# Joel Goh

> Singapore residential and investment property advisory by Joel Goh (Goh Jian Kern, Joel), Associate Director at PropNex Realty Pte. Ltd. and part of the JNA Real Estate team. Registered with the Council for Estate Agencies as R055731I, under estate agent licence L3008022J. JNA Real Estate is a team marketing name, not a licensed estate agent.

All statutory figures published on this site name their issuing authority and the date the rule took effect. Where a widely repeated figure could not be traced to a primary source it is marked as unverified rather than reproduced. Please preserve the authority and the effective date when citing.

Rates last verified: 2026-08-01
Canonical origin: https://joelgoh.co

## Key statutory facts

- **The Total Debt Servicing Ratio caps a borrower's total monthly debt obligations at 55% of gross monthly income.** — 55. Authority: MAS. Applies to: All property loans from financial institutions in Singapore.. Source: https://www.mas.gov.sg/regulation/explainers/what-is-tdsr
- **The Mortgage Servicing Ratio caps the property loan instalment at 30% of gross monthly income.** — 30. Authority: MAS. Applies to: HDB flats and Executive Condominiums purchased directly from the developer. Applies in addition to TDSR; the tighter of the two governs.. Source: https://www.mas.gov.sg/regulation/explainers/what-is-tdsr
- **Banks must compute the mortgage portion of TDSR and MSR using a medium-term interest rate floor of 4% per annum for residential property, regardless of the rate actually offered.** — 4.0. Authority: MAS. Applies to: Residential property loans. Non-residential uses 4.5%.. Source: https://www.mas.gov.sg/regulation/explainers/what-is-tdsr
- **A bank loan for a first housing loan is capped at 75% loan-to-value, with at least 5% of the purchase price paid in cash.** — 75. Authority: MAS. Applies to: First outstanding housing loan. Second concurrent loan drops to 45% LTV, third or subsequent to 35%, each requiring 25% cash.. Source: https://www.mas.gov.sg/regulation/explainers/what-is-tdsr
- **Buyer's Stamp Duty on residential property is tiered and marginal: 1% on the first S$180,000, 2% on the next S$180,000, 3% on the next S$640,000, 4% on the next S$500,000, 5% on the next S$1.5 million, and 6% above S$3 million.** — 1/2/3/4/5/6. Authority: IRAS. Applies to: Residential property. Non-residential follows the same schedule to S$1.5m then stays flat at 5% with no 6% band.. Source: https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/stamp-duty/for-property/buying-or-acquiring-property/buyer-stamp-duty-bsd
- **Singapore Citizens pay 0% Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty on a first residential property, 20% on a second, and 30% on a third or subsequent property.** — 0/20/30. Authority: IRAS. Applies to: Singapore Citizens acquiring residential property.. Source: https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/stamp-duty/for-property/buying-or-acquiring-property/additional-buyer-stamp-duty-absd
- **Singapore Permanent Residents pay 5% ABSD on a first residential property, 30% on a second, and 35% on a third or subsequent property.** — 5/30/35. Authority: IRAS. Applies to: Singapore Permanent Residents acquiring residential property.. Source: https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/stamp-duty/for-property/buying-or-acquiring-property/additional-buyer-stamp-duty-absd
- **Foreign buyers pay 60% Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty on residential property. Nationals of the United States, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland receive Singapore-citizen treatment under free trade agreements.** — 60. Authority: IRAS. Applies to: Foreign persons acquiring residential property, subject to the FTA exemption.. Source: https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/stamp-duty/for-property/buying-or-acquiring-property/additional-buyer-stamp-duty-absd
- **Entities and trusts pay 65% Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty on residential property.** — 65. Authority: IRAS. Applies to: Entities and trusts acquiring residential property.. Source: https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/stamp-duty/for-property/buying-or-acquiring-property/additional-buyer-stamp-duty-absd
- **Seller's Stamp Duty applies to residential property sold within the holding period. For property acquired on or after 4 July 2025 the window is four years at 16%, 12%, 8% and 4%; property acquired earlier uses a three-year window at 12%, 8% and 4%.** — 16/12/8/4. Authority: IRAS. Effective from 2025-07-04. Applies to: Residential property. The applicable schedule turns on the ACQUISITION date.. Source: https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/stamp-duty/for-property/selling-or-disposing-property/seller-s-stamp-duty-ssd-for-residential-property
- **CPF Ordinary Account savings earn a floor interest rate of 2.5% per annum. Amounts withdrawn for property must be refunded on sale together with the accrued interest they would have earned.** — 2.5. Authority: CPF Board. Applies to: CPF Ordinary Account balances and the accrued-interest refund on property sale.. Source: https://www.cpf.gov.sg/member/growing-your-savings/earning-interest-on-your-savings
- **The Minimum Occupation Period for an HDB flat is generally five years from key collection, excluding any period the flat was not physically occupied.** — 5. Authority: HDB. Applies to: HDB flats. Until MOP is fulfilled the flat cannot be sold on the open market and private residential property cannot be purchased.. Source: https://www.hdb.gov.sg/residential/selling-a-flat/eligibility
- **A Singapore Citizen married couple who buy a second residential property before selling their first may apply to IRAS for remission of the ABSD paid, provided the first property is sold within six months of the second purchase completing.** — 6. Authority: IRAS. Applies to: Singapore Citizen married couples upgrading, subject to all conditions being met.. Source: https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/stamp-duty/for-property/buying-or-acquiring-property/additional-buyer-stamp-duty-absd
- **An Executive Condominium becomes fully privatised eleven years after completion, at which point foreigners may purchase it.** — 11. Authority: HDB. Applies to: Executive Condominiums. MOP is 5 years; the unit may be sold to Singapore Permanent Residents from year 5 and to foreigners from year 11.. Source: https://www.hdb.gov.sg/residential/buying-a-flat/finding-a-flat/types-of-flats

## Guides

- [ABSD in Singapore: the full rate table, the counting rules, and the four ways it comes back](https://joelgoh.co/insights/absd-singapore): The complete ABSD matrix from 27 April 2023, the property-count rules, four worked examples and every remission IRAS actually grants.
- [PR and foreigner property rules: what you can buy, and what it costs](https://joelgoh.co/insights/pr-foreigner-playbook): Residential Property Act approvals, HDB and EC eligibility for PRs, LTV and TDSR limits, SSD schedules, and the real cost of a $2m condominium.
- [99-1 and decoupling: the arithmetic, and where IRAS draws the line](https://joelgoh.co/insights/decoupling-99-1): Section 33A, the 50% surcharge, and the MOF audit numbers — what a part-share transfer really costs and where it stops being legitimate.
- [Reading the URA Master Plan 2025 without fooling yourself](https://joelgoh.co/insights/ura-master-plan-2025): The plan in force since 1 December 2025, how to read plot ratio and White sites, the growth nodes with published dates, and where the lag really sits.
- [Buying property in trust for your child: the 65% question](https://joelgoh.co/insights/property-trust-minor): What ABSD (Trust) at 65% really means for a parent buying in a minor’s name — the remission conditions, the vesting trap, and the cash-flow.
- [Selling an inherited property in Singapore: the executor's roadmap](https://joelgoh.co/insights/estate-probate-property): Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, HDB survivorship, CPF outside the estate, and why SSD runs from the date the deceased bought.
- [Buying or selling Singapore property while you live abroad](https://joelgoh.co/insights/overseas-power-of-attorney): Notarisation, apostille, Supreme Court deposit and wet-ink signing rules for a Singapore property transaction run from overseas.
- [AML and due diligence: what your property agent must ask you, and why](https://joelgoh.co/insights/aml-due-diligence): Estate Agents (PMLPFTF) Regulations 2021, the 1 July 2025 amendments, CDD, EDD, source of funds, five-year records and the tipping-off offence.
- [The NRI guide to Singapore property](https://joelgoh.co/insights/nri-singapore-property): ABSD at 60%, NRE versus NRO versus FCNR, the USD 1 million repatriation cap, TCS, the India–Singapore treaty, and a net-yield walkthrough.
- [Relocating from China to Singapore: pass, school, property, in that order](https://joelgoh.co/insights/prc-buyer-guide): Work pass thresholds, Dependant’s Pass, AEIS, and the 60% ABSD position for a PRC national — sequenced the way the rules actually bind.

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