Seller's Stamp Duty in 2026: The 4-Year Rule and What It Costs
Sell a residential property within four years of buying it and IRAS takes up to 16% of the price. The rules changed on 4 July 2025. Here is where you stand before you pick a sale date.
What SSD is, and who it hits
Seller's Stamp Duty (SSD) is a tax you pay IRAS when you sell a residential property within a set holding period. Three things define it.
It is charged on the higher of the selling price or the market value. Selling cheaply to a relative does not shrink the bill. If IRAS values your unit above your contract price, the duty is computed on IRAS's figure.
It is band-based, not pro-rated. Sell one day before your second anniversary and you pay the year-one rate in full. There is no discount for being close.
It is payable within 14 days of signing the sale document, so the money comes out of your proceeds at completion, not sometime next year.
Who it hits: private residential sellers. HDB owners are already held by the 5-year Minimum Occupation Period, which runs longer than the SSD window, so SSD almost never reaches an HDB sale. The July 2025 change was aimed at private-property flipping, and that is where it bites.
The rates: old table vs new table
On 3 July 2025 the Government announced two changes, effective for residential properties purchased on or after 4 July 2025: the holding period went from three years back to four, and every rate went up by four percentage points. It reversed a 2017 relaxation, and there was no transition period. Your purchase date fixes which table you are on.
Source: IRAS Seller's Stamp Duty schedule · Checked 17 Jul 2026
| Holding period | Bought 11 Mar 2017 – 3 Jul 20253-year regime | Bought from 4 Jul 20254-year regime |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1 year | 12% | 16% |
| More than 1, up to 2 years | 8% | 12% |
| More than 2, up to 3 years | 4% | 8% |
| More than 3, up to 4 years | 0% | 4% |
| More than 4 years | 0% | 0% |
Swipe to see the full table →
Two neighbours can sell in the same month and owe completely different amounts. One bought on 30 June 2025 and sits on the old table; the other bought ten days later and sits on the new one. Check your own purchase date before anything else.
Worked example: a $1.6M condo, bought 1 Sep 2025
Say you bought a resale condo for $1,600,000 on 1 September 2025. Here is what selling at that same price costs you, depending on when you complete the sale:
Worked example at a flat $1.6M price, 4-year regime · Computed 17 Jul 2026
| Sale completed | Held | Rate | SSD payable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | ~11 months | 16% | $256,000 |
| Oct 2026 | 13 months | 12% | $192,000 |
| Oct 2027 | 25 months | 8% | $128,000 |
| Oct 2028 | 37 months | 4% | $64,000 |
| From Sep 2029 | More than 4 years — no SSD. Waiting from late Aug 2026 to early Oct 2026 alone saves $64,000 in this example. | ||
Swipe to see the full table →
And remember the market-value rule. Sell that condo at $1.5M and, if IRAS values it at $1.55M, the duty is computed on $1.55M, not your contract price.
Your exact number depends on your purchase date, your sale date and your price. Run it here: the SSD calculator, free and ungated.
Edge cases worth knowing
The clock starts at your purchase, not your TOP. For a resale unit, that is the date you exercised the Option to Purchase. For a new launch, the Sale and Purchase Agreement date. Buyers of projects still under construction can find the SSD window has largely run by the time they collect keys, but the early bands still cover the sub-sale period.
Exemptions exist but they are narrow. Disposal on inheritance, transfers ordered in divorce proceedings, and certain acquisitions by the Government can be remitted, all subject to IRAS approval. There is no general hardship waiver.
SSD is separate from ABSD. If you are upgrading and worried about the 20% ABSD on your next purchase, that is a different tax with its own 6-month remission clock for married couples. Do not merge the two in your planning.
HDB sellers can mostly skip this page. The 5-year MOP already holds you past the 4-year window. The exception worth checking: you bought a private property while your flat was mid-MOP, or you are selling an EC in its privatisation window. Then the purchase date matters again.
Before you set a sale date
1. Find your purchase date. It is on your Option or Sale and Purchase Agreement. That date, not your memory of it, picks your table.
2. See which band a sale today falls in. If you are weeks from crossing into a lower band, the wait is often worth five figures. Run the dates in the SSD calculator.
3. Then work out what you actually keep. SSD is only one line. Your outstanding loan, the CPF refund with accrued interest, legal fees and commission come out of the price too. The full waterfall is here: CPF refund and accrued interest, explained.
Selling a condo this year? The process, costs and timeline are here: selling your condo in 2026, with real numbers.
Common questions
SSD, asked and answered
Almost never in practice. HDB owners are already held by the 5-year Minimum Occupation Period, which is longer than the 4-year SSD window, so by the time an HDB flat can be sold, the SSD period has passed. The July 2025 change was aimed at private residential flipping. SSD is mainly a condo and landed seller's problem.
From your purchase date to your sale date. The purchase date is the date you exercised the Option to Purchase or signed the Sale and Purchase Agreement, whichever is earlier. The bands are not pro-rated: one day short of the next band means the full higher rate applies.
No. SSD is charged on the full selling price or the market value, whichever is higher. You can sell at a loss and still owe SSD. That is what makes it different from a capital gains tax, and why the sale date matters so much.
Only in narrow cases, such as disposal on inheritance, transfers ordered in divorce proceedings, and certain government acquisitions, all subject to IRAS approval. There is no general hardship waiver. Plan the sale date instead of hoping for an exception.
The old 3-year table: 12% in year one, 8% in year two, 4% in year three, nothing after three years. The new 4-year, up-to-16% table applies only to residential properties purchased on or after 4 July 2025. Your acquisition date fixes your regime, and there was no transition period.
Know your number before you list
SSD can be a five-figure reason to wait six weeks, or a non-issue you were worrying about for nothing. Either way, guesswork is the expensive option. Check your dates in the calculator, and if you want the sale mapped end to end, I'm a WhatsApp away.