5 min read
Seller’s Stamp Duty is now a four-year problem, not a three-year one
For residential property bought on or after 4 July 2025, Seller’s Stamp Duty is 16% in year one, 12% in year two, 8% in year three and 4% in year four. Property bought before that date stays on the old three-year, 12/8/4 schedule.
On 3 July 2025 the Government announced that the Seller’s Stamp Duty holding period would revert from three years to four, with every tier raised by four percentage points. The change took effect at midnight on 4 July 2025 and applies to residential property purchased on or after that date. The stated trigger was a sharp rise in sub-sales of uncompleted units.
| Holding period | Bought on or after 4 Jul 2025 | Bought 11 Mar 2017 – 3 Jul 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1 year | 16% | 12% |
| More than 1 year, up to 2 years | 12% | 8% |
| More than 2 years, up to 3 years | 8% | 4% |
| More than 3 years, up to 4 years | 4% | 0% |
| More than 4 years | 0% | 0% |
What it costs
| Sold within | Rate | SSD payable |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 16% | $288,000 |
| 2 years | 12% | $216,000 |
| 3 years | 8% | $144,000 |
| 4 years | 4% | $72,000 |
| After 4 years | 0% | $0 |
Who this catches
- Sub-sale buyers of uncompleted units — the group the measure was aimed at.
- Anyone whose circumstances change in the first four years: a job relocation, a divorce, a rate reset that makes the mortgage unaffordable.
- Upgraders who bought a second property planning to flip the first quickly, and are now caught between the ABSD refund window and the SSD clock.
- HDB owners are unaffected in practice, because the Minimum Occupation Period already exceeds the SSD holding period.
The interaction with the ABSD married-couple refund deserves particular attention. That refund requires the first property to be sold within six months. If the first property is itself within the SSD window, you can find yourself paying SSD in order to avoid forfeiting a larger ABSD refund. Which way round that nets out depends entirely on the numbers, and it is worth modelling before you buy, not after.
Primary sources
Every figure in this article was checked against these on 1 August 2026. If you find one out of date, tell me and I will correct it.
Frequently asked
Every question on stamp duties & taxes- What is the Seller’s Stamp Duty holding period in Singapore?
- For residential property purchased on or after 4 July 2025, the Seller’s Stamp Duty holding period is four years, at 16% in the first year, 12% in the second, 8% in the third and 4% in the fourth. Property purchased between 11 March 2017 and 3 July 2025 remains on a three-year holding period at 12%, 8% and 4%.