ABSD Remission in Singapore: Who Qualifies and How to Claim

ABSD remission in Singapore can return hundreds of thousands of dollars to an eligible home upgrader, but the concession depends on the buyers, ownership structure and two separate deadlines. Paying Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) on a second home does not create a right to a refund by itself.

Most claims fall into one of two groups: married couples replacing a home, and single Singapore Citizens aged 55 or above who are right-sizing. We explain both, with a worked timeline for a new launch condo.

ABSD remission and an ABSD refund are different

ABSD is a tax on residential property purchases. IRAS calculates it on the higher of the purchase price or market value, on top of Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD). A Singapore Citizen buying a second residential property pays 20% ABSD under the rates in force at publication.

“Remission” covers two payment outcomes:

Situation	Treatment
Eligible married couple buying their first matrimonial home	Full remission may apply at stamping, so the couple does not fund the ABSD
Eligible buyer replacing an existing private home	Buyer pays ABSD first and receives a refund after satisfying every condition
Buyer who sells after the deadline or breaks another condition	No refund

The refund route creates a liquidity problem. On a $1.8 million replacement home, 20% ABSD is $360,000. A Singapore Citizen and Permanent Resident couple who both own the first home would face the higher joint rate of 30%, or $540,000. A Singapore Citizen and foreigner couple could pay 60%, or $1.08 million, before claiming a full refund if they qualify.

Joint buyers pay the rate attached to the buyer with the highest ABSD profile. Read our full guide to current ABSD rates before using a percentage in your budget.

Married couples must meet every remission condition

IRAS lists six conditions for married couples. For a refund on a second residential property, check that:

• the couple includes at least one Singapore Citizen
• both spouses buy the replacement property jointly, under their two names
• neither spouse owns an interest in more than one residential property at the replacement property’s purchase date
• the couple pays the ABSD on the replacement property
• the couple sells all residential property that counted as their first home within the prescribed period
• the couple remains married, keeps the same ownership of the replacement home and acquires no other residential property before selling the first home

A small inherited share counts as a residential property interest. Property held by one spouse also affects the test, even if the couple does not live there. Ask your lawyer to map every legal and beneficial interest before booking the replacement.

A purchase under one spouse’s sole name does not qualify for the married-couple refund. Adding the other spouse after purchase does not repair the ownership structure and may create another dutiable transfer.

The six-month deadline depends on what you buy

IRAS uses different starting points for completed and uncompleted replacement homes:

Replacement property when bought	Six-month sale clock starts
Completed condo, landed home or resale flat	Date of purchase of the replacement property
Uncompleted new launch condo	Issue date of TOP or CSC, whichever comes first

Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) allows occupation of a completed development. The Certificate of Statutory Completion (CSC) confirms full statutory completion. Buyers often focus on the advertised TOP date, but the legal test uses whichever certificate IRAS specifies first.

For a typical purchase, IRAS treats the purchase date as the date you accept the Option to Purchase, sign the Sale and Purchase Agreement, or execute the transfer, depending on the document used. IRAS treats the sale date in the same contractual way: the date your buyer accepts the option, signs the sale agreement, or receives the transfer. The conveyancing completion date may come later.

IRAS states that it will not extend the six-month sale period for a weak market, family timing or poor advice. Set an internal deadline several weeks before the legal one. That leaves time to adjust the asking price or resolve a buyer’s financing problem.

Our guide on selling an HDB before buying a condo compares this buy-first sequence with selling first and avoiding the ABSD outlay.

A new launch gives you time, not a guaranteed refund

Assume a married Singapore Citizen couple owns one HDB flat and jointly buys a $1.8 million uncompleted condo on 1 August 2026.

1. The couple pays $360,000 ABSD because the condo counts as their second residential property at purchase.
2. Construction continues for several years. The couple does not need to sell the HDB within six months of booking the condo.
3. The condo receives TOP on 15 May 2030, before CSC. The sale deadline becomes 15 November 2030.
4. The couple secures a buyer who exercises the HDB Option to Purchase on 20 October 2030. Subject to the other conditions, that contracted sale falls inside the remission period.

This sequence gives the couple time to live in the HDB during construction. It also concentrates several demands around TOP: the mortgage reaches its largest disbursement, keys arrive and the HDB sale deadline begins. Start the sale preparation before TOP rather than waiting for key collection.

The new launch condo buying process sets out the booking, Sale and Purchase Agreement, progressive payments and TOP sequence.

Single Singaporean seniors have a separate right-sizing concession

For second residential properties bought on or after 16 February 2024, single Singapore Citizens aged 55 or above can seek an ABSD refund. The concession has narrower ownership and value tests than the married-couple route.

The buyer must pay ABSD first. Each owner of a first property must also own the replacement property, and any additional buyer must be a single Singapore Citizen aged 55 or above who is an immediate family member. Each buyer may own no more than one residential property at the time of the replacement purchase.

The replacement property must have a lower value than each first property sold. If two eligible siblings each sell a home, the replacement must cost less than both old homes. The same six-month sale periods apply: purchase date for a completed replacement, or TOP/CSC for a home bought before completion.

Married seniors cannot use this single-senior concession. A single senior who buys with a child under 55 also fails its joint-buyer test.

Claim the refund and keep proof of each date

Eligible married couples may receive the refund without a separate application when the purchase stamping form was submitted on or after 2 July 2023, the buyers declared their intention to sell, and they claimed the refund in that form. IRAS says an eligible automatic refund should arrive within six weeks after the first property’s sale has been stamped.

Do not let automation become a missed deadline. Buyers who do not meet the automatic-refund conditions must apply through myTax Portal. The application deadline is six months after the sale date of the first property. Single Singaporean seniors must use the process on the IRAS concession page.

Keep these records together:

• stamp certificate and proof of ABSD payment for the replacement
• exercised purchase contract for the replacement
• exercised sale contract for each first property
• TOP and CSC notices if the replacement was uncompleted
• ownership records and correspondence from the conveyancing lawyer

Ask the lawyer who handled the purchase to confirm the sale deadline, refund route and person receiving the money. A CPF-funded duty refund may follow a different cash path from a duty funded from savings.

Plan for a failed refund before committing

Treat the ABSD as unavailable until IRAS returns it. A plan that needs the refund to complete the replacement purchase has a timing gap, because the sale and refund occur after the purchase obligations.

Run two budgets. The first assumes the sale and refund arrive on schedule. The second assumes the old home needs a price reduction and IRAS returns no ABSD. If the second budget creates a forced sale or unpaid completion amount, sell the existing property before buying.

The remission can make a buy-first upgrade workable. It does not remove the need to fund the duty, meet the ownership rules and contract the sale before a fixed date. Confirm the facts with IRAS and your conveyancing lawyer before signing.

Sources: IRAS, remission of ABSD for a married couple, IRAS, ABSD concession for single Singapore Citizen seniors, IRAS, Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty.