Property Stamp Duty in Malaysia: How to Calculate MOT and Loan Agreement Duty (2026)

When you buy a house in Malaysia you usually pay two stamp duties: one on the memorandum of transfer (MOT), charged in tiers of 1%, 2% and 3% of the price or market value, and one on the loan agreement, charged at 0.5% of the loan amount. On a RM450,000 home with a RM405,000 loan, that comes to RM8,000 + RM2,025 = RM10,025, unless you qualify for the first-home exemption, which can bring it to zero.

This guide shows how both duties are worked out under the Stamp Act 1949 (Akta Setem), who pays them, when the first-home exemption applies, and what changed for foreign buyers in 2026. There are worked examples in RM so you can fill in the stamp duty field in the housing loan calculator yourself.

Stamp duty is charged on documents, not on the purchase

LHDN (HASiL), which collects stamp duty, is clear on this: duty is charged on instruments (written documents), not on transactions. A property purchase usually involves three documents:

• Sale and purchase agreement (SPA): the contract itself. The big ad valorem amounts sit on the next two documents, not the SPA.
• Memorandum of transfer (MOT), also called the instrument of transfer: the document that moves the title to you. It carries ad valorem duty (by value).
• Loan or financing agreement / charge: the bank's security documents for your housing loan. These also carry ad valorem duty.

Under the Third Schedule of the Stamp Act, the transferee (the buyer) pays the MOT duty and the borrower pays the loan agreement duty. The seller pays neither.

How MOT stamp duty is calculated

Item 32(a) of the First Schedule charges duty for every RM100 (or part of RM100) of the price or the market value of the property, whichever is greater. The rates are marginal, like income tax bands:

• First RM100,000: RM1 per RM100 (1%)
• RM100,001 to RM500,000: RM2 per RM100 (2%)
• RM500,001 to RM1,000,000: RM3 per RM100 (3%)
• Above RM1,000,000: a higher rate applies to the portion above RM1 million (the top band was changed in 2019). If your property is above RM1 million, check the current rate with your lawyer or LHDN.

So the duty at each tier boundary is:

• RM100,000 → RM1,000
• RM500,000 → RM1,000 + RM8,000 = RM9,000
• RM1,000,000 → RM9,000 + RM15,000 = RM24,000

Two details people miss:

1. "Or part of RM100" means round up. A price of RM455,050 is charged as RM455,100. The duty is RM1,000 + (RM355,100 ÷ 100 × RM2) = RM8,102.
2. Market value can override the price. If you buy below market (for example from a relative), LHDN can charge duty on the market value instead.

How loan agreement stamp duty is calculated

For a ringgit housing loan, item 27(a)(iii) charges RM5 for every RM1,000 or part of RM1,000 of the amount secured. That's 0.5% of the loan amount, rounded up to the next RM1,000.

• RM270,000 loan → RM1,350
• RM405,000 loan → RM2,025
• RM409,545 loan → treated as RM410,000 → RM2,050

If you finance MRTA/MLTA or legal fees into the loan, the loan amount goes up, and so does this duty.

Worked example 1: RM450,000 subsale condo (not a first home)

Farah is buying a RM450,000 subsale condo as her second property. Her bank approves a 90% loan of RM405,000.

• MOT duty: RM1,000 (first RM100,000) + RM7,000 (RM350,000 × 2%) = RM8,000
• Loan agreement duty: RM405,000 × 0.5% = RM2,025
• Total stamp duty: RM10,025

That's on top of her 10% down payment of RM45,000, legal fees and valuation. If this were her first home, bought under an SPA signed between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2027, both duties would be fully exempt (see below) and she would pay RM0.

Worked example 2: RM680,000 first home (above the RM500,000 limit)

Daniel and his wife are buying their first home, a RM680,000 terrace house, with a RM612,000 loan.

• MOT duty: RM1,000 + RM8,000 + RM5,400 (RM180,000 × 3%) = RM14,400
• Loan agreement duty: RM612,000 × 0.5% = RM3,060
• Total: RM17,460

The current first-home exemption only covers homes priced up to RM500,000, so they get no exemption at all. They don't get a partial exemption on the first RM500,000 either.

Budget 2027 has proposed a change for SPAs signed from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2030: a 100% exemption on the first RM500,000 and a 50% exemption on the portion from RM500,000 up to RM750,000. On our reading of that proposal, Daniel's MOT duty would drop to about RM2,700 (half of the RM5,400 charged on the part above RM500,000). The exact computation, including the loan agreement, depends on the exemption order once it is gazetted, so treat this as an estimate.

Worked example 3: buying from family below market value

Mei Ling buys her uncle's house for RM300,000, but the market value is RM360,000. The MOT duty is based on the higher figure:

• Duty on RM360,000: RM1,000 + RM5,200 (RM260,000 × 2%) = RM6,200, not the RM5,000 she'd pay on RM300,000

Transfers between family members by way of gift (love and affection) have their own exemption rules, so check those with your lawyer before assuming the normal scale applies.

The first-home stamp duty exemption (2026–2027)

According to the Ministry of Finance's Budget 2026 tax measures, Malaysian citizens buying their first residential home priced up to RM500,000 get a 100% exemption on both the instrument of transfer and the loan agreement. It covers SPAs executed from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027. This continues the exemption that ran from 2021 to 2025.

Things to check:

• It's for Malaysian citizens buying their first residential home. If you've owned a home before, including jointly, check your eligibility with your lawyer before counting on it.
• The RM500,000 limit is a cliff: at RM500,001 you lose the whole exemption under the current rules.
• The date that matters is when the SPA is executed, not when the MOT is stamped.

The Budget 2027 proposal described in example 2 would raise the ceiling to RM750,000 (with only 50% relief above RM500,000). It's a proposal until the Finance Act and exemption order are gazetted.

Foreign buyers: 8% on residential property from 2026

Under Budget 2026, the fixed stamp duty on instruments of transfer of residential homes executed by non-citizens (excluding Malaysian permanent residents) and foreign companies went from 4% to 8%, for instruments executed from 1 January 2026. Before that, a fixed 4% applied under item 32(aa). The tiered 1/2/3% scale above is for citizens and PRs.

Example: a foreign buyer's RM900,000 condo → 8% × RM900,000 = RM72,000 MOT duty, compared with RM21,000 for a Malaysian citizen on the tiered scale.

When and how it's paid

• Deadline: LHDN says instruments must be stamped within 30 days of being executed in Malaysia.
• Late penalty (from 1 January 2025): the higher of RM50 or 10% of the unpaid duty if stamped within 3 months after the deadline, or the higher of RM100 or 20% if later.
• Self-assessment is coming for property. LHDN's Stamp Duty Self-Assessment System (STSDS) started on 1 January 2026 for tenancy, security and general instruments. Transfers of real property (not involving JPPH valuation) move to self-assessment from 1 January 2027, filed through MyTax. Your conveyancing lawyer normally handles this, but you're still liable if it's under-declared.

Common mistakes

• Budgeting only for the down payment. On a RM450,000 non-first home, stamp duty adds about RM10,000. Legal fees and valuation come on top.
• Assuming the exemption covers "up to RM500,000" of any price. Today it's all-or-nothing at RM500,000.
• Using the price when the valuation is higher. Duty follows whichever is greater.
• Forgetting financed add-ons. Rolling MRTA or legal fees into the loan raises the 0.5% loan duty.
• Treating the Budget 2027 proposal as law. Wait for the gazetted order before relying on the RM750,000 figure.

How to use this with the KiraBoss calculator

1. Work out MOT duty with the tiers above (or RM0 if you qualify for the first-home exemption).
2. Add 0.5% of your loan amount for the loan agreement.
3. Enter the total in the Stamp duty field of the housing loan calculator to see your full upfront cash need next to your monthly instalment.

If you're buying your first home, read the first-house checklist for the other upfront costs and EPF withdrawals, and what DSR means to see how much loan the bank is likely to approve.

This guide explains the general rules for individuals buying residential property. Your lawyer's final figures may differ for special cases such as transfers between family members, company buyers, or properties above RM1 million.