If I Buy a Second Home Before Selling, When Is ABSD Refunded?

Dear Mr. Propwise,

We have found our next home, but we have not sold the one we live in. If we buy first, we pay the extra stamp duty on a second home. Do we ever get it back?

A reader

Dear reader,

Short answer: IRAS refunds the ABSD on a second home only if you meet its conditions, and the main one is a deadline. You must sell your first home within 6 months.

Think of the ABSD as a deposit with a stopwatch attached.

The route is open to married couples that include a Singapore citizen. For purchases from 16 February 2024, it is also open to single Singapore citizens aged 55 and above. Other buyers must sell first.

And the stopwatch has no pause button. IRAS says it will not extend the deadline.

What you pay when you buy

ABSD, the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty, is due when you buy. IRAS (page updated 27 August 2026) computes it on the higher of the price and the market value. In other words, IRAS takes the bigger number.

It uses your profile on the date of purchase. That date is the earliest of the option to purchase acceptance, the sale and purchase agreement and the other dates IRAS lists. A citizen buying a second home pays the second-property rate:

Buyer	1st home	2nd home	3rd home and later
Singapore citizen	0%	20%	30%
Singapore permanent resident	5%	30%	35%
Foreigner	60% on every purchase
Entity (company, partnership and similar)	65%
Trust	65%
Housing developer	40% (35% can be remitted if the project is completed and sold in time)

On every S$1,000,000 of price or market value, 20% is S$200,000, paid upfront. That sentence is worth reading twice.

IRAS says that if you have contracted to sell your only home before you accept the option on the new one, you do not pay ABSD. Selling first avoids the question. No ABSD paid, no refund to chase.

Who can claim the refund

IRAS calls the refund a remission, which sounds grander but brings back the same money. Its married couple page (updated 13 August 2026) says the couple must include a citizen and buy in both names only. Here are the conditions it lists.

• Neither spouse owned more than one residential property when the couple bought the second.
• You paid ABSD on the second property.
• You sell the first property within 6 months of the purchase date of the second, or within 6 months of its TOP or CSC date if it was uncompleted, whichever is earlier. TOP is the temporary occupation permit. CSC is the certificate of statutory completion.
• You stay married and the second property’s ownership does not change.
• You buy no other residential property meanwhile.
• You apply within 6 months after the sale date of the first property.

Think of these as a combination lock. Every wheel has to line up before the money comes out.

The senior concession (updated 7 August 2026) has similar timing. It also requires that the second property be worth less than the first one sold. In short, the new home must be the cheaper of the two.

A timeline per S$1,000,000

Take a completed second home at S$1,000,000, bought by a qualifying couple. Here is how the clock runs.

1. 1Month 0Buy the second homeYou pay ABSD at the second-home rate with the stamp duty. It is 20% for a citizen, so S$200,000 on each S$1,000,000.
2. 2Within 6 months of buyingSell the first homeThe sale date counts, not completion. If the second home is uncompleted, the 6 months run from its TOP or CSC date if that is earlier.
3. 3Within 6 months of the saleClaim the refundDeclare the plan in the e-Stamping form and IRAS refunds automatically. Otherwise apply on myTax.
4. 4About 6 weeks after stampingRefund arrivesIRAS says an automatic refund comes within 6 weeks of stamping the first home’s sale (purchase forms from 2 July 2023).
5. 5After month 6No extensionIRAS says it will not extend the 6 months. The ABSD stays paid.

Schematic. Terms from the IRAS page on ABSD remission for a married couple (updated 13 August 2026). The senior concession for single citizens has its own conditions, set out in the text.

Step	When	What happens
Buy the second home	Month 0	You pay S$200,000 ABSD upfront
Sell the first home	Within 6 months of month 0	The sale date is when the buyer accepts the option or signs the agreement
Claim	Within 6 months of that sale date	IRAS refunds the ABSD paid

IRAS says that for purchase forms submitted from 2 July 2023, it refunds automatically within 6 weeks of stamping the first property’s sale. You must have declared the plan and claimed the refund in the e-Stamping form. Otherwise, apply on myTax.

For an uncompleted second home, the 6 months run from the TOP or CSC date, whichever is earlier. You still pay the ABSD at purchase. So the clock starts later.

If you miss the window

You keep the ABSD bill. IRAS says it applies the 6-month condition strictly and will not extend it.

Its FAQs rule out slow markets, festivals, an old property, personal reasons and wrong advice from an agent or lawyer. The list is thorough, and the answer to each item is the same.

On the example above, the loss is S$200,000.

IRAS tells couples to start marketing early at a realistic price. It also suggests securing a buyer for the first home before buying the next.

Limits and exceptions

Every rule comes with fine print. Here is this one’s.

• Other buyers. IRAS says the concession does not extend to other groups. Citizens and PRs who want to avoid the higher second-home ABSD should sell first.
• Mixed couples. A couple pays the higher of the two profiles. IRAS examples show a citizen married to a PR or a foreigner can still claim the refund.
• Old relief. The Covid-era 6-month extension covered only second homes bought on or before 1 June 2020.
• Rates. The table above shows the rates in force on the date shown in its caption. Check IRAS before you sign.
• Cash flow. You carry the ABSD until the refund arrives.

See our guides to BSD and ABSD and to selling an HDB flat to buy private. Keep a calendar handy while you read them.

I hope your first home finds its buyer well inside the window. This is general information, not advice on what to buy. Just my reading of the IRAS rules and not financial advice!

To wisdom and beyond,

Mr. Propwise