Property cost
Stamp Duty & Legal Fee Calculator
See the four upfront costs when buying a Malaysian property with a bank loan: MOT stamp duty, loan agreement stamp duty, SRO 2023 legal fees on both agreements, and 8% SST. Covers the Budget 2026 first-home exemption and the flat 8% foreign-buyer rate.
How it's calculated
MOT stamp duty (citizens & PR) — tiered under the Stamp Act 1949 First Schedule on property price or market value, whichever is higher: 1% / 2% / 3% / 4% across the bands 100k / 500k / 1M / above.
MOT stamp duty (foreigners) — flat 8% on the full property price for non-citizens (excluding permanent residents) and foreign-owned companies, under the Finance Act 2025 effective 1 January 2026.
Loan stamp duty — flat 0.5% of the loan amount under Item 22(1) of the Stamp Act 1949. Applies to all buyer types.
Legal fees — Solicitors' Remuneration Order 2023 Table A scale: 1.25% on the first RM500,000 (minimum RM500), 1% on the next RM7,000,000. Applied separately to the SPA (on price) and the loan agreement (on loan amount). Solicitors may discount up to 25%. 8% SST is added on the combined legal fees.
First-home exemption (Budget 2026) — 100% exemption on MOT and loan agreement stamp duty for Malaysian citizens buying their first residential property priced up to RM500,000. SPA must be executed 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2027.
Disbursements — search fees, registration fees, and stamping handling fees vary per firm and are not included. Budget RM500–RM1,500 extra.
Common questions
How is stamp duty on the Memorandum of Transfer (MOT) calculated?+
For Malaysian citizens and permanent residents, MOT stamp duty is tiered on the property price (or market value, whichever is higher): 1% on the first RM100,000, 2% on the next RM400,000 (up to RM500,000), 3% on the next RM500,000 (up to RM1,000,000), and 4% on anything above RM1,000,000. For non-citizens (excluding PR) buying residential property, Budget 2026 imposes a flat 8% rate effective from 1 January 2026.
How is loan agreement stamp duty calculated?+
It is a flat 0.5% of the loan amount under Item 22(1) of the First Schedule of the Stamp Act 1949. The rate applies to all buyer types.
How are legal fees calculated?+
Legal fees follow the Solicitors’ Remuneration Order 2023 (gazetted 12 July 2023, in force from 15 July 2023): 1.25% on the first RM500,000 (minimum RM500) and 1% on the next RM7,000,000. Above RM7.5 million it is negotiable, capped at 1%. The same scale applies separately to the SPA (on price) and to the loan agreement (on loan amount). Solicitors may discount up to 25% on the Table A scale. Service tax (SST) of 8% is added on the legal fees.
Why 8% SST? When did it change from 6%?+
The service tax rate on most taxable services, including legal services, was raised from 6% to 8% effective 1 March 2024 by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department.
Does this include disbursements?+
No. Search fees, registration fees, and stamping handling fees are not included. Most law firms charge RM500–RM1,500 in disbursements per transaction. Ask your lawyer for a written quote.
How does the first-home buyer exemption work under Budget 2026?+
Budget 2026 extends 100% stamp duty exemption on both the MOT and the loan agreement for Malaysian citizens buying their first residential property priced up to RM500,000. The SPA must be executed between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2027. There is no partial exemption for properties priced above RM500,000 under the current scheme.
What about the 8% rate for foreigners?+
Effective 1 January 2026 under the Finance Act 2025 and Budget 2026, non-citizens (excluding permanent residents) and foreign-owned companies pay a flat 8% stamp duty on the MOT for residential property. Loan agreement stamp duty stays at 0.5% and legal fees follow the same SRO 2023 scale.
Authoritative sources
- LHDN — Stamp Duty (Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia)Official MOT stamp duty rates under Stamp Act 1949.
- Malaysian Bar — Solicitors’ Remuneration Order 2023 (Circular 258/2023)Official Table A scale fees for sale & purchase and loan agreement legal fees.
- Royal Malaysian Customs — Service Tax (MySST)8% service tax on professional services since 1 March 2024.
- Ministry of Finance — Budget 2026First-home stamp duty exemption extension (1 Jan 2026 – 31 Dec 2027) and 8% foreign-buyer MOT rate.
Rates verified against Budget 2026 announcements. Schemes and rates change yearly — confirm with LHDN, the Malaysian Bar, RMCD, or your conveyancer before relying on these figures for a transaction. Informational only — not financial or legal advice.