Best Malaysia PropertiesIf you are a Malaysian citizen buying your first home with a market value of RM500,000 or less, you pay no stamp duty on the transfer (MOT) or on the loan agreement, as long as the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) is signed by 31 December 2027. Budget 2027 proposes extending this to SPAs signed from 2027 to 2030 and adding a partial exemption for homes up to RM750,000, but that proposal is not law yet.
What the exemption covers (as of November 2026)
Two orders give the relief. The Stamp Duty (Exemption) Order 2021 [P.U.(A) 53/2021] covers the instrument of transfer, and the Stamp Duty (Exemption) (No. 2) Order 2021 [P.U.(A) 54/2021] covers the loan agreement. Amendments gazetted on 23 December 2025 extended both to agreements executed no later than 31 December 2027, according to a Skrine legal alert.
| Item | Current rule (SPAs signed 1 Jan 2021 – 31 Dec 2027) |
|---|---|
| Who | Malaysian citizen individual (every co-buyer must be a citizen) |
| Property | First residential property, one unit only |
| Value limit | Market value up to RM500,000 |
| Instruments exempted | 100% on the MOT (transfer) and 100% on the loan agreement |
| Loan | Must finance the purchase and come from a financial institution named in the order |
| Above RM500,000 | No exemption at all under the current orders |
The value test uses market value, not just the price on the SPA. If a bank valuer or the stamp office puts the property above RM500,000, you lose the exemption even if you negotiated a lower price.
Who counts as a first-time buyer
The buyer signs a statutory declaration that they have never owned a residential property, alone or jointly, and have not used this exemption before. Secondary guides on the orders note that a home you received through inheritance or a gift counts as owning one. For joint purchases, each co-buyer must meet the conditions, and both use up their entitlement once the purchase completes.
A few grey areas are worth raising with your lawyer before you sign:
- whether a serviced apartment or SOHO counts as a "residential property" for the order;
- whether being named on an SPA for an uncompleted unit, with no title transferred yet, counts as prior ownership;
- what happens if a co-buyer owned a share of a family home in the past.
These are questions for your conveyancing lawyer and the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN), which administers stamp duty. We explain the rules but cannot confirm how they apply to you.
How much you save: worked examples
Normal stamp duty on the MOT is 1% on the first RM100,000, 2% from RM100,001 to RM500,000, 3% from RM500,001 to RM1 million and 4% above that. Loan stamp duty is 0.5% of the loan. The examples below assume a 90% loan and exclude legal fees, valuation and SST.
| Home value | Normal MOT duty | Normal loan duty (90% loan) | You pay now as a first-time buyer |
|---|---|---|---|
| RM300,000 | RM5,000 | RM1,350 | RM0 |
| RM450,000 | RM8,000 | RM2,025 | RM0 |
| RM500,000 | RM9,000 | RM2,250 | RM0 |
| RM650,000 | RM13,500 | RM2,925 | RM16,425 (no exemption above RM500,000) |
On a RM450,000 home, the exemption saves about RM10,000 in cash at completion. That money cannot normally be financed by the bank, so it matters for first-time buyers. For the full list of costs, see our cost of buying a house in Malaysia guide.
The Budget 2027 proposal: up to RM750,000
On 9 October 2026, the government proposed the following for first-time buyers, for SPAs signed from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2030:
- homes up to RM500,000: full exemption on the MOT and loan agreement;
- homes above RM500,000 up to RM750,000: full exemption on the first RM500,000, and 50% exemption on the balance.
Applied to the transfer duty only, the proposed relief would work out like this:
| Home value | Normal MOT duty | MOT duty under the proposal (estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| RM500,000 | RM9,000 | RM0 |
| RM600,000 | RM12,000 | about RM1,500 |
| RM650,000 | RM13,500 | about RM2,250 |
| RM750,000 | RM16,500 | about RM3,750 |
How the loan duty will be calculated in the RM500,000–RM750,000 band has not been confirmed in what we read. Budget measures take effect only after they are legislated and the exemption orders are gazetted. Until then, check the latest position with your lawyer, especially if you plan to sign an SPA in late 2026 or early 2027.
How the exemption is claimed
In practice your lawyer handles it. They submit the transfer and loan documents for stamping through LHDN's online stamping system with the statutory declaration and supporting documents, and the duty is shown as exempted. Ask your lawyer to confirm in writing, before you sign the SPA, that you qualify and how much stamp duty (if any) will be payable.
Homes under RM500,000 in our rankings
Plenty of well-rated homes fall under the RM500,000 line. Some examples from our data (prices are asking or launch figures we recorded, not valuations):
- Vista Bangi, Bangi: launch price about RM270,000 for 800 sq ft, freehold, 4.5 on Google from 450 reviews.
- Kepong Sentral Condominium, Kuala Lumpur: listings about RM306,000–RM340,000, 3.9 from 334 reviews.
- Casa Kayangan, Ipoh: RM285,000–RM400,000, freehold, 4.9 from 35 reviews.
- Lakefront Residence, Cyberjaya: RM292,000–RM605,000, freehold, 4.0 from 175 reviews.
- Kalista 2, Seremban: landed, about RM365,000–RM450,000 asking, freehold.
Filter by price and area on our interactive map, and check how much you can borrow in our home loan and DSR guide. If you plan to use EPF savings for the down payment, read our EPF withdrawal guide.
Other first-home help to know about
The stamp duty exemption is separate from the income tax relief on housing loan interest introduced in Budget 2025 (up to RM7,000 for homes up to RM500,000 and up to RM5,000 for RM500,001–RM750,000, for SPAs signed from 2025 to 2027, claimed over three years). Each has its own conditions, so check both with LHDN or a tax adviser.