Artist’s impressionStamp Duty at Skywaters Residences in Brief
Every purchase at Skywaters Residences carries Buyer’s Stamp Duty, and some buyers pay Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty as well. Both are due within 14 days of signing the sale and purchase agreement, so they sit at the front of the budget with the booking fee.
This worked example uses an illustrative figure of $1,500,000, the same figure the site’s calculators open with. It is not the price of any home at the development; the Sales Concierge sends the current price list on request, and the same steps apply to any price you enter in the calculator.
How Buyer’s Stamp Duty Is Charged at Skywaters Residences
Buyer’s Stamp Duty is charged in bands, like income tax, so each slice of the price is taxed at its own rate and the slices are added together. The residential bands have applied since 15 February 2023: 1% on the first $180,000, 2% on the next $180,000, 3% on the next $640,000, 4% on the next $500,000, 5% on the next $1,500,000 and 6% above $3,000,000.
The duty is assessed on the purchase price or the market value, whichever is higher, and IRAS rounds it down to the nearest dollar. It is paid by the buyer, not the developer, and it applies to every buyer, whatever their residency.
Buyer’s Stamp Duty on an Illustrative Skywaters Residences Figure
On the illustrative $1,500,000, the first $180,000 at 1% is $1,800, the next $180,000 at 2% is $3,600, the next $640,000 at 3% is $19,200, and the next $500,000 at 4% is $20,000. The four bands add up to $44,600, and no part of the illustrative figure reaches the 5% or 6% bands.
Put another way, the effective rate on the illustrative figure is just under 3%, even though the top band reached is 4%. For a larger figure, the 5% and then the 6% bands come into play, which is why the effective rate rises with the price. The stamp duty calculator applies every band automatically.
ABSD on the Same Skywaters Residences Example
ABSD is a single rate on the whole price rather than a banded charge. On the illustrative $1,500,000, a Singapore Citizen buying a first home pays no ABSD, so the total stamp duty is the $44,600 of BSD. A Citizen buying a second home adds 20%, or $300,000, and a Permanent Resident buying a first home adds 5%, or $75,000.
A foreigner’s ABSD at 60% would be $900,000 on the same illustrative figure, unless a free trade agreement applies, and an entity’s at 65% would be $975,000. These are the rates IRAS has applied since 27 April 2023. The eligibility article covers remission and refunds.
Joint Purchases and ABSD at Skywaters Residences
When two or more people buy a home together and their profiles differ, IRAS applies the highest ABSD rate among them to the whole price. A Singapore Citizen buying a first home jointly with a parent who already owns a property, for example, would pay ABSD at the second-home rate on the full purchase, not on half of it.
Married couples are the main exception. Where at least one spouse is a Singapore Citizen and the couple buy their first home together, they may apply for remission of the higher rate, so a Citizen and a Permanent Resident buying their first home jointly pay no ABSD. The conditions are set by IRAS, and the conveyancing lawyer usually prepares the application.
Seller’s Stamp Duty and Skywaters Residences
Seller’s Stamp Duty concerns a later sale rather than the purchase. For homes bought on or after 4 July 2025, it applies on a sale within four years: 16% within the first year, 12% in the second, 8% in the third and 4% in the fourth, and nothing after that.
For a home bought under construction, the holding period counts from the date of purchase, not from completion. With The Skywaters targeted for completion in 2028, a buyer who signs in 2026 passes the four-year mark in 2030, and no SSD applies to a sale after that.
When Stamp Duty Is Paid at Skywaters Residences
Stamp duty falls due on the document, not on completion. For a purchase from the developer, the sale and purchase agreement is the dutiable document, and IRAS requires the duty to be paid within 14 days of signing it. In practice the conveyancing lawyer stamps the agreement electronically and arranges the payment, which may be made in cash or, for BSD and ABSD on a home, partly from CPF savings within the CPF Board’s rules.
Because the sale and purchase agreement is usually signed within eight weeks of the option to purchase, the duty is one of the first large sums in the budget, alongside the 5% booking fee and the 15% that follows the agreement. Setting it aside before the booking avoids having to arrange it at short notice.
Where ABSD applies and a remission or refund may later be claimed, the full ABSD is still paid at the outset and the claim is made to IRAS afterwards, so the cash must be available in the meantime.
Planning the Stamp Duty at Skywaters Residences
Because stamp duty is due so soon after signing, it is best set aside in cash or CPF before the booking. The progressive payment calculator places it in the full schedule beside the booking fee and the instalments, and the payment scheme page explains the stages.
The Sales Concierge sends the current price list on request, so the duty can be worked out on a particular home. Showflat viewings are arranged by appointment through the Sales Concierge.
This article is general information as at the date shown and is not financial, legal or tax advice. Statutory figures are from IRAS and MAS; particulars of Skywaters Residences are from the developer, Perennial Holdings and the URA, and dates from the developer, the LTA and published reports.
Talk to the Skywaters Residences Sales Concierge
The Sales Concierge sends the price list on request, the balance units and the e-brochure for Skywaters Residences. Showflat viewings are arranged by appointment through the Sales Concierge.