CalculatorRental stamp duty
Estimate lease duty from rent and lease term.
How lease duty changes from one year to five
Rental stamp duty looks like 0.4%, but a lease longer than four years uses four times the average annual rent as its basis.
SGD 3,000 a month for one year
- Input
- Fixed monthly rent SGD 3,000; term 12 months
- Result
- Total contractual rent SGD 36,000; estimated duty SGD 144
- What it means
- For a short fixed term, duty follows total contractual rent. Budget it alongside the deposit and first month.
SGD 3,000 a month for two years
- Input
- Fixed monthly rent SGD 3,000; term 24 months
- Result
- Total contractual rent SGD 72,000; estimated duty SGD 288
- What it means
- Within four years, doubling the fixed lease term broadly doubles the duty base.
SGD 1,800 a month for five years
- Input
- Fixed monthly rent SGD 1,800; term 60 months; average annual rent SGD 21,600
- Result
- Four times annual rent is used; SGD 86,400 × 0.4%, rounded down, gives about SGD 345
- What it means
- A long lease is not simply all five years of rent times 0.4%; the basis is capped by the duration rule.
How should you use the calculated result?
The tool estimates lease duty from fixed monthly rent and a definite term, rounding down to whole dollars. A lease longer than four years uses four times average annual rent.
Include duty in the initial moving budget
- Alongside the deposit and advance rent, reserve lease duty separately; it is often modest, but late stamping can add cost.
- For a rent-free period or stepped rent, do not enter only the first monthly amount—calculate the actual average annual rent from the whole agreement.
When should you not use this result directly?
- Stepped rent, rent-free periods, fitting-out periods, renewal options and rent changes require average annual rent to be rebuilt from the contract.
- Contractual consideration such as furniture, fitting-out, maintenance and service charges may enter average annual rent; IRAS states that GST charges are excluded.
- Indefinite leases, renewals, subleases and late stamping can have different treatment or penalties; the official e-stamping result controls.
Continue with the rental stamp duty guide
The guide compares one-, two- and five-year leases, then explains stepped rent, renewals and costs that may enter the rental base.
Open the rental duty guide
Official source: Open authority guidance
Rules last checked: 7 Sep 2026. See the Sources page.