ABSD for Companies, Trusts and Developers in Singapore

The short answer: ABSD for companies in Singapore

ABSD for companies in Singapore is charged at 65% of the higher of the price and market value on any residential property an entity buys on or after 27 April 2023. The rate is the same for the first property as for the tenth, and it sits on top of Buyer's Stamp Duty. Transfers of residential property into a living trust attract ABSD (Trust) at the same 65%.

Two groups are treated differently. A licensed housing developer pays 40%, of which 35% can be remitted upfront if it builds and sells the units within set deadlines, while 5% is never remitted. A trustee holding property for identifiable individual beneficiaries pays 65% upfront but can apply for a refund down to the rate that the beneficiaries would have paid themselves.

This article explains who counts as an entity, how the trust and developer rules work, where the clawback risk sits, and how share purchases of property-holding companies are caught. Rates are taken from the IRAS ABSD page and match our guide to property acquisition in Singapore.

Who counts as an entity for ABSD

ABSD is imposed under the Stamp Duties Act 1929 and administered by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). IRAS defines an entity as a person who is not an individual. That plainly includes companies, wherever incorporated: a Singapore-incorporated company owned entirely by Singapore citizens is still an entity for ABSD, even though it may not be a foreign person under the Residential Property Act.

The definition also reaches arrangements that founders and families do not always think of as companies. IRAS lists:

• an unincorporated association;
• a trustee for a collective investment scheme, when acting in that capacity;
• a trustee-manager for a business trust, when acting in that capacity; and
• the partners of a partnership, whether or not any of them is an individual, where the property is to be held as partnership property.

The partnership point catches professional practices and family partnerships that buy a residential unit as a firm asset. If the property is held as partnership property, the 65% entity rate applies even though every partner is an individual who could have bought in their own name at a lower rate.

ABSD for companies in Singapore applies only to residential property. Commercial and industrial property carries Buyer's Stamp Duty but no ABSD, which is why operating businesses, funds and family offices usually hold offices, warehouses and retail space through companies without difficulty. The difficulty arises only when the asset is residential, including shophouses with a residential component.

Rates for companies, trusts and developers compared

Both Buyer's Stamp Duty and ABSD are payable within 14 days after the contract is signed, or within 30 days of receipt in Singapore if signed overseas. Every buyer, including a housing developer, must complete the ABSD declaration form and keep it for at least five years in case IRAS asks for it.

For comparison, an individual Singapore citizen pays no ABSD on a first home, a permanent resident pays 5% and a foreigner pays 60%. Our article on foreigners buying property in Singapore explains the individual position, including the free trade agreement exception.

Trusts: ABSD (Trust) and the refund route

Since 9 May 2022, any conveyance, assignment or transfer on sale of residential property to a trustee to hold on a living trust attracts ABSD (Trust), now at 65%. The rate is the same as ABSD for companies in Singapore, which closed the gap that once made trusts an alternative to corporate ownership. The IRAS remission page sets out when part or all of it is refunded.

A refund is available only where the property is held on trust for one or more identifiable individual beneficiaries. The refund is the difference between the 65% paid and the ABSD that would have been payable based on the profile of the beneficial owner with the highest rate. The full 65% must be paid first, and the application must be made within six months after the instrument is executed.

Who is an identifiable individual beneficiary

An identifiable individual beneficiary is an individual named in the declaration of trust whose beneficial ownership is not revocable, variable or subject to a condition subsequent. The following do not qualify: someone not yet born when the trust is declared, someone entitled only to income, someone whose interest is contingent or discretionary, and someone who would benefit only if the trust is revoked. IRAS's own examples show that a gift to a child that vests only at 21, or a half share conditional on graduating, fails the test.

Two further points are often missed. First, the property counts towards the beneficiary's own property count, whether or not a refund is granted, so it affects the rate on their next purchase. Second, testamentary trusts created by a will and taking effect on death are outside ABSD (Trust), because the rules apply to living trusts. Our page on trusts and succession planning in Singapore covers the wider succession picture.

Housing developers: remission conditions and clawback

Developers pay ABSD at a lower, partly remittable rate because the Government wants land to be built on and sold, not held. For sites for five or more units, the IRAS remission conditions require the developer to be a company holding a housing developer's licence, to commence development within two years of acquisition and to complete the development and sell all units within five years. It must give IRAS a written undertaking and provide proof of commencement, completion and sales within those timelines.

If a condition is not met, the remitted ABSD becomes a debt to the Government with interest at 5% a year from 14 days after acquisition. Since 16 February 2024, the clawback for land acquired on or after 6 July 2018 is scaled by the proportion of units sold by the deadline, provided the commencement and completion conditions are met.

Large and complex projects can obtain longer timelines. Since 6 March 2025, qualifying complex projects receive six-month extensions, and for sites acquired on or after 29 July 2026 large en bloc redevelopments receive one or two additional years to complete and sell, depending on unit yield. The IRAS extensions page lists the categories, and our guide to the en bloc sale process explains how they interact with collective sales.

A separate remission applies to developments of four or fewer units, with its own conditions. Smaller developers redeveloping a single landed plot should check that route rather than assume the five-unit rules apply.

Holding companies and conveyance directions

Groups often sign for a site in a holding company and then direct the transfer to a project company. In that case the holding company is charged at the 65% entity rate, which may be remitted upfront only if strict conditions are met: a clear intention at contract to transfer to a housing developer it has incorporated or will incorporate, a conveyance direction made within two months of the contract, no consideration passing, and a beneficial interest of more than 50% in the developer held until completion.

Additional sites bought on or after 6 February 2023 for a single development with an existing site have their own rules, with the sale obligation calculated pro rata to land area.

Intention is fixed at the point of purchase

The most expensive mistake in this area is a change of plan. IRAS states that the purchasing entity must decide at the point of purchase whether it will undertake housing development of the property. Any later change of intention is not considered. An entity that pays 65% and later decides to redevelop and sell will not qualify for the developer remission, even if it then meets every condition.

The reverse is also true. A company that claims the developer rate and then decides to hold and lease the property will face clawback with interest. ABSD for companies in Singapore therefore needs a board decision, recorded before the option is exercised, on what the company will do with the property, supported by a feasibility study, financing and a licence application timetable.

Buying shares instead of property: Additional Conveyance Duties

Buying the shares of a company that owns residential property does not avoid the duty. Additional Conveyance Duties (ACD) apply to acquisitions and disposals of equity interests in property-holding entities by significant owners. An entity is a property-holding entity where at least half of its total tangible assets consist of prescribed immovable property in Singapore, broadly property zoned or used for residential or mixed residential purposes. Indirect holdings through subsidiaries can qualify too.

ACD on the buyer side is designed to mirror the stamp duty differential between buying the property directly and buying the company. On the seller side, ACD applies where a significant owner disposes of equity within a holding period; for interests acquired on or after 4 July 2025, that period is four years. In a share deal for a residential portfolio, ACD should be modelled alongside warranties, tax indemnities and the target's own historic stamp duty position.

Our stamp duty team reviews ACD exposure as part of acquisition structuring and due diligence.

Cross-border buyers and group structures

Overseas groups from Bangladesh, the UK, the UAE and China often hold Singapore assets through a Singapore holding company for tax and governance reasons. That works well for commercial property, but a residential acquisition through the same company attracts 65% ABSD and, for landed property, may also need approval as a foreign person. Group structures should separate residential holdings from operating assets and be reviewed with our tax structuring team before any purchase.

Where a foreign family uses a trust, the trustee's location does not change the analysis: the transfer to a trustee is chargeable, and any refund depends on the beneficiaries being identifiable individuals with vested interests.

Illustrative scenario: a family holding company and a new home

This scenario is illustrative only; the parties are generic.

A family investment company owns several commercial units, on which it paid no ABSD. The founder proposes that the company buy a condominium for a grown-up child, on the basis that the company has cash and the child does not.

The advisers point out that ABSD for companies in Singapore would be 65% of the price. They compare three alternatives. If the child buys directly as a Singapore citizen with no other residential property, no ABSD is payable. If a parent buys and holds on a bare trust for the child, with vested and unconditional beneficial ownership, 65% is paid upfront but can be refunded in full if the application is made within six months. A discretionary trust would not qualify for a refund.

The family chooses a funded purchase by the child, documented with a loan agreement from the company, and records the property in the child's property count for future planning.

Risks and common mistakes

Step-by-step checklist for ABSD for companies in Singapore

Work through these steps before any entity, trustee or developer signs an option to purchase residential property.

1. Classify the buyer. Decide whether the buyer is an entity, a trustee of a living trust or a licensed housing developer, and record the basis.
2. Fix the intention. For a developer, minute the board's decision to develop and sell, and confirm the licence and any Qualifying Certificate timetable.
3. Test the deadlines. Check that commencement within two years and completion and sale within five years are realistic, and whether an extension category applies.
4. Settle the trust terms. If a trust is used, confirm that every beneficiary is an identifiable individual with a vested, unconditional interest before signing.
5. Check share deals for ACD. If shares are being bought, test whether the target is a property-holding entity and whether the buyer becomes a significant owner.
6. Fund and stamp on time. Arrange funds for BSD and ABSD and stamp within 14 days of signing, or 30 days of receipt if signed overseas.
7. Diarise refunds and reporting. Diarise the six-month ABSD (Trust) refund deadline and the developer's evidence deadlines, and keep the ABSD declaration form for at least five years.

ABSD for companies in Singapore is unforgiving because the rate is fixed at signing. To review a proposed acquisition or holding structure, please contact TRW & Co.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and official materials

1. IRAS: Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) — Rates, entity definition, trusts and developer rates
2. IRAS: Remission of ABSD (Trust) — Refund conditions for identifiable individual beneficiaries
3. IRAS: Sites for development of five or more residential units — Housing developer remission conditions and scaled clawback
4. IRAS: ABSD remission timeline extensions — Extensions for complex projects and large en bloc sites
5. IRAS: Overview of Additional Conveyance Duties — Duties on equity interests in property-holding entities
6. Stamp Duties Act 1929 — Statutory basis for BSD, ABSD and ACD

General information only, current as at 20 October 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Singapore law and regulatory practice change; check current official sources and take advice on the facts of your matter.