Seller's Stamp Duty (SSD) is a tax you pay when you sell a home soon after buying it. For a home bought on or after 4 July 2025 it is 16% if you sell within the first year, then 12%, 8% and 4%, and nothing once you have held it for more than four years. For a home bought between 11 March 2017 and 3 July 2025, the older schedule still applies: 12%, 8% and 4% over three years.
Figures as at 10 October 2026. Check the official source before acting.
Which schedule applies to you
Your purchase date decides the schedule, not your sale date. The government announced the higher rates and the longer holding period on 3 July 2025. They apply to residential property bought from 4 July 2025, with no transition period.
| How long you held it | Bought 11 Mar 2017 to 3 Jul 2025 | Bought on or after 4 Jul 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1 year | 12% | 16% |
| More than 1 year, up to 2 years | 8% | 12% |
| More than 2 years, up to 3 years | 4% | 8% |
| More than 3 years, up to 4 years | 0% | 4% |
| More than 4 years | 0% | 0% |
Three points about the base:
- The rate applies to the selling price or the market value, whichever is higher. A sale below market value does not reduce the duty.
- SSD is charged on the whole amount, not on your profit. You pay it even if you sell at a loss.
- IRAS rounds the duty down to the nearest dollar.
This guide covers residential property only. Industrial property has its own SSD schedule (15%, 10% and 5% over three years). Commercial property such as shops and offices carries no SSD.
How the dates are counted
The holding period runs from the date you acquired the property to the date you dispose of it. Both are contract dates, not completion dates.
- Start date. This is usually the date you accepted the Option to Purchase (OTP), or the date of the Sale and Purchase Agreement. For a new HDB flat, it is the date of the Agreement for Lease. IRAS has also said that if an OTP was granted before 4 July 2025 but you exercised it on or after that date, the new schedule applies to you.
- End date. This is usually the date your buyer accepts the OTP you grant, or the date of the Sale and Purchase Agreement. Completion often happens weeks later, but it is the contract date that counts.
- Calendar anniversaries. IRAS counts in calendar years from the start date. Its own example: a home bought on 7 July 2025 attracts no SSD if it is sold on or after 7 July 2029. The same home sold on 9 May 2026 for S$1,800,000 falls in the first year, so SSD is 16%, or S$288,000.
If your sale date is close to an anniversary, ask your conveyancing lawyer to check both contract dates before you sign. A few days can move you into a lower band.
Worked example
Example (hypothetical): a condominium bought for S$1,500,000 and sold for the same price on 1 March 2027. We ran two purchase dates through PropAce's SSD calculator, which picks the schedule from the purchase date.
| Input or result | Bought 15 Sep 2025 | Bought 15 Jun 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Sale price | S$1,500,000 | S$1,500,000 |
| Sale date | 1 Mar 2027 | 1 Mar 2027 |
| Time held | About 1 year 5 months | About 1 year 8 months |
| Schedule | From 4 Jul 2025 | 11 Mar 2017 to 3 Jul 2025 |
| SSD rate | 12% | 8% |
| SSD payable | S$180,000 | S$120,000 |
| First date with no SSD (IRAS rule) | 15 Sep 2029 | 15 Jun 2028 |
Both owners held the home for under two years, but the one who bought after the 4 July 2025 change pays S$60,000 more. That owner also has to hold for four years instead of three before the duty falls away. The last row follows IRAS's rule that SSD stops applying on the anniversary itself.
You can run your own dates in the stamp duty calculator. To see SSD alongside your loan redemption, CPF refund and selling costs, use the sale proceeds calculator and enter your purchase date.
Who pays, and when
- The seller pays. SSD is due within 14 days of the date of the executed sale contract.
- No deferment. IRAS does not defer SSD, and it charges penalties if you pay late.
- Collective sales. In an en bloc sale, every owner whose unit is still within its holding period is liable, whether or not they consented to the sale.
- Paperwork. Your lawyer completes a mandatory SSD declaration form for the sale and keeps it on file.
When SSD does not apply
The Stamp Duties Act lists specific situations in which SSD is not payable. IRAS lists these:
- licensed housing developers selling units they developed;
- public authorities such as HDB and JTC, acting in their official functions;
- property acquired by the Government under the Land Acquisition Act;
- a sale an individual is forced to make because of bankruptcy;
- a company disposing of property in an involuntary winding-up;
- a foreigner selling because the Residential Property Act requires it;
- certain HDB cases, including flats under SERS, repossessions, and transfers required by HDB rules on inherited flats or between married couples.
Outside these situations, the normal rates apply. A job move, a growing family or a change of plans does not by itself remove the duty. If your situation is unusual, check with IRAS or your lawyer before you grant an OTP.
HDB flats. SSD applies to residential property, which includes HDB flats. In practice an HDB flat bought in the usual way cannot be sold before its Minimum Occupation Period ends. That period is at least five years, which is longer than the four-year SSD window, so ordinary HDB resales rarely meet SSD.
Frequently asked questions
I was granted an OTP in June 2025 but exercised it on 10 July 2025. Which rates apply?
IRAS has said that if you exercised the OTP on or after 4 July 2025, the revised schedule applies: 16% to 4% if you sell within four years. The holding period starts on the date you accepted the OTP.
Is SSD worked out on my profit?
No. It is a percentage of the selling price or the market value, whichever is higher. It is payable even if you sell for less than you paid.
Does the completion date matter for SSD?
Not for the holding period. IRAS uses the contract dates: usually the date the OTP is accepted, or the Sale and Purchase Agreement date, at both ends.
When exactly does SSD stop applying?
On the anniversary. IRAS's example shows that a home bought on 7 July 2025 can be sold free of SSD on or after 7 July 2029. A home bought before 4 July 2025 needs three years instead of four.
Who pays SSD, the buyer or the seller?
The seller. It is due within 14 days of the executed sale contract, and IRAS does not defer it.
Sources
- IRAS: Seller's Stamp Duty (SSD) for residential property: the rate tables for each purchase period, the start and end dates, the 7 July 2025 anniversary example, the 14-day deadline, collective sales, and the list of situations where SSD is not payable.
- MAS media release, 3 July 2025: Extension of the holding period of SSD and higher SSD rates: the 4 July 2025 start and the absence of a transition period.
- IRAS SSD declaration form for residential properties (updated 4 Jul 2025): the full historical schedule used by PropAce's calculator.
- IRAS: SSD for industrial property: the separate industrial schedule.