About you
Used by the buying calculators below. Example figures shown; replace them with yours.
Loan based on
$
From the bank's IPA. For an HDB loan, the HFE letter.As stated in the IPA
As stated in the IPA
How much you can borrow and buy
New Launch condo (building under construction)
You pay in stages as the building goes up. The loan is drawn bit by bit, so the monthly instalment starts small and climbs until TOP.
Property
The unit
$
Over 30 years or past age 65 is an extended tenure
Ask the developer
Second-timers bought a subsidised flat before: a new HDB flat, an EC from the developer, or a resale flat with a CPF housing grant
From "Homes you already own" above
$
With an IPA, type the grant HDB confirmsSets HDB's resale levy
$
A graded levy applies; type the amount HDB gives youUp to the most allowed
$
If it runs out, the other pays the rest
How a New Launch purchase works
- Option to Purchase (OTP): pay 5% of the price to book the unit. This must be cash.
- Sales and Purchase Agreement: the developer sends it within 2 weeks. You have 3 weeks to sign it (exercise).
- Stamp duty: Buyer's Stamp Duty (and ABSD if it applies) is due within 14 days of signing, about 7 weeks after the option.
- Balance downpayment: the next 15% is due within 8 weeks of the OTP. Cash or CPF.
- Progressive payments: 10% at foundation, 10% at structure, 5% each at walls, ceiling, electrical and plumbing, and roads and car park, 25% at TOP, 15% at legal completion (CSC). This is the Normal Payment Scheme.
- Your bank pays the stages once your downpayment (normally 25%) is used up. With a 75% loan, you pay the first half of the foundation stage and the bank pays the rest. The loan tenure starts at the first drawdown. At each stage the bank works out the instalment again on what is owing over the years left, so it steps up at each stage.
- Your monthly CPF goes toward the instalment. Early on it usually covers it in full, so CPF builds up before TOP.
- Selling within 4 years of buying attracts Seller's Stamp Duty (16% in year 1, down to 4% in year 4).
- Order of payment: each payment is paid from your cash first, then your CPF OA, then the loan. Cash that a later cash-only payment needs, such as the minimum cash part, is kept for it. Monthly instalments can be paid from CPF or cash. Choose Cash or CPF for stamp duty and legal fees above.
- Stage dates here are estimates spread between your option date and TOP. If you buy after some stages are done, those stages are payable straight away.
How a new EC purchase works
- Who can buy: you buy as a family with at least one Singapore Citizen, such as a married couple, or parents and children. Singles can't buy a new EC from the developer. Your household income must be within the ceiling ($16,000 a month, or $18,000 for land tendered from 24 Aug 2026), and none of you may have owned private property in the last 30 months.
- Option to Purchase: pay 5% of the price to book the unit, in cash. The S&P follows as for a New Launch condo, and stamp duty is due within 14 days of signing it.
- Balance downpayment: the next 15% within 8 weeks, cash or CPF. First-timer families earning up to $12,000 a month get the CPF Housing Grant for EC ($30,000, $20,000 or $10,000; half for a first-timer and second-timer couple), paid into CPF. There is no Enhanced CPF Housing Grant for an EC.
- Normal Payment Scheme: the same stages as a private New Launch, with the bank paying each stage once your downpayment is used up. Deferred Payment Scheme (only ECs tendered before 8 May 2026, and only if the developer offers it): 5% at booking and 15% at the S&P, nothing during construction, then 65% at TOP and 15% at legal completion, usually at a slightly higher price.
- Bank loan only: there is no HDB loan for an EC. The instalment is capped at 30% of income (MSR) and all debts at 55% (TDSR), tested at 4% or the loan's rate if higher. Loan limits and loan years follow the private rules.
- If you own an HDB flat, sell it within 6 months of collecting the EC keys. No ABSD is payable on the EC.
- Minimum occupation period: 5 years from key collection (10 years for ECs tendered from 8 May 2026). After it you can sell to Singapore Citizens and PRs. After 10 years (15 for the newer ECs) the EC is fully private and can be sold to anyone.
- Order of payment: each payment is paid from your cash first, then your CPF OA, then the loan. Cash that a later cash-only payment needs, such as the minimum cash part, is kept for it. Monthly instalments can be paid from CPF or cash. Choose Cash or CPF for stamp duty and legal fees above. The CPF Housing Grant for EC pays the downpayment first.
- Stage dates here are estimates spread between your option date and TOP. Second-timers, who bought a subsidised flat before, pay HDB's resale levy, set by that flat's type. It is paid in cash at key collection, or taken from the HDB sale proceeds.
Private Resale (completed condo or landed)
A completed home is paid in full at completion, about 8 to 12 weeks after the option. The full loan starts at once.
The home
$
$
Tops up to 5% in total
Over 30 years or past age 65 is an extended tenure
Up to the most allowed
$
If it runs out, the other pays the rest
How a private Resale purchase works
- Option fee: usually 1% of the price, in cash, for the seller's Option to Purchase.
- Exercise the option within the option period (usually 14 days, or as agreed) by topping up to 5% in cash. You now have a binding contract.
- Stamp duty is due within 14 days of exercising.
- Completion is usually 8 to 12 weeks after the option. The rest of the downpayment (cash or CPF) and the bank loan are paid to the seller, and you get the keys.
- The bank lends on the lower of price or valuation. Anything paid above valuation must come from your own cash or CPF.
- Minimum cash: 5% of the price for a first home loan, 25% if you already have a home loan.
- Order of payment: each payment is paid from your cash first, then your CPF OA, then the loan. Cash that a later cash-only payment needs, such as the minimum cash part, is kept for it. Monthly instalments can be paid from CPF or cash. Choose Cash or CPF for stamp duty and legal fees above.
HDB Resale flat
Grants go into your CPF and pay part of the flat. A bank loan lends up to 75% with at least 5% in cash, and is tested at 4% or its own rate if higher. An HDB loan also lends up to 75%, tested at 3% or the HDB rate if higher. Anything above HDB's valuation is paid in cash.
The flat
$
$
$
From the HFE letter, 0 if none. Blank = usual grant$
Enhanced CPF Housing Grant, if the letter shows oneDays after exercising until you and the seller submit it. Later dates move with it
After the resale application is submitted
Bank loan: over 25 years or past age 65 is an extended tenure. HDB loan: up to 25 years, ending by age 65
Up to the most allowed
Plus 9% GST. 0 if none
$
If it runs out, the other pays the rest
How buying an HDB Resale flat works
- Get an HFE letter before you take an option. It takes up to 21 working days and lasts 9 months.
- Option to Purchase: option fee $1 to $1,000 in cash. You have 21 days to exercise it. Option fee plus exercise deposit is at most $5,000.
- Request for value ($120) and submit the resale application after exercising.
- HDB accepts the application, usually about 30 days after the option is exercised. Set the days to the resale application and to HDB accepting it above; the later dates move with them. Buyer and seller then endorse the resale documents online.
- Completion about 8 weeks after acceptance, so roughly 3 to 4 months after the option.
- Loan: the figures assume a bank loan, tested at 4% or the loan's rate if higher: the instalment within 30% of income and all debts within 55%. An HDB loan is tested at 3% (or the HDB rate if higher) and needs income up to $16,000 ($8,000 for singles).
- Cash over valuation (COV) must be paid in cash. Loans and CPF only cover up to the HDB valuation.
- Grants for first-timers: CPF Housing Grant $80,000 (up to 4-room) or $50,000 (5-room+), Enhanced Grant up to $120,000, Proximity Grant $20,000 or $30,000.
- Single buyers (35 or older): CPF Housing Grant $40,000 (up to 4-room) or $25,000 (5-room+) for income up to $8,000, Enhanced Grant up to $60,000 for income up to $4,500, Proximity Grant $10,000 or $15,000.
- Minimum Occupation Period of 5 years before you can sell or buy private property.
- Order of payment: each payment is paid from your cash first, then your CPF OA, then the loan. Cash that a later cash-only payment needs, such as the minimum cash part, is kept for it. Monthly instalments can be paid from CPF or cash. Choose Cash or CPF for stamp duty and legal fees above. With an HDB loan, HDB has you use your CPF OA above $20,000 first, and the grants always go in first.
Upgrading from private to private
Your sale frees up cash and refunds CPF to your account. Selling first avoids ABSD. Buying first means paying ABSD up front and claiming it back after you sell.
Upgrading
Order
New home
Dates (without ABSD)
No second-home ABSD if your buyer exercises the option on your old home before you exercise on the new one. These dates also decide when your sale money arrives.
Drag to move the dates
Sell
Buy
Bridging loan
Selling your current home
From the option date
Stay on up to 3 months after completion, if your buyer agrees
Buying the new home
Usually 14
From the option date
Your current private home
$
$
Each of you gets your own CPF back
Since CPF was first used, for the interest
$
Principal plus any housing grant$
$
Principal plus any housing grant$
$
$
Paid after your buyer exercisesFor Seller's Stamp Duty
The new private home: New Launch
$
Over 30 years or past age 65 is an extended tenure
Up to the most allowed
Ask the developer
Second-timers bought a subsidised flat before: a new HDB flat, an EC from the developer, or a resale flat with a CPF housing grant
$
With an IPA, type the grant HDB confirmsSets HDB's resale levy
$
A graded levy applies; type the amount HDB gives you$
If it runs out, the other pays the rest
How upgrading from HDB to a new EC works
- Who can buy: a family with at least one Singapore Citizen, with household income within the ceiling ($16,000 a month, or $18,000 for land tendered from 24 Aug 2026). You can keep your HDB flat while the EC is built, but must sell it within 6 months of collecting the EC keys.
- Deferred Payment Scheme (only ECs tendered before 8 May 2026, and only if the developer offers it): 5% in cash when you book, 15% in cash or CPF at the S&P, nothing during construction, then 65% at TOP and 15% at legal completion. The price is usually a little higher. The Normal Payment Scheme follows the private New Launch stages.
- Bank loan only: up to 75% of the price even while your HDB loan is still owing (less for a long loan tenure). Your HDB loan is not counted in the loan test, because the flat must be sold. The instalment is capped at 30% of income (MSR), and all debts at 55% (TDSR), tested at 4% or the loan's rate if higher.
- Special EC Deferred Bridging Loan (Deferred Payment Scheme only): taken with your EC loan at TOP, it pays the part of the TOP payment that the loan and your own cash and CPF don't cover, up to your expected HDB sale cash and CPF refund. It can't pay the first 20%. It lasts up to 6 months, you pay the interest monthly in cash, and you repay it in full when your HDB sale completes. The bank releases it once HDB approves your resale, so grant the HDB option about 3 months before TOP. Some banks charge a fee if it is approved but not used.
- No ABSD: HDB owners buying a new EC pay no ABSD, so there is nothing to pay up front or claim back. Stamp duty is Buyer's Stamp Duty only.
- First-timers and second-timers: you are a second-timer if you bought a subsidised flat before (a new HDB flat, an EC from the developer, or a resale flat with a CPF housing grant). You then get no CPF Housing Grant for an EC and pay HDB's resale levy, set by the type of that first flat ($15,000 for a 2-room to $50,000 for an Executive flat, $55,000 if it was an EC, and half after a Singles Grant). It is paid in cash at key collection, or taken from the HDB sale proceeds if you sell after the keys; CPF and loans can't pay it. As first-timers you pay no levy and can get the grant; a first-timer and second-timer couple gets half the grant.
- Minimum occupation period: 5 years from key collection (10 years for ECs tendered from 8 May 2026). After 10 years (15 for the newer ECs) the EC is fully private.
- Order of payment: each payment is paid from your cash first, then your CPF OA, then the loan. Cash that a later cash-only payment needs, such as the minimum cash part, is kept for it. Monthly instalments can be paid from CPF or cash. Choose Cash or CPF for stamp duty and legal fees above. The CPF Housing Grant for EC pays the downpayment first.
- Each bank works out the bridging loan its own way, and rates change, so check with your banker. Construction and sale dates are estimates.
How upgrading works
- HDB owners finish the Minimum Occupation Period (5 years for most flats) before selling or buying private.
- When you sell, the buyer's money first clears your home loan. CPF you used, plus the interest it would have earned (2.5% a year), goes back to your CPF Ordinary Account. What is left is cash.
- Money from your buyer: the option fee (1% for a private home, up to $1,000 for HDB) is paid to you, so you can use it straight away. The exercise fee usually goes to your lawyer's conveyancing account and is released at completion, but you can ask for it to be paid to you directly. Either way it can go towards the option and exercise fees on your next home. Legal fees for the sale are paid after your buyer exercises; legal fees for the purchase are paid when you exercise.
- Seller's Stamp Duty applies when you sell a private home within 4 years of buying it: 16%, 12%, 8% or 4% of the price for homes bought from 4 Jul 2025 (12%, 8% or 4% within 3 years for homes bought from 11 Mar 2017 to 3 Jul 2025). HDB flats have no SSD.
- Sell first: no ABSD on the new home. An HDB Resale takes about 3 to 4 months from option to completion, a private sale about 8 to 12 weeks. Your CPF refund lands a few weeks after completion. HDB sellers can ask for up to 3 months' extension of stay.
- Buy first, but sold first on paper: IRAS counts a home as sold, and a new one as bought, on the date the option is exercised. If your buyer exercises the option on your old home (private or HDB) before you exercise on the new one, you own only one home when you buy, so there is no second-home ABSD, even though the sale completes later.
- Buy first: otherwise you own two homes for a while, so ABSD is payable (20% for Singapore Citizens). If you are a married couple with at least one Singapore Citizen buying together, you get it refunded if you sell your first home within 6 months of buying a completed home, or within 6 months of TOP for a New Launch.
- Bridging loan: a short loan that pays the downpayment on your new home while you wait for your sale money. You need a buyer who has exercised the option on your current home. Banks lend up to your expected sale cash and CPF refund, for up to 6 months, at about 4.5% to 6% a year (2026). Interest is paid monthly or added on and paid when the sale completes, and the whole loan is repaid from your sale money. Your new home loan still has to pass the 55% debt limit.
- Buying first with a home loan still owing, if your buyer has not exercised yet, cuts the new bank loan to 45% and raises the minimum cash to 25%, and your current instalment counts against your income limit.
- Order of payment: each payment is paid from your cash first, then your CPF OA, then the loan. Cash that a later cash-only payment needs, such as the minimum cash part, is kept for it. Monthly instalments can be paid from CPF or cash. Choose Cash or CPF for stamp duty and legal fees above.
Selling your private home
Selling
Your private home
$
$
Each of you gets your own CPF back
Since CPF was first used, for the interest
$
Principal plus any housing grant$
$
Principal plus any housing grant$
Plus 9% GST
$
$
Only if your bank loan is still in its lock-in period, often 1.5% of the loanSale dates
From the option date
Stay on up to 3 months after completion, if your buyer agrees
How selling works
- HDB flats can be sold once the 5-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) is over, counted from the day you got the keys. HDB flats have no Seller's Stamp Duty.
- Option to Purchase: for an HDB flat the buyer pays an option fee of $1 to $1,000 and has 21 calendar days to exercise; the option and exercise fees together are at most $5,000. A private home usually takes a 1% option fee, 14 days to exercise, and 4% more on exercise.
- After the buyer exercises, an HDB sale goes through the HDB Resale Portal: you and the buyer each submit your part within 7 days of each other, HDB accepts the application, and completion is about 8 weeks after acceptance, so roughly 3 to 4 months from the option. A private sale usually completes 8 to 12 weeks after the option.
- At completion the buyer's money first pays off your home loan (and any lock-in penalty). Next, the CPF you used, including any housing grant, goes back to your CPF Ordinary Account with the 2.5% a year interest it would have earned. Then the professional fee (plus 9% GST) and legal fees are paid. The rest is cash to you.
- If the sale can't refund all your CPF, you don't have to top it up as long as you sell at market value.
- Seller's Stamp Duty applies when you sell a private home within 4 years of buying it: 16%, 12%, 8% or 4% of the price for homes bought from 4 Jul 2025, or 12%, 8% or 4% within 3 years for homes bought from 11 Mar 2017 to 3 Jul 2025. It is due within 14 days of the sale.
- Extension of stay: HDB sellers can ask the buyer for up to 3 months after completion to move out. CPF refunds usually show in your account a few weeks after completion.
Decoupling a private home
One of you buys out the other's share. The leaving owner then owns no home, so the next home counts as a first home and Singapore Citizens pay no ABSD on it. See what decoupling costs, what each of you ends up with, and whether the staying owner's income can carry the loan alone.
Home
Decoupling dates
The leaving owner should only buy the next home after the share transfer completes.
From signing, usually 8 to 12
The home
$
Bank valuationUsually 50
$
For Seller's Stamp Duty
Leaving owner (sells the share)
$
To show the ABSD saved$
Principal, this owner only$
From the CPF statement, or leave blankStaying owner (keeps the home)
Loan based on
$
From the staying owner's IPAAs stated in the IPA
As stated in the IPA
$
Fixed salary. Add 70% of any yearly bonus, averaged monthly$
Commission or variable pay, 12-month average. Banks count 70%$
$
$
Over 30 years or past age 65 is an extended tenure
Up to the most allowed
$
Two law firms and a valuationIf it runs out, the other pays the rest
How decoupling works
- What it is: one of you sells your share of the home to the other at market value. The leaving owner then owns no home, so the next purchase is a first home for ABSD: 0% instead of 20% for Singapore Citizens, 5% instead of 30% for Permanent Residents.
- HDB flats can't be decoupled. HDB only allows a change of ownership without a sale in specific situations, such as marriage, divorce or the death of an owner.
- Stamp duty: the staying owner pays Buyer's Stamp Duty (1% to 6%) on the higher of the price and the market value of the share. IRAS bases ABSD on the transfer on the homes the staying owner already owns; with no other home, a Singapore Citizen pays none.
- CPF: the CPF the leaving owner used goes back to the leaving owner's Ordinary Account with 2.5% a year accrued interest, out of the money for the share. At market value, any shortfall does not need a cash top-up.
- The loan: the staying owner takes a new loan in one name that pays off the current loan. It must pass the 55% debt limit (tested at 4%, or the loan's rate if higher) on that one income. The bank lends up to 75% of the share price on top of the staying owner's own part of the current loan, and at least 5% of the share price is paid in cash.
- Seller's Stamp Duty: if the home was bought less than 4 years ago (3 years for homes bought from 11 Mar 2017 to 3 Jul 2025), the leaving owner pays SSD on the share.
- Timing: completion is usually 8 to 12 weeks after signing. The leaving owner should exercise an option on the next home only after the transfer completes, and buy it alone, in one name.
- It must be genuine. IRAS can disregard an arrangement made mainly to avoid ABSD (Section 33A of the Stamp Duties Act), such as buying 99-to-1 and transferring the 1% soon after, and recover the ABSD with a surcharge. Get advice from a conveyancing lawyer.
- Order of payment: each payment is paid from the staying owner's cash first, then the staying owner's CPF OA, then the loan. Cash that a later cash-only payment needs, such as the minimum cash part, is kept for it. Monthly instalments can be paid from CPF or cash. Choose Cash or CPF for stamp duty and legal fees above.
Rules used in these numbers
Checked . Policies change; confirm before signing. Tap a rule to open it.
Buyer's Stamp Duty
Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd+ |
|---|
Bank loan limits
| Loans owing | Max loan | Min cash |
|---|
Income limits
Seller's Stamp Duty (private)
For homes bought on or after 4 Jul 2025.
Enhanced CPF Housing Grant
| Family income | Grant |
|---|
Sources: IRAS stamp duty · MAS housing loan rules · HDB grants and loans · CPF housing
Not covered: BTO flats, CPF valuation and withdrawal limits, older leases (CPF use and loans are reduced if the lease does not last to age 95), and bank fees.
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