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RES exam question on Taxes & Duties: stamp duty does she pay on the condominium

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

Mr and Mrs Tan, both Singapore Citizens, jointly own an HDB flat, their only property. The flat's buyer exercises his resale option on 1 October 2026, and completion is due in December. On 8 October, Mrs Tan alone exercises an option to buy a condominium. What stamp duty does she pay on the condominium?

  1. ABuyer's Stamp Duty and 20% ABSD, the flat counting until its resale completes in December
  2. BBuyer's Stamp Duty only, the flat leaving her count once its buyer exercised his option
  3. CBuyer's Stamp Duty and 20% ABSD, refundable if the flat's resale completes within six months
  4. DBuyer's Stamp Duty and 5% ABSD, the rate for a citizen whose flat sale is still pending
Show answer & explanation

Answer

B. Buyer's Stamp Duty only, the flat leaving her count once its buyer exercised his option

Explanation

Answer: Buyer's Stamp Duty only: the flat left her count once its buyer exercised the option on 1 October, before her 8 October purchase.Rule: A property leaves the seller's Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty count once there is a contract to sell it and the new buyer has exercised his option; completion is not needed. A Singapore Citizen pays 0% on a first residential property and 20% on a second.Source: IRAS, Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (rates from 27 Apr 2023), read 1 Oct 2026

Why the other options are wrong

  • 20% ABSD, flat counted until December completion: Legal completion is not needed; the flat dropped out of her count when its buyer exercised.
  • 20% ABSD, refunded if resale completes in time: The married-couple refund is for a joint purchase and is not needed here, as no ABSD arises.
  • 5% ABSD for a pending flat sale: 5% is a Permanent Resident's first-property rate, not a citizen's.

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.