Property Tax

[pantieileen 2]

Received my first IRAS letter on transfer of property..not good..means i must pay tax

If my unit is vacant and will be vacant at least for the next 12-18months? Do you think IRAS will allow me to do a property refund?

the clause in the letter is alittle confusing "if a property is vacant for at least 30days or a calender month, you may apply for refund for a vacant period if the property is intended for letting and no tenant could be found despite reasonable efforts to do so or the property is undergoing repairs to make it fit for occupation"

ie in my case, no time to find contractors for repair works and it's obviously non-livable in it's current state..think they'll let me refund?

[furion0000 0]

Received my first IRAS letter on transfer of property..not good..means i must pay tax

If my unit is vacant and will be vacant at least for the next 12-18months? Do you think IRAS will allow me to do a property refund?

the clause in the letter is alittle confusing "if a property is vacant for at least 30days or a calender month, you may apply for refund for a vacant period if the property is intended for letting and no tenant could be found despite reasonable efforts to do so or the property is undergoing repairs to make it fit for occupation"

ie in my case, no time to find contractors for repair works and it's obviously non-livable in it's current state..think they'll let me refund?

i have the same problem... bought my condo in jun, took ownership in sep. till now.. nearly six months liao i have still not done renovation.

Initially i recieved the letter to pay the 10% property tax... i was shocked... i immediately change my address on my IC... few days later IRAS sent me a revised letter seeking only a 4% property tax since i am residing at the property.

Of course to change the address on your IC, you will first need to change the address of at least 1 of your telcos bill OR bank account... produce the bill with the new address and the police will change the address for you. Then go IRAS website and apply for Owners' consessionary tax rate

hope this helps.

[yoongf 11]

Received my first IRAS letter on transfer of property..not good..means i must pay tax

If my unit is vacant and will be vacant at least for the next 12-18months? Do you think IRAS will allow me to do a property refund?

the clause in the letter is alittle confusing "if a property is vacant for at least 30days or a calender month, you may apply for refund for a vacant period if the property is intended for letting and no tenant could be found despite reasonable efforts to do so or the property is undergoing repairs to make it fit for occupation"

ie in my case, no time to find contractors for repair works and it's obviously non-livable in it's current state..think they'll let me refund?

Refund is only for investment property (meant to rent out).

There is no such thing as non-livable. Every NRIC is entitled to 1 owner occupation concession. Don't even need change of address. As long as u claim owner occupation, u wil get the 4%. But this means if u existing have owner occupation concession, means that unit have to forgo concession.

Telco bill, SP Service bill proof is only meant for tenants to prove rightful accomodation. Owner just show property tax or S&P

[pantieileen 2]

i have the same problem... bought my condo in jun, took ownership in sep. till now.. nearly six months liao i have still not done renovation.

Initially i recieved the letter to pay the 10% property tax... i was shocked... i immediately change my address on my IC... few days later IRAS sent me a revised letter seeking only a 4% property tax since i am residing at the property.

Of course to change the address on your IC, you will first need to change the address of at least 1 of your telcos bill OR bank account... produce the bill with the new address and the police will change the address for you. Then go IRAS website and apply for Owners' consessionary tax rate

hope this helps.

1) isit necessary to get change of address with the bank or telco first before i go to the police station to change my address? (sorry never change before in my life)

2) can i tell the bank or telco not to send future mail to my un-resided address ? (point is i do not want people to know who is the owner of the place or no point coz there are ways to check online?) reason being my dad (previous owner) gets couple of calls monthly from strangers asking if he's interested to sell etc

[musicbox 0]

can anyone tell me what's the property tax you've been paying?

I checked it is based on annual value, now the market price keep increasing so the property tax we pay every year also increasing right?

[therat 18]

1) isit necessary to get change of address with the bank or telco first before i go to the police station to change my address? (sorry never change before in my life)

2) can i tell the bank or telco not to send future mail to my un-resided address ? (point is i do not want people to know who is the owner of the place or no point coz there are ways to check online?) reason being my dad (previous owner) gets couple of calls monthly from strangers asking if he's interested to sell etc

1. New rule. Need to produce doc like Telco letter or PUB letter with ur new address before go to police station.

[bepgof 20]

can anyone tell me what's the property tax you've been paying?

I checked it is based on annual value, now the market price keep increasing so the property tax we pay every year also increasing right?

Owner-occupied unit subjects to 4% tax on annual value. The second property is 10%.....

URA sudmits your purchasing data to IRAS.....IRAS will always "presume" the owner stays at second property of higher annual value and 10% tax.

You applied water/electricity/gas before reno and reno takes some time...

End of reno is the proof of start of stay in new place and therefore entitled to 4% tax.

I'm now staying in hdb 5rm, annual valuation = $9k, previously stayed in condo(119 sqm)for 3 years, annual valuation = $15K!l

Valuation of hdb for taxation purposes,has been revised (increased) by IRAS in NOV 2009.

[dariusfan 0]

Don't have to provide any proof, just go online under IRAS website and apply for residential occupancy, whether you are staying in or not yet, they will automatically refund you 60% of the amount you paid initially, which should be at 10% of the rental valuation of your property per annumn.

I applied for my electricity only after the refund is done. 1st property - so no problems. Mine's clustered terrace valued at 24k!

[mmm 0]

Some stuff to share on property tax.

We've 3 properties under the following arrangement :

1) Our name

2) Our name + my parents (occupied by them)

3) Our name + his parents (rented out)

Under the strict interpretation, one can only claim owner occupied rate for 1 property only. In our case, I managed to speak to the officer about property 2. It is jointly owned with my parents but they are occupying it. So due to the situation, I was able to claim 4% property tax for property 1 and 2.

Meanwhile for 3, as it is a rental property, it is clear that we need to pay 10%.

For folks in such situation, it's always good to consult the IRAS officer and don't pay blindly based on your own interpretation.

[dreamhouse 0]

i am now staying in hdb and recently my purchase of private property is completed

going to renovat private property and expected to be completed in a few months' time before we can move in...

Q1) is my private property tax pro-rated since the sale is completed in the middle of the year?

Q2) am i able to apply for 4% tax for my private property for the duration of renovation?

[bepgof 20]

i am now staying in hdb and recently my purchase of private property is completed

going to renovat private property and expected to be completed in a few months' time before we can move in...

Q1) is my private property tax pro-rated since the sale is completed in the middle of the year?

Q2) am i able to apply for 4% tax for my private property for the duration of renovation?

Q1. IRAS wants $$$. Will "auto" charge 10% to the one with higher annual value. What you can do is show proof to IRAS the pte is "not fit for human stay"=under reno, to waive the tax for the time being.

Q2. At same time, quickly change ic address or whatever to show that you're staying in pte, so pte=4%, hdb =10%. Need to write in to appeal.

Edited August 3, 2010 by bepgof

[dreamhouse 0]

Q1. IRAS wants $$$. Will "auto" charge 10% to the one with higher annual value. What you can do is show proof to IRAS the pte is "not fit for human stay"=under reno, to waive the tax for the time being.

Q2. At same time, quickly change ic address or whatever to show that you're staying in pte, so pte=4%, hdb =10%. Need to write in to appeal.

wouldn't 1) and 2) be conflicting each other?

[bepgof 20]

wouldn't 1) and 2) be conflicting each other?

So long as you tell the truth, where got conflict? Don't gong gong to leave the pty empty for nothing like me previously, better to leave the hdb empty. Or maximum the "longest" period for pte to be under reno, while quickly settle down tenents to move in to hdb. You can only "enjoy" 4% to the one where you stay.

Edited August 4, 2010 by bepgof

[dreamhouse 0]

So long as you tell the truth, where got conflict? Don't gong gong to leave the pty empty for nothing like me previously, better to leave the hdb empty. Or maximum the "longest" period for pte to be under reno, while quickly settle down tenents to move in to hdb. You can only "enjoy" 4% to the one where you stay.

think i understand you now....

eg if i get my house in July and then renovate to Oct (not fit for living in), then i inform IRAS to let me pay 4% from July to Oct

then on 1st Nov i quickly change address so that i get 4% on my private property and 10% on my flat

[hotfudge 0]

So long as you tell the truth, where got conflict? Don't gong gong to leave the pty empty for nothing like me previously, better to leave the hdb empty. Or maximum the "longest" period for pte to be under reno, while quickly settle down tenents to move in to hdb. You can only "enjoy" 4% to the one where you stay.

aiyo... we gong gong. paid whatever tax iras told us altho the place was under reno.