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Currently, Singaporean married couples can get a refund of the additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) paid on a second property – if they sell their first property within six months.

To support seniors who want to "right-size" their homes, this ABSD concession will be extended to single Singaporeans aged 55 and above, with effect from Friday.

They can claim the refund if they sell their first property within six months after purchasing a lower-value replacement private property if the unit is completed.

If the unit is not completed at the time of purchase, seniors can claim a refund of their ABSD within six months after the temporary occupation permit or certificate of statutory completion of the replacement residential property is issued, whichever is earlier.

Housing developers may also benefit from an update to the ABSD regime.

Developers are granted an ABSD remission provided that they sell all the units in their development within a prescribed sale timeline. However, developers sometimes face difficulties in meeting the timeline requirement, and are then subject to a full clawback of the ABSD.

Currently, developers purchasing residential land on or after Dec 16, 2021 are subject to 40 per cent ABSD, comprising a 35 per cent upfront remittable component. Developers who purchased residential land between Jul 6, 2018 and Dec, 15 2021 are subject to 30 per cent ABSD, comprising a 25 per cent upfront remittable component.

Both these remittable components are clawed back fully with interest if the housing development does not commence within two years from the date of the acquisition of the site, and the housing development is not completed and all units sold within five years from the site acquisition date.
 
With the update, developers that sell at least 90 per cent of each development within five years from the land acquisition date will have a lower ABSD clawback rate if the commencement and completion of housing development timelines are also satisfied.

In a joint press release following the Budget statement, the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of National Development said that the reduction in the ABSD remission clawback rate will depend on the proportion of units sold by the developers within the remission sale timeline, and will apply to projects on residential land acquired on or after Jul 6, 2018. 
 
The update ensures that housing supply continues to be released promptly, while providing some flexibility to the developers, said Mr Wong.