Stamp duty is a tax on documents relating to immovable properties, stocks or shares. Examples of such documents are :
1) Lease / Tenancy Agreements
These are documents that are prepared and signed when you rent a property. Stamp duty is calculated on the actual rent or market rent whichever is higher. The person who leases or rents the property (lessee or tenant) is responsible for paying stamp duty.
2) Acceptance to Option to Purchase / Sale & Purchase Agreements
These are documents that are prepared and signed when you buy or sell your property. Stamp duty is payable on the actual price or market price whichever is higher. The buyer is responsible for paying buyer’s stamp duty. Where seller’s stamp duty is applicable, the seller is responsible for paying seller’s stamp duty.
3) Mortgages
These are documents that are prepared and signed when you obtain a loan from banks for your property purchase. Stamp duty is payable on the loan amount. The person who obtains the loan (mortgagor) is responsible for paying the stamp duty on the mortgage document.
4) Share Transfer Documents
These are documents that are prepared and signed when you buy or sell shares. Stamp duty is payable on the actual price or net asset value of the shares whichever is higher. The person who buys the shares (transferee) is responsible for paying stamp duty on the Share Transfer document.
If you have a document that relates to more than one matter, it will be charged separately for each matter. This means that more than one set of stamp duty is to be paid on that document.
Examples include :
- Sale and lease-back of property
- Sale and buy-back of property
- Lease with a contract for sale of fixtures
- An instrument whereby more than one property is leased to the same tenant and where the terms and conditions for the lease of each of the properties are different
Source: IRAS Website