Room for higher taxes on luxury homes and non-residential properties

LAST year, Singapore’s Budget contained some bad news for homeowners, with many hit by the levying of higher property taxes. Should homeowners view the coming Budget announcement on Feb 14 with trepidation? Could other property owners be hit with higher taxes? 

Higher non-owner-occupier tax rates for all homes, as well as higher owner-occupier tax rates for homes with an Annual Value (AV) exceeding S$30,000 became effective this year. The rates will rise further in 2024. The AV of a building is the estimated gross annual rent of the property if it were to be rented out, excluding furniture, furnishings and maintenance fees.

The announcement of higher property taxes for homes came shortly after the rolling out of property cooling measures in mid-December 2021. Those measures included higher Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) for all home buyers, except Singapore citizens and permanent residents buying their first home. In late September 2022, the government rolled out further cooling measures, which included tighter limits on home loans.