat portal — Manage your HDB loan account, apply for payment adjustments, or check outstanding balances. Endowus — For the portion of your CPF OA not committed to housing, Endowus (referral code TKN) lets you invest CPF OA at a low cost in globally diversified funds, potentially earning more than the 2.5% floor rate. Syfe — Syfe (referral code TKN) is ideal for building a cash emergency fund and supplementary investment portfolio to provide liquidity alongside your housing loan. Maintaining a 6-month emergency fund in cash or a high-yield savings account before committing to a housing loan is a non-negotiable financial planning step. FSMOne — FSMOne allows low-cost investment in bond funds or dividend-paying unit trusts, useful for conservative investors who want yield while managing housing debt.

Using CPF OA for HDB Loan Repayment

CPF OA is the cornerstone of Singapore housing financing. When you service your HDB loan via CPF, the monthly instalment is automatically deducted from your CPF OA balance each month — you do not need to transfer cash. This “invisible” deduction makes housing loans feel affordable in the short run. However, there are important long-term implications to understand. Every dollar of CPF OA used for housing must be returned to your CPF OA when you sell your flat, with accrued interest at 2.5% p.a. This is called the CPF accrued interest charge. For example, if you withdraw S$300,000 from CPF OA over 25 years, the accrued interest alone could amount to S$100,000–S$150,000, significantly reducing your net sale proceeds.

The CPF Board sets the following limits for CPF usage in housing: the Valuation Limit (VL) is the lower of the purchase price or market valuation at the time of purchase. CPF usage is capped at 120% of the VL (Withdrawal Limit) for flats with lease ≥ 60 years remaining. For flats with shorter remaining leases, stricter limits apply — flats with less than 30 years remaining cannot use CPF at all. This makes lease decay a critical consideration when buying older resale HDB flats. Use our CPF LIFE Payout Calculator to model how your CPF balances — including the OA drawdown for housing — affect your eventual CPF LIFE payouts in retirement.

Reducing Housing Debt as a Retirement Strategy

For Singapore investors, the intersection of housing debt and retirement planning is unavoidable. A common framework is to clear your HDB loan by age 55, freeing up CPF OA contributions for the Retirement Account (RA) and avoiding the scenario where mortgage repayments eat into retirement savings. With a typical HDB concessionary loan at 2.6% p.a., there is a genuine case for not rushing prepayment: CPF OA earns 2.5% p.a. guaranteed, and if invested via platforms like Endowus, CPF OA can potentially earn 4–6% p.a. in balanced portfolios — more than the loan rate. However, the psychological and cashflow benefits of owning your HDB flat outright should not be underestimated.

A balanced approach: make standard monthly repayments via CPF, invest any surplus cash in a diversified portfolio, and consider a lump-sum housing loan prepayment at ages 45–50 using maturing investments or bonus CPF top-ups. This strategy aligns with the passive income philosophy — building income streams that eventually exceed your housing costs, freeing you entirely from earned-income dependency. Use our Retirement Planning Calculator to model different prepayment scenarios and their impact on your FI (financial independence) timeline.

Frequently Asked Questions

Plan Your Singapore Housing Finances with Confidence

From HDB loan repayments to CPF retirement projections — use our free tools and referral bonuses to put your knowledge into action.