Exemption from Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty for Second Property Bought on One-for-One Exchange

Miss Cheng Li Hui asked the Minister for Finance whether the Ministry will allow buyers who own more than one property to be exempted from the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty if they buy another property as a one-for-one exchange.

Mr Heng Swee Keat: The objective of Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) is to moderate demand for residential properties and promote a stable and sustainable property market. As such, we have imposed ABSD on foreigners’ and Singapore Permanent Residents’ residential property purchase, and a Singapore Citizen’s second and subsequent residential property purchase. Therefore, a Singapore Citizen who owns two residential properties and sells one of them to purchase another residential property will be required to pay ABSD on the new purchase.