Malaysian property buying-costs calculator
Stamp duty, legal fees, and — in Johor — the state levy on non-citizens. Every rate here is one this site had already researched and published, not something copied off a portal.
The one that matters most: from 1 January 2026 a non-citizen individual or foreign company pays a flat 8% stamp duty on residential property — not the sliding scale, and no longer the 4% it used to be. The basis is the new item 32(ab) in the First Schedule to the Stamp Act 1949, inserted by the Finance Act 2025. Malaysian permanent residents are outside it.
Estimated upfront costs
Where these rates come from
- Transfer stamp duty, 1% to 4% on a sliding scale: item 32(a), First Schedule, Stamp Act 1949.
- Flat 8% for a non-citizen buying residential: item 32(ab), inserted by the Finance Act 2025, in force from 1 January 2026. Flat 4% for a non-citizen buying non-residential: item 32(aa), from 1 January 2024.
- Loan agreement stamp duty 0.5%: item 27(a), First Schedule.
- First-home exemption (full on residential at RM500,000 or below; on the first RM500,000 between RM500,001 and RM1,000,000): announced in Budget 2026 as extended to 31 December 2027. I could not locate the gazetted order implementing that extension — have your solicitor confirm it is still in force on your date.
- Legal fees: Solicitors’ Remuneration Order 2023, in force 15 July 2023. Table A for subsale, Table B for Housing Development Act new launches.
- Johor levy on non-citizens, 3% or RM30,000 whichever is higher, RM50,000 floor for serviced residences under RM1 million, transitional cutoff 29 August 2025, old rate 2% or RM20,000: see this site’s foreign buyer FAQ and the Johor project pages.
Questions about these costs
What does a foreigner actually pay in stamp duty now?
From 1 January 2026, a non-citizen individual or foreign company pays a flat 8% on residential property — on the consideration or the market value, whichever is greater, not on a sliding scale. The basis is the new item 32(ab) inserted into the First Schedule to the Stamp Act 1949 by the Finance Act 2025. It was 4% before that. Malaysian permanent residents are outside the 8% and pay the citizen scale of 1% to 4%, though they still go through the state consent process.
Why is there an extra levy in Johor?
Because it is a state charge, not a federal one. Johor levies it on non-citizens under section 433B of the National Land Code and the Johor Land Rules 1966: 3% of the price or valuation, or RM30,000, whichever is higher, with a RM50,000 floor for serviced residences priced below RM1 million. Cases where the sale and purchase agreement was signed and stamped and the complete application lodged with the land office on or before 29 August 2025 stay on the old rate of 2% or RM20,000. There is also a RM2,000 consent application fee per title.
Does this cover everything I will have to pay?
No, and I am not going to pretend otherwise. This calculates stamp duty, legal fees and the Johor levy. It does not include the full valuation fee scale, transfer document administrative disbursements, lender processing fees and insurance, or the consent application fees in states other than Johor. I could not verify complete, current tier tables for those from a source I trust, and a number that looks precise but is actually a guess is worse than a gap you can see.
Why are there two ways of calculating legal fees?
New launches governed by the Housing Development Act — the ones on a Schedule H or G contract — use Table B of the Solicitors' Remuneration Order 2023, which is a discount on Table A that gets deeper as the price rises, down to 50% of Table A above RM1 million. Subsale purchases use Table A in full. Separately, developers often absorb legal fees as a sales incentive. They cannot absorb stamp duty: that is statutory and it is yours.
Does anything I type get sent anywhere?
No. The arithmetic runs entirely in your own browser. Nothing leaves this page — not to me, not to anyone else. You can disconnect from the internet and it will still work.