ABSD Remission for Married Couples Buying a Home

Buying a home together is one of the biggest money decisions a couple makes in Singapore, and the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) can turn an upgrade into a six-figure tax bill. The good news is that the law gives married couples two specific reliefs: a full remission on your first joint home, and a refund on a second home if you sell the first one in time. Both are tightly conditioned, and the deadlines are unforgiving. This guide sets out who qualifies, the exact rules as of November 2026, and how to claim — all from IRAS and the governing Rules. Confirm your own figures on IRAS’s myTax Portal before you commit.

Two ABSD remissions for married couples

There are two separate reliefs under the Stamp Duties (Spouses) (Remission of ABSD) Rules, and couples often confuse them:

Remission A — your first home as a couple. If neither of you owns any residential property, a joint purchase gets full ABSD remission upfront.
Remission B — a second home. If you already own one home between you, you pay the ABSD on the second home first and get it refunded once you sell the first within six months.

Both require that the couple includes a Singapore Citizen and that the property is bought in both spouses’ names only. Neither applies to a couple made up of a Permanent Resident and a foreigner.

What ABSD a couple pays first

ABSD is charged on the higher of the purchase price or market value, on top of the ordinary Buyer’s Stamp Duty. The rate depends on your profile and how many residential properties you already own. For purchases on or after 27 April 2023, a Singapore Citizen pays 20% on a second property and 30% on a third or subsequent one; a Permanent Resident pays 5% on a first, 30% on a second and 35% on a third; a foreigner pays 60% on any residential property.

BSD and ABSD must be paid within 14 days of the signed contract, and underpayment can draw a penalty of up to four times the unpaid duty. This is not a cost you can defer and settle later.

Remission A: your first home as a couple

If neither spouse owns any residential property, a married couple that includes a Singapore Citizen and buys jointly, in both names only, can apply for full ABSD remission — and crucially it is applied upfront. IRAS’s own wording: “Both BSD and ABSD are payable upon stamping. However, if you meet eligibility conditions, you can apply for this ABSD remission instead of making ABSD payment.” You obtain the remission certificate when you stamp the purchase on myTax Portal (Stamp Duty Login).

This relief does nothing for a Citizen-only first-time couple, who pay no ABSD anyway. It is decisive for SC/PR and SC/foreigner couples, who would otherwise pay 5% or 60% on their very first shared home. The IRAS table spells it out: “A married couple with at least one SC spouse jointly purchasing a residential property, where both the spouses do not own any residential property at the time of purchase, can apply for full ABSD remission.”

Remission B: refund on a second home

The second relief is the one most upgraders need. A couple that already owns one home and buys a second one jointly pays the ABSD, then claims it back after selling the first. In IRAS’s words: “ABSD remission may be applicable to a married couple who purchases a second residential property jointly, if the remission conditions are met. The couple must include a Singapore Citizen and the property must be purchased under both names of the couple only.”

The trap is that you have to fund the ABSD first and only recover it later — so you need the cash on hand even if the refund is near-certain.

The six conditions for the second-home refund

IRAS lists six conditions under the Rules, and you must meet all of them:

Card listing the six IRAS conditions for the married-couple ABSD refund on a second home: at most one property each at purchase, ABSD paid, first home sold within 6 months, still married with no ownership change, no other property bought, refund claimed within 6 months of sale

The six conditions for the ABSD refund on a jointly bought second home. Source: IRAS, Remission of ABSD for a Married Couple, as of November 2026.

At most one property each. Neither of you owned an interest in more than one residential property at the date you bought the second home.
ABSD paid. The ABSD on the second home has been paid.
First home sold in time. The first home — co-owned or separately owned — is sold within six months (see the next section for when the clock starts).
Still married, no ownership change. When the first home is sold, you remain married and there has been no change of ownership in the second home.
No other purchase. Neither of you has bought or acquired any other residential property since buying the second home.
Claim in time. The refund application is made within six months after the date of sale of the first home.

When the six months start

The clock depends on whether your second home was finished when you bought it:

Second home when you bought it	The six months run from
Completed	The purchase date (the date you accept the Option to Purchase, or the Sale & Purchase Agreement date)
Uncompleted (e.g. a new launch)	The issue date of the Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) or Certificate of Statutory Completion (CSC), whichever is earlier

When the six-month sale window opens. Source: IRAS, Remission of ABSD for a Married Couple, as of November 2026.

For an uncompleted second home the window can therefore open years after you bought — you sell the first home before TOP, not within six months of booking. The sale of the first home is dated the same way: it counts as sold when your buyer accepts the Option to Purchase, not when the deal completes. That difference of a few weeks can decide a refund.

How to claim (and when it’s automatic)

Since 2 July 2023, the refund can be automatic. IRAS says that for “Sale & Purchase – Purchase/ Acquisition” forms submitted on or after that date, if you “declare their intention to sell the first residential property, and claim for the ABSD refund in the e-Stamping form”, the ABSD “will be automatically refunded to the purchasers within 6 weeks from the stamping of the sale of their first property … without a need to submit the refund application”.

If one spouse is a PR or foreigner

Both reliefs hinge on the couple including a Singapore Citizen. An SC/PR or SC/foreigner couple qualifies — they simply pay ABSD at the higher partner’s rate first, then recover it under Remission B (or avoid it under Remission A for a first home). A couple made up of a PR and a foreigner, with no Citizen, does not qualify for this spousal remission at all.

If the first home doesn’t sell in time

Miss the deadline and you simply do not get the ABSD back — the duty was already paid at purchase, so nothing new is billed, but the money stays with IRAS. If a planned sale falls through, IRAS expects you to “disclose … the failed sale of your previous property and the circumstances of the aborted sale”; a sale staged purely to dodge ABSD can be unwound under the anti-avoidance provisions. The lesson most couples take is to treat the six months as real from day one.

A worked example

Illustrative only. Hui Ling and Marcus, both Singapore Citizens, co-own a 4-room HDB flat and buy a private condominium for S$1,500,000 as their second property. As a Citizen’s second home the ABSD rate is 20%, so they pay S$300,000 in ABSD upfront when they stamp the purchase — and they tick the declaration that they intend to sell the flat. Four months later their buyer accepts the Option to Purchase on the flat, within the six-month window. Because they stamped after 2 July 2023 and declared the sale, IRAS refunds the S$300,000 automatically within six weeks of the flat sale being stamped. Had the flat not sold until the seventh month, the S$300,000 would have stayed paid.

Common mistakes

Treating the refund as instant — you must fund the full ABSD first and recover it after the sale.
Counting from completion, not the Option to Purchase — the sale is dated at acceptance of the OTP.
Assuming an extension exists — it does not, for any reason.
Adding a parent or child to the title — the home must be in the two spouses’ names only.
Forgetting the claim deadline — even after a timely sale, a non-automatic refund must be claimed within six months.

Setting up a home is only part of the budget — see how much a wedding really costs in Singapore, the CPF housing grants a couple can claim, and the tax reliefs that come with marriage. If you are still choosing between a new flat and the private market, our guide to how your ROM date fits a BTO timeline covers the other side of the decision.

Frequently asked questions

Do we pay the ABSD even if we’re sure of the refund? Yes. ABSD on the second home is payable when you stamp, within 14 days of signing; the refund only follows after the first home is sold within the deadline.

When does the six months start for a new launch? From the issue of the Temporary Occupation Permit or the Certificate of Statutory Completion, whichever is earlier — not from the day you booked the unit.

Can we claim if only one of us is a Singapore Citizen? Yes. The couple must include at least one Singapore Citizen; SC/PR and SC/foreigner couples qualify. A PR-and-foreigner couple cannot claim.

Is the refund really automatic? Only if you stamped the purchase on or after 2 July 2023 and declared in the e-Stamping form that you intend to sell the first home and claim the refund. Otherwise you apply on myTax Portal within six months of the sale.

What if our sale collapses after the deadline? You lose the refund and must disclose the aborted sale to IRAS; no fresh bill arises because the ABSD was already paid.