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RES exam question on Taxes & Duties: Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty does each of them face

HardProperty Taxes (BSD, ABSD, SSD) · Paper 2

Two foreigners, neither of them a Singapore Permanent Resident, each buy their first residential property in Singapore, a condominium unit at $2,500,000. One is a Norwegian national and the other a Japanese national. Both mean to live in their units. What Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty does each of them face?

  1. AEach pays 60% of the price, nationality not mattering once a buyer is a foreigner
  2. BEach pays 5% of the price, a first home taking the Permanent Resident rate for foreigners
  3. CThe Norwegian may take the citizen's 0% under a Free Trade Agreement; the Japanese pays 60%
  4. DThe Japanese may take the citizen's 0% under a Free Trade Agreement; the Norwegian pays 60%
Show answer & explanation

Answer

C. The Norwegian may take the citizen's 0% under a Free Trade Agreement; the Japanese pays 60%

Explanation

Answer: The Norwegian may take the citizen's 0% under a Free Trade Agreement; the Japanese buyer pays 60%.Watch out: Both buyers still pay Buyer's Stamp Duty of $94,600.Rule: A foreigner pays Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty of 60% on any residential property. Nationals of the United States, Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland are treated as Singapore Citizens under Free Trade Agreements, so a first residential property attracts 0%.Source: IRAS, Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (rates from 27 Apr 2023), read 1 Oct 2026

Why the other options are wrong

  • Each pays 60%, nationality irrelevant: Norway is in the Free Trade Agreement group, so the Norwegian is treated as a citizen and pays nothing on a first home.
  • Each pays 5%, the PR first-home rate: The Permanent Resident scale is not open to foreigners.
  • Japanese at 0%, Norwegian at 60%: Japan has a trade agreement with Singapore but is not in the group, so the Japanese buyer pays 60% of $2,500,000, which is $1,500,000.

Study the concept behind this question: Stamp Duties Explained: BSD, ABSD & SSD (Singapore, 2026)

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Original study material mapped to the public CEA RES syllabus. Verify any rate-based figures against current IRAS/CPF/MAS rules before relying on them.