What the stamp duty and legal fees calculator does
This calculator adds up the upfront legal costs of buying a home in Malaysia: stamp duty on the transfer (memorandum of transfer), stamp duty on the loan agreement, the lawyer's fees for the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) and the loan agreement, and the 8% SST on those fees.
It applies the first-home exemption when you tick it and the price is RM500k or less, and the lower developer-purchase scale for lawyer's fees when you buy from a developer, which is the default for a new launch.
What you should know
- Transfer stamp duty
- 1% of the first RM100k, 2% from RM100,001 to RM500k, 3% from RM500,001 to RM1m, 4% above RM1m
- Example
- On a RM600k home: RM1,000 + RM8,000 + RM3,000 = RM12,000 in transfer stamp duty
- Loan stamp duty
- 0.5% of the loan amount, so RM2,700 on a RM540k loan
- Lawyer's fees (2023 scale)
- 1.25% of the first RM500k, 1% of the next RM7m, at least RM500, for the SPA and again for the loan
- Buying from a developer
- The fee is a share of that scale: 75% up to RM250k, 70% to RM500k, 65% to RM1m and 50% above, with no further discount. On a RM1.2m launch the SPA fee is RM6,625, not RM13,250
- Foreign buyers
- Non-citizens without permanent residency pay a flat 8% transfer stamp duty on homes, from 1 Jan 2026
- SST
- 8% service tax on the lawyer's fees
- Not included
- Disbursements such as land searches, filing and copies, usually a few hundred to a few thousand ringgit
Good to know
- The first-home exemption covers SPAs signed up to 31 Dec 2027, for Malaysian citizens buying their first home. Budget 2027 proposes extending it to 2030; check the rule in force on the date you sign.
- Many new launches advertise free SPA and loan legal fees, or waived stamp duty. Compare the full price with and without these offers.
Figures reflect the rules as we understand them and can change. Check with your bank, lawyer or LHDN before you rely on them.