Property Tax in Singapore: Annual Value and Rates

Singapore property tax is charged on a property's Annual Value (AV), not on what you paid for it. AV is the estimated gross annual rent the property would fetch if rented out, excluding furniture, furnishings and maintenance fees, and IRAS sets it from market rentals of comparable properties rather than from your actual rent.

Where you live in the property, the first $12,000 of AV is taxed at 0%. Renting it out removes that band entirely and starts the first dollar at a higher rate, which is the single largest swing in most owners' bills.

Annual Value is an estimate of rent, not of value

IRAS determines AV from estimated market rentals of similar or comparable properties. Two consequences follow for owners.

Your own tenancy does not settle your AV. An owner renting below market, or holding a unit vacant, is still assessed on comparable market rents. Actual rent received may not be decisive.

And a rise in rents across your development raises your AV without anything changing at your property. That is the usual reason a bill increases in a year when the owner did nothing.

Owners who consider the figure wrong can object to the AV through IRAS. An objection is assessed against rental evidence for comparable properties, so it needs comparables rather than an opinion on value.

Owner-occupier rates from 1 January 2025

Portion of Annual Value	Rate
First $12,000	0%
Above $12,000 to $40,000	4%
Above $40,000 to $50,000	6%
Above $50,000 to $75,000	10%
Above $75,000 to $85,000	14%
Above $85,000 to $100,000	20%
Above $100,000 to $140,000	26%
Above $140,000	32%

The rates are marginal, so each band applies only to the portion of AV inside it. The owner-occupier rates apply only where you live in the property, and you must be granted owner-occupier relief for them to apply.

Worked through the bands, the bill runs as follows:

Annual Value	Property tax before rebate
$12,000	$0
$40,000	$1,120
$60,000	$2,720
$85,000	$5,620
$100,000	$8,620

These are calculations on the table above and exclude any rebate. IRAS issues the actual assessment.

When the AV bands were widened from 1 January 2025, IRAS stated that all owner-occupied HDB flats and over 90% of owner-occupied private residential properties would see lower property tax bills that year.

Renting it out costs considerably more

Non-owner-occupied residential property has no 0% band. Under the rates that took effect on 1 January 2024, the first $30,000 of AV was taxed at 12%, the next $15,000 at 20%, the next $15,000 at 28%, and AV above $60,000 at 36%.

On an AV of $60,000, that structure produces a bill of $10,800, against $2,720 for the same property owner-occupied. The gap is close to four times.

Confirm the current bands on IRAS's property tax rates page before relying on those figures, since the bands are revised periodically.

Two practical points follow for anyone weighing a rental. The tax is an annual holding cost that reduces net yield, so it belongs in the yield calculation alongside maintenance and agent fees. And moving out of a property you have been living in changes the rate that applies, which owners often discover a year later.

Owners letting a property must notify IRAS so the correct rates apply. Continuing to receive owner-occupier relief on a property you no longer live in creates a back-assessment rather than a saving.

The 2026 rebate is automatic

The Government granted a one-off property tax rebate for all owner-occupied residential properties in 2026: 15% for owner-occupied HDB flats, and 10% capped at $500 for owner-occupied private residential properties.

The cap is what makes the private-property rebate modest at the top of the range. An owner-occupied private property with a bill of $8,620 receives $500 rather than $862, because the 10% is capped.

The rebate applies to owner-occupied properties only. It does not reach a property that is rented out or held vacant.

Property tax sits alongside your other holding costs

Property tax is one of the recurring costs that continue after completion, together with maintenance or service and conservancy charges, mortgage interest, insurance and, for private property, the sinking fund contribution.

Buyers frequently model the purchase and stop there. Our condo affordability guide covers the monthly commitments that follow the purchase, and the condo buying costs calculator works out the one-off transaction costs including Buyer's Stamp Duty.

For a rough sense of scale before your first bill, look up the AV of comparable units rather than estimating from the purchase price. The two are only loosely related, and a high-value unit in a low-rent location can carry a smaller bill than the price suggests.

HDB flats and private property diverge sharply

The same rate tables apply to flats and private property, so the difference in bills comes from AV rather than from any separate HDB rate. Flat AVs sit at the low end of the range, which places owner-occupied flats in the lowest bands. IRAS confirmed that all owner-occupied HDB flats saw lower bills when the bands were widened for 2025.

Flat owners renting out the whole flat face two changes at once. HDB approval is required to sublet an entire flat, and the property moves onto the non-owner-occupied rates, where the first dollar of AV is taxed rather than the first $12,000 being free.

Renting out a room is treated differently from subletting the whole flat, since you continue to live there. Owner-occupier relief can continue in that case. Confirm the treatment with IRAS for your arrangement rather than assuming, and factor the answer into the rental income you expect to keep.

Checks for the year ahead

• Find your property's current AV on IRAS's digital service rather than estimating it, then apply the bands above.
• Confirm you have owner-occupier relief on the property you live in, and only on that property.
• Notify IRAS when you move out and rent the property, before the assessment year rather than after.
• If you are letting the property, include the non-owner-occupied tax in the yield calculation rather than the owner-occupier figure.
• Where your AV has risen sharply and comparable rents have not, gather comparables and use the objection process.

Property tax is one of the few property costs you can predict exactly once you know the AV, so it should be a settled line in the budget rather than a surprise each January.

Sources: IRAS, about Annual Value, IRAS, property tax rates and sample calculations, IRAS, Annex A: progressive property tax rates for owner-occupied residential properties, IRAS, Annex B: progressive property tax rates for residential properties effective 1 Jan 2024, IRAS, Government will grant one-off property tax rebate for all owner-occupied residential properties in 2026, IRAS, all owner-occupied HDB flats and over 90% of owner-occupied private residential properties will see lower property tax bills in 2025, IRAS, object to Annual Value.