Buying Property in Singapore as a Foreigner: ABSD
Foreigners can freely buy private condos and apartments but pay 60% Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty on any residential purchase, on top of Buyer's Stamp Duty of up to 6%. Landed homes need Singapore Land Authority approval; Permanent Residents pay 5% on a first home.
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Foreigners buying property in Singapore can own a home, but the taxes are steep and the rules on what you may buy are strict. The single biggest cost is Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD), a cooling measure that charges a foreigner 60% on any residential purchase. This guide covers who can buy what, how the duty stacks up, the exemptions that cut it, and the reliefs for mixed-nationality couples. If you are still renting, our tenancy agreement and stamp duty guide covers the lease side.
What foreigners and PRs can buy
Under the Residential Property Act, a foreign person is anyone who is not a Singapore citizen, company, limited liability partnership or society — which means a Permanent Resident (PR) is a foreign person for this law. What you can buy depends on the property type, not just your wallet.
Property types a foreigner can buy freely versus those needing approval.
A foreign person (including a PR) can buy these without approval:
- a condominium or apartment unit;
- a strata landed house inside an approved condominium development;
- a leasehold interest in a landed home for a term of up to seven years;
- an Executive Condominium, HDB flat or HDB shophouse — but only subject to HDB’s own eligibility rules.
That last point carries a catch newcomers miss: new HDB flats are not open to foreigners at all, and PRs can buy only resale flats, and only together with another PR or a Singapore citizen. Buying private is the realistic route for most non-residents.
Landed property needs SLA approval
To buy a landed home — a terrace, semi-detached, bungalow, vacant residential land or a strata landed house outside an approved condo — a foreign person must first get approval under the Residential Property Act from the Land Dealings Approval Unit (LDAU) of the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).
Approval is assessed case by case, but SLA looks for an applicant who has been a PR for at least five years and has made an exceptional economic contribution to Singapore, judged partly on employment income assessable for tax here. The assessment takes about 30 working days. Non-PR foreigners are generally confined to landed homes at Sentosa Cove, and extra conditions (such as land-area limits) apply — check the LDAU before you commit.
ABSD: the rate that dominates the cost
ABSD is charged on top of Buyer’s Stamp Duty, on the higher of the purchase price or the market value. Your rate is fixed by your profile on the date of purchase — and you must already hold citizen or PR status, granted by ICA, as at that date to enjoy a lower rate.
A foreigner pays 60% on any residential purchase; a PR pays 5% on a first home.
| Buyer profile | ABSD (on or after 27 Apr 2023) |
|---|---|
| Singapore citizen, first home | None |
| Singapore citizen, second home | 20% |
| Singapore citizen, third or more | 30% |
| PR, first home | 5% |
| PR, second home | 30% |
| PR, third or more | 35% |
| Foreigner, any home | 60% |
| Entity / trustee, any home | 65% |
The duty is rounded down to the nearest dollar. One rule catches couples out: where two or more buyers of different profiles buy together, the highest applicable rate applies to the entire value. A citizen buying with a foreigner spouse is charged at the foreigner rate on the whole price unless a remission applies (below).
Buyer’s Stamp Duty on top
Everyone pays Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD) as well. For residential property bought on or after 15 February 2023 it is tiered:
| Portion of price or value | BSD rate |
|---|---|
| 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 | 6% |
Like ABSD, BSD is charged on the higher of price or market value and rounded down to the nearest dollar.
A worked example of the total bill
Take a foreigner buying a S$2,000,000 condominium (illustrative). Working the BSD tiers gives S$1,800 + S$3,600 + S$19,200 + S$20,000 + S$25,000 = S$69,600. ABSD at 60% is S$1,200,000. The upfront duty is therefore about S$1,269,600 — before the price of the home itself.
The extra duty a foreigner pays on a S$2,000,000 purchase, before the price itself.
Exemptions under free trade agreements
A narrow group of foreigners is spared the foreigner rate. Under Singapore’s free trade agreements, nationals of the United States and nationals or Permanent Residents of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are accorded the same stamp-duty treatment as Singapore citizens. In practice that means a US national buying a first home pays no ABSD, not 60%. You claim it when you stamp through IRAS’s myTax Portal to obtain the remission certificate.
If you are married to a Singaporean
Mixed-nationality couples have a route to relief. Where a married couple that includes a Singapore citizen buys one residential property in both their names, and neither of them owns any residential property, the ABSD can be fully remitted — so a foreigner or PR spouse is not charged the foreigner rate on that home.
Couples buying a second property can instead claim a refund of the ABSD if they sell their first home within six months of buying the second (or within six months of the new home’s Temporary Occupation Permit if it was still being built), stay married, and acquire no other property in between. For sales stamped on or after 2 July 2023 where the couple declared their intention, IRAS refunds the ABSD automatically within six weeks of the first home’s sale being stamped.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreigner buy an HDB flat? Not a new one. PRs may buy a resale flat, but only with another PR or a citizen and subject to HDB’s eligibility and Minimum Occupation Period rules.
What if my purchase falls through because I can’t get approval? If a foreign buyer cannot obtain Residential Property Act approval, IRAS allows a refund of the duty on the aborted sale, applied for within six months.
Does ABSD apply to commercial property? No. ABSD is a residential-property measure; commercial and industrial purchases are not subject to it (BSD still applies at the non-residential rates).
When is my ABSD rate locked in? On the date of purchase — the earliest of the signed Option to Purchase acceptance or sale and purchase agreement. Your citizen or PR status must be granted by that date.
Related
If you intend to settle for the long term, read our overview of applying for PR in Singapore and what CPF looks like for new PRs. For how your income is taxed while you are here, see income tax for expats.
General information only, from IRAS and the Singapore Land Authority, with the date each rule was checked. We are not a property agency or a tax adviser. ABSD rates are cooling-measure driven and can change; confirm the current figures on the official source for your own case.
Sources
- Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates — Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (as of November 2026)
- Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD) rates — Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (as of November 2026)
- Foreign ownership of property (Residential Property Act approvals) — Singapore Land Authority (as of November 2026)
- Foreigners Eligible for ABSD Remission under Free Trade Agreements — Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (as of November 2026)
- Remission of ABSD for a Married Couple — Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (as of November 2026)