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Madison HengSingapore Property Insights
Property Explainers

What Is SSD? Seller's Stamp Duty, Explained Simply

SSD is a stamp duty payable when you sell a residential property within a defined holding period after buying it. It is designed to discourage rapid resale.

Madison Heng
Madison Heng

Singapore Real Estate Advisor

Published
Last updated
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2 min read

Seller's Stamp Duty is payable when you sell a residential property within a defined holding period after acquiring it. The shorter the period you have held it, the higher the rate.

The intent is straightforward: to make rapid buy-and-sell activity less attractive.

The two things that determine your position

When you bought. The rules applying to a sale depend on when the property was acquired, because the schedule has been revised at various points.

How long you have held it. The rate steps down as the holding period lengthens, reaching zero once the period is complete.

Why this article does not quote rates

Both the holding period and the rate schedule have been adjusted more than once, and which version applies depends on your acquisition date. A number quoted in an article is exactly the kind of thing that goes stale and costs someone real money. IRAS publishes the current schedule — use it.

What it means in practice

If there is any realistic chance you will need to sell within a few years of buying, SSD belongs in your planning from the start.

It is calculated on the sale price or market value — not on your gain — so it can apply to a sale that makes no profit at all. A household that needs to relocate unexpectedly can find themselves paying duty on a sale that has already gone against them.

The planning implication

Buy with a horizon. If you cannot say with reasonable confidence that you will still hold the property beyond the holding period, that uncertainty is a cost, and it should be priced into the decision.

The question worth asking yourself

Not "will I need to sell early?" — nobody plans to. The better question is: if something changed and I had to sell in two years, what would that cost me?

Add SSD to the agent commission, the legal fees and the transaction costs you already paid on the way in, and the answer is usually enough to settle whether a short-horizon purchase makes sense.

Last updated 5 September 2026Based on publicly available Singapore property data

Sources & where to verify

Rules, rates and published figures change. Check the current position on the official source before you act on anything here.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the SSD holding period?

The holding period and the rate schedule have been revised over time, and the rules that apply depend on when the property was acquired. Because of that, the only reliable answer is the current schedule published by IRAS, read together with your purchase date.

Does SSD apply to HDB flats?

HDB flats are subject to their own occupation rules, which in practice prevent an early sale during the MOP. Treatment differs between property types, so confirm your position with IRAS and HDB.

Is SSD payable on the profit or the price?

SSD is calculated on the sale price or market value, not on your profit. That means it can apply even where a sale does not make money.

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