1. Pay all your Outstanding Property Tax
2. Terminate GIRO Payment Arrangement (if any)
3. Submit Claims for Property Tax Refund (if any)
4. Notify IRAS of the Property Transfer
5. Pay Seller’s Stamp Duty (if applicable)
1. Pay all your Outstanding Property Tax
Property tax is payable yearly in advance by the month of January. Hence you ought to have paid the full year tax by 31 January before you sell your property. If you have not paid the full year tax, or if you are paying tax by GIRO, we advise you to pay all outstanding property tax before the completion of sale of your property.
To check if you have any outstanding property tax, you can log in to myTax Portal with your SingPass> Other PT e-Services (left-hand menu) > View Account Summary. Please do not terminate your GIRO arrangement before paying off the outstanding tax.
The apportionment of property tax liabilities is a private arrangement between the seller and buyer. Your lawyer or HDB officers (for HDB flats) would usually assist you in apportioning the tax amount and in seeking the reimbursement from the buyer. IRAS does not apportion nor arbitrate property tax liabilities between the parties.
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2. Terminate GIRO Payment Arrangement (if any)
We advise you to pay all outstanding property tax before you terminate your GIRO payment arrangement. In any case, your GIRO payment arrangement will be automatically terminated once we have been notified of your property transfer.
Please contact us or inform your bank if you wish to terminate the GIRO arrangement before the completion of sale. If there is any outstanding tax upon the termination of GIRO, you are advised to pay the outstanding tax immediately to avoid the imposition of a 5% penalty on the outstanding tax.
You need to inform IRAS before the last working day of the month if you wish to cancel the GIRO deduction for the following month. If we do not receive any instruction from you, the bank will continue to deduct the payment from your GIRO account for the following month. Example: If you wish to cancel GIRO deduction for the month of April 2011, you will need to inform IRAS before 31 March 2011.
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3. Submit Claims for Property Tax Refund (if any)
If you are eligible for the owner-occupier tax rates or vacancy refund (Will cease with effect from 1 Jan 2014) and have not applied for them, you will need to submit the applications at least 6 weeks before the property is transferred.
IRAS will not accept any your application after you cease to be the owner of the property. If you are successful in your application, any claim for refund of tax has to be made within 5 years of the excess tax paid
Find out about:
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4. Notify IRAS of the Property Transfer
Usually your conveyancing lawyer would notify IRAS of the sale or transfer of your property within 1 month of the sale or transfer by filing a Notice of Transfer. If you continue to receive Valuation Notice or bill from IRAS more than a month after the transfer, you may check with your lawyer whether he has filed the Notice of Transfer. More information on If you fail to submit the Notice of Transfer on time or are late in submitting the Notice of Transfer.
If your property is a HDB flat, HDB will notify IRAS of the transfer of your flat.
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5. Pay Seller’s Stamp Duty (if applicable)
You may need to pay a Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD), if you sell or dispose the property within 4 years of acquisition. SSD is payable within 14 days of the date of Contract/Agreement. Please check with your lawyers whether you are required to pay SDD based on your circumstances. For details on SSD, you may refer to IRAS website on Stamp Duty.
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