Malaysia Stamp Duty & Buying Costs Calculator

A flat 8% on the Memorandum of Transfer (MOT), assessed on the higher of the price or the market value, for any residential transfer executed on or after 1 January 2026. On a RM 2,000,000 condo that is RM 160,000. The MOT execution date governs, not the SPA date, so a 2025 SPA stamped in 2026 still pays 8%. This applies to non-citizen individuals and foreign companies; Malaysian permanent residents are excluded and pay the tiered local scale below.

Yes. MM2H grants long-stay residency but does not change stamp duty treatment. Only Malaysian citizens and permanent residents qualify for the 1–4% tiered scale, so factor the full 8% into any MM2H property budget. See our MM2H cost calculator for the full picture.

A tiered scale: 1% on the first RM 100,000, 2% up to RM 500,000, 3% up to RM 1,000,000, and 4% above that. A RM 500,000 home carries RM 9,000; a RM 2,500,000 purchase works out to RM 84,000. Duty is assessed on the higher of the price or the market value.

Conveyancing fees follow the Solicitors' Remuneration (Amendment) Order 2023, covering Peninsular Malaysia. Table A (subsale): 1.25% on the first RM 500,000 (minimum RM 500) and 1% from RM 500,001 to RM 7,500,000. A new launch bought from a developer under the Housing Development Act uses the discounted Table B scale instead. Loan documentation is billed on the Table A scale against the loan amount. Lawyers may discount up to 25%; disbursements and service tax are charged on top.

A flat 0.5% of the facility amount, conventional or Islamic, the same for every nationality. A 70% margin on a RM 2,500,000 purchase means a RM 1,750,000 loan and RM 8,750 in loan stamp duty.

Real Property Gains Tax applies to the profit at disposal. Foreign sellers pay 30% within five years of purchase and 10% from year six onward; Malaysian citizens and PRs pay 30% in years one to three, 20% in year four, 15% in year five, and 0% from year six. Every individual seller can claim a waiver of RM 10,000 or 10% of the gain, whichever is higher. The holding period runs from the Sale and Purchase Agreement date, not the transfer date.

Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan: RM 1,000,000 for all residential types. Selangor: RM 2,000,000 in Zones 1 and 2 and RM 1,000,000 in Zone 3, strata titles only. Every foreign purchase also needs prior state consent under Section 433B of the National Land Code before the transfer can proceed.

No. The spousal stamp duty exemption that removes duty entirely on a transfer between spouses only applies when both parties are Malaysian citizens. On a joint purchase where one buyer is foreign, the rate follows the foreign buyer's status, not the Malaysian co-buyer's. In practice this generally means the 8% rate applies rather than the couple defaulting to the citizen scale. The exact mechanics can depend on how the shares are structured, so confirm the treatment with your lawyer before assuming a mixed-nationality purchase gets the local rate.

You don't write the cheque yourself, but you're not getting it for free either. When a developer absorbs MOT stamp duty or legal fees as a launch promotion, the developer pays LHDN and the law firm directly. The cost is typically already priced into the unit, or traded off against a discount you'd otherwise have received in cash. Treat an 'absorbed' package the same way you'd treat any bundled discount: compare the all-in price against a comparable unit without the promotion before assuming you've saved the full 8%.

This is a common question, and the answer is no in substance. Stamp duty is assessed on the higher of the stated consideration or LHDN's assessed market value of the property. Artificially lowering the SPA price and invoicing the difference as 'furniture' invites a revaluation or audit rather than a lower bill, and the risk sits with the buyer as much as the seller. If furniture genuinely changes hands as a separate transaction at fair value, that's different from structuring around duty, and your lawyer should draw that line for you rather than a spreadsheet.

This changed on 1 January 2026. Stamp duty on property transfers used to be assessed by LHDN after you submitted the instrument. Under the Stamp Duty Self-Assessment System (SDSAS), rolled out via LHDN's e-Duti Setem portal on MyTax, the taxpayer (in practice, your conveyancing lawyer) now calculates, declares and pays the duty online before the instrument can be presented to the Land Office for registration. It doesn't change how much you owe, but it does shift the responsibility for getting the sum right onto your side of the transaction, which is one more reason to use a lawyer who's current on the new portal.