HDB Resale Levy: Who Pays and How Much

The resale levy is HDB’s way of reducing the subsidy a household enjoys twice. You pay it when you already had a subsidised flat and then take a second subsidised home. The amount is fixed by your first flat type — from S$15,000 to S$55,000 — and plenty of buyers pay nothing because they never take a second subsidy.

When the levy applies

You pay a resale levy if you sold (or will sell) a subsidised first flat and then buy a second subsidised home, which includes:

A new BTO flat from HDB.
A Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) unit.
A new Executive Condominium (EC) bought from a developer.

It does not apply if you buy a resale flat on the open market and do not take a fresh CPF housing grant. In that case there is no second subsidy, so there is no levy.

How much: fixed amounts by first flat type

For households whose first subsidised flat was taken from 3 March 2006 onwards, the levy is a fixed amount set by the first flat type — not the flat you are buying:

Fixed resale levy by first subsidised flat type

Household levy amounts; Singles Grant recipients pay half.

First subsidised flat	Household levy	Singles Grant recipient
2-room	S$15,000	S$7,500
3-room	S$30,000	S$15,000
4-room	S$40,000	S$20,000
5-room	S$45,000	S$22,500
Executive flat	S$50,000	S$25,000
Executive Condominium	S$55,000	S$27,500

Singles Grant recipients pay half the household amount. If your first flat was taken before 3 March 2006, an older percentage-based levy (a graded rate) may apply instead — check your case with HDB.

How the levy is paid

The levy is generally payable when you take the second subsidised flat. For a second HDB flat it is deducted at the point of the new purchase and must be paid in cash — it cannot be paid from CPF or rolled into your home loan. Budget for it alongside your downpayment and stamp duty.

A quick example

Say your first home was a subsidised 4-room flat. Years later you sell it and ballot for a new 5-room BTO. Your levy is S$40,000 — fixed by the 4-room you first owned, not the 5-room you are buying. If you had instead bought a resale flat on the open market with no fresh grant, you would owe no levy.

Weigh it in your BTO-vs-resale decision

Because the levy only bites on a second subsidy, it can tilt the maths toward buying resale the second time. Factor it into the full comparison in BTO vs resale, and remember that taking a CPF housing grant on your second resale flat is itself a fresh subsidy that triggers a levy.

General information, not financial or property advice. Confirm your exact levy with HDB.