Singapore inheritance: no estate duty since 2008

In short

Singapore has no estate duty for deaths on or after 15 February 2008, and a home passed to beneficiaries under a will or on intestacy bears no stamp duty. A home given during lifetime bears Buyer's Stamp Duty, and Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty where it is the recipient's second home or the recipient is foreign.

Law as read on 27 September 2026.

Key figures

Singapore removed estate duty for deaths on and after 15 February 2008. No inheritance or estate tax is due on a death since that date.
The cut-off is the date of death, not the date of filing: an estate of a person who died before 15 February 2008 can still be liable.
Estate duty clearance is no longer required for deaths on and after 15 February 2008.
Grants of probate and letters of administration are handled by the Family Justice Courts.
Income earned by the estate after the date of death, such as rent or interest, remains taxable in the ordinary way.
A home passed to the beneficiaries by assent under the will, the Intestate Succession Act or Muslim law bears no stamp duty: no fixed duty, no BSD and no ABSD (IRAS).
A home given during lifetime, or passed by a distribution that departs from the will or the law, bears Buyer's Stamp Duty up to 6% and, for the recipient's second or later home or a foreign recipient, Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty, on the market value.

Singapore: stamp duty when a home passes

Inheritance under the will or the intestacy rules bears no stamp duty. A gift, or a distribution that departs from them, bears BSD and ABSD on the market value.

The home passes

Market value (SGD)

The recipient is

This home would be the recipient's

Buyer's Stamp Duty69,600 SGD

Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (20%)400,000 SGD

Total469,600 SGD

Points to note

An inherited home counts in the recipient's property count for later purchases.
Remissions, joint recipients and Seller's Stamp Duty are not modelled.

Sources

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Worked examples

Three typical cases, worked out with this calculator's own rules. Reliefs it does not model are left out.

Case	Assumptions	Result	Legal basis
Inherited under the willComputed by this calculator	AssumptionsHome with a market value of 2,000,000 SGD passed by assent under the will to a foreign beneficiary.	ResultBSD 0 SGD; ABSD 0 SGD; total 0 SGD.	Legal basisIRAS, fixed and nominal duties (assent)
Gift to a citizen, first homeComputed by this calculator	AssumptionsHome with a market value of 2,000,000 SGD given during lifetime to a Singapore citizen who owns no other home.	ResultBSD 69,600 SGD; ABSD 0 SGD; total 69,600 SGD.	Legal basisIRAS, Buyer's Stamp Duty
Gift to a foreignerComputed by this calculator	AssumptionsThe same home given during lifetime to a foreigner.	ResultBSD 69,600 SGD; ABSD 1,200,000 SGD; total 1,269,600 SGD.	Legal basisIRAS, Buyer's Stamp Duty and Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty

No estate duty, and exactly since when

Estate duty was a tax on the total market value of a person's assets at death. IRAS states that it has been removed for deaths on and after 15 February 2008. Before that date it applied to Singapore assets, and to movable assets abroad for a person domiciled in Singapore; immovable property outside Singapore was never within it.

The date that matters is the date of death. An estate still being wound up today, of a person who died before the cut-off, remains subject to the former rules.

Which law divides the estate

Without a will, the estate of a non-Muslim devolves under the Intestate Succession Act, and that of a Muslim under the Administration of Muslim Law Act and Muslim law of inheritance. With a valid will, the testator decides, subject to those rules for a Muslim.

For a foreign family, the practical point is coordination. A Singapore will covering Singapore assets, drafted so as not to revoke a will made elsewhere for assets elsewhere, avoids the most common and most expensive mistake: one will quietly cancelling the other.

What passes outside the will

Some assets do not pass under the will at all. Savings in the Central Provident Fund follow the nomination made by the member, and jointly held property usually passes to the surviving joint owner. A will that assumes it disposes of everything can leave the real distribution quite different from the intended one.

The grant, and the time it takes

Banks and registries act on a grant of probate, where there is a will, or letters of administration, where there is not. Both are issued through the Family Justice Courts. Until a grant is obtained, assets held in the deceased's sole name generally cannot be dealt with, which is why liquidity for the family in the first months deserves planning of its own.

Questions

› Is there inheritance tax in Singapore?

No. Estate duty was removed for deaths on and after 15 February 2008, and no inheritance tax has replaced it.

› Do I pay tax on money I inherit in Singapore?

Not on the inheritance itself. Income the estate earns after the death, such as rent or interest, is taxed in the ordinary way in the hands of whoever is entitled to it.

› What happens if someone dies before 15 February 2008?

The former estate duty rules still apply to that estate, however late it is being administered. IRAS continues to publish how that duty was calculated.

› Does my will cover my CPF savings?

No. CPF savings pass according to the nomination made by the member, not under the will.

› Who issues probate in Singapore?

The Family Justice Courts, which handle both grants of probate and letters of administration.

Sources

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore guidance on estate duty.

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore

This page is educational and does not constitute legal advice. Succession in Singapore turns on the facts, on religion, and on how each asset is held.

Compare countries: Inheritance tax for non-residents, by country, 2026