The acquisition of sites before 6 Jul 2018 by housing developers for the development of 5 or more units is subject to 15% ABSD, which may be remitted upfront subject to the conditions below.
For acquisitions of sites on/after 6 Jul 2018, housing developers are subject to 30% ABSD of which, 25% ABSD may be remitted upfront subject to conditions below. The other 5% ABSD is non-remittable and remains payable within 14 days from the date of acquisition.
It is important for the purchasing entity to decide whether it will undertake housing development of the subject property at the point of purchase, in order to ascertain the applicable ABSD treatment. Any subsequent change of intention will not be considered for stamp duty purposes. For example, entities who have paid the ABSD rate of 25% will not qualify for the ABSD Housing Developers Remission, even if they fulfil the remission conditions subsequently. Similarly, developers who paid the ABSD rate of 5% and applied for the ABSD Housing Developers Remission cannot withdraw their application subsequently. If they are unable to meet the remission conditions, the remitted ABSD of 25% will be recovered with interest.
If the site is purchased by a holding company and intended to be transferred to a housing developer incorporated (or to be incorporated) by the holding company to undertake the development by way of a Conveyance Direction, the holding company is subject to 25% ABSD, which may be remitted upfront subject to the conditions in paragraph B below.
Please note that all purchasers/ transferees (including housing developers) are required to complete the ABSD Declaration Form (PDF, 111KB) to be witnessed by their lawyers (if applicable). The completed form need not be submitted to IRAS, unless requested.
The Government has announced the following temporary relief measures for property developers affected by disruptions to construction timelines and sales of housing units resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic
- On 6 May 2020, a 6-month extension of the timelines for the commencement and completion of residential development, and sale of housing units in residential development projects in relation to the remission of ABSD for housing developers, subject to conditions.
- On 8 Oct 2020, a further extension of the timelines by 6 months for the commencement and completion of residential development in relation to the remission of ABSD for housing developers, subject to conditions. There is no further extension to the remission condition timeline for sale.
Under the ABSD regime, all developers are to commence and complete the residential development, and sell all housing units in the residential development project within the specified timelines, failing which they will be subject to ABSD on the purchase of the land. For licensed housing developers (those who develop 5 more or units), the specified timeline for commencement is 2 years from the purchase of the land while the specified timelines for completion and sale are 5 years from purchase of the land.
With the temporary relief measures announced on 6 May 2020 and 8 Oct 2020, the specified commencement, completion and sale timelines will be extended (as summarised below), subject to conditions*:
| Temporary relief measures announced on 6 May 2020 | Additional temporary relief measures announced on 8 Oct 2020 | Total Extension | Extended Timeline |
---|
Commencement timeline | +6 months | Further extension by 6 months | +12 months | 3 years |
Completion timeline | 6 years |
Sale timeline | NA | +6 months | 5.5 years |
*To qualify for the extension of the respective timelines, both of the following conditions are to be met:
(i) The land was purchased on or before 1 Jun 2020; and
(ii) Prior to the temporary relief measures, the specified timeline (last date by which the developer must commence housing development, complete the housing development or sell all housing units in the development (whichever is applicable), to fulfil the ABSD remission conditions) expires on or after 1 Feb 2020.
This extension would be granted automatically to all qualifying housing developers. There is no need to make an application for this extension.