Singapore will introduce a higher marginal Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD) for higher-value residential and non-residential properties, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said in his Budget speech on 14 February.

The BSD regime applies to all purchases as well as receipts of properties as gifts in Singapore. For residential properties, the portion of the value of the property in excess of S$1.5m and up to S$3m (£925k to £1.85m) will be taxed at 5%, while property purchases in excess of S$3m will be taxed at 6%. This is up from the current rate of 4%.

“The changes are expected to affect 15% of residential properties,” Wong said.

For non-residential properties, the portion of the value of the property in excess of S$1m and up to S$1.5m will be taxed at 4%, while that in excess of S$1.5m will be taxed at 5% – up from the tax rate of 3% currently.

The changes are expected to affect 60% of non-residential properties.  Both changes to the BSD regime will apply to all properties acquired from 15 February.