Buyer Stamp Duty
Buyer Stamp Duty (BSD) is tax paid on the acceptance or exercising of an Option to Purchase (OTP) / Sale & Purchase Agreement (S&P). BSD is payable on the higher of actual price or market value. The buyer is responsible for paying BSD to IRAS within 14 days of exercising the OTP or S&P if signed in Singapore, and within 30 days after receiving the document in Singapore if signed overseas.
Updated Sep 2026: The schedule below is the current residential BSD schedule, in force for purchases on or after 15 February 2023 (no change since, as at 29 Sep 2026). When this guide was first published (Aug 2019), the scale stopped at 4%; the 5% and 6% bands were added in 2023. Always confirm live rates and computation on IRAS before you act. This site does not calculate stamp duty.
Current payment schedule (residential, from 15 Feb 2023)
| Payment schedule | % of stamp duty |
|---|---|
| First S$180,000 | 1% |
| Next S$180,000 | 2% |
| Next S$640,000 | 3% |
| Next S$500,000 | 4% |
| Next S$1,500,000 | 5% |
| Remaining amount (above S$3,000,000) | 6% |
Source: MOF, BSD rates raised for higher-value properties. The 2019 version of this guide had a four-tier scale: 1% / 2% / 3%, then 4% on everything above S$1,000,000.
Worked example
If you are buying an S$1,500,000 Singapore residential property, BSD payable is S$44,600 — the same figure as in the original 2019 example, because the new 5% and 6% bands only start above S$1.5m:
| Payment schedule | Buyer stamp duty payable |
|---|---|
| On the first S$180,000 | 1% of S$180,000 = S$1,800 |
| On the next S$180,000 | 2% of S$180,000 = S$3,600 |
| On the next S$640,000 | 3% of S$640,000 = S$19,200 |
| Remaining S$500,000 | 4% of S$500,000 = S$20,000 |
| Total | S$44,600 |
Above S$1.5m, the higher bands start to bite. On the current schedule:
| Purchase price | BSD payable |
|---|---|
| S$1,000,000 | S$24,600 |
| S$1,500,000 | S$44,600 |
| S$2,500,000 | S$94,600 |
| S$3,500,000 | S$149,600 |
Under the pre-2023 four-tier scale, the S$2.5m and S$3.5m tickets would have been S$84,600 and S$124,600.
Related costs
BSD is only one line item. Multi-property and foreign purchases may also face Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD). For a fuller cost stack, see cost of buying Singapore property.
On the way out, Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) applies if you sell a residential property soon after buying it. For properties bought on or after 4 July 2025, the holding period is four years, at 16% / 12% / 8% / 4% for sales in years one to four (MOF). Buyers before that date stay on the old three-year schedule (12% / 8% / 4%).
See also
Next step
Modelling cash for a purchase (BSD + ABSD + down payment)? Send the scenario on WhatsApp — we structure trade-offs with sourced figures, without a stamp-duty calculator on this site.