Love and Affection Transfer in Malaysia: Stamp Duty Relief, RPGT and the Full Process

How is the stamp duty on a transfer to a child calculated?

Start with the ordinary scale. Ad valorem duty on the Memorandum of Transfer runs on the higher of consideration or market value: 1% on the first RM100,000, 2% on RM100,001-500,000, 3% on RM500,001-1,000,000, 4% above RM1 million. A gift has no purchase price, so it is always assessed on market value — fixed by the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) and LHDN at adjudication.

Example 1: a house worth RM800,000, mother to daughter (a Malaysian citizen)

• Duty on the ordinary scale: RM100,000 x 1% = RM1,000; RM400,000 x 2% = RM8,000; RM300,000 x 3% = RM9,000 — RM18,000.
• Market value is within RM1,000,000, so the whole of it is inside the 100% exemption.
• Duty payable: RM0.

Example 2: a house worth RM1,500,000, father to son (a Malaysian citizen)

• Full duty on the ordinary scale: 1,000 + 8,000 + 15,000 (RM500,000 x 3%) + 20,000 (RM500,000 x 4%) = RM44,000.
• Duty attributable to the first RM1,000,000 of value: 1,000 + 8,000 + 15,000 = RM24,000 — fully exempt.
• Duty attributable to the RM500,000 above RM1 million: RM20,000 — 50% remitted, leaving RM10,000.
• Duty payable: RM10,000, a saving of RM34,000 against the full scale.

The order is worded as a 100% exemption on the duty imposed on the first RM1 million of market value and a 50% exemption on the duty imposed on the remaining balance, which is exactly the split applied above. The final figure is whatever LHDN adjudicates, because the market value is set by official valuation, not by what the family agrees. General stamp duty and legal fee calculations are in stamp duty and legal fees in Malaysia, and you can sanity-check a figure with the buying costs calculator.

Is there RPGT on a gift to a family member?

Usually not — but check the condition, and know about the sting that follows.

No gain, no loss

Under paragraph 12, Schedule 2, Real Property Gains Tax Act 1976, on a gift between husband and wife, parent and child, or grandparent and grandchild, the disposal price is deemed equal to the acquisition price. No RPGT arises on the gift itself.

• Condition: the donor must be a Malaysian citizen, with effect from 1 January 2017. The citizenship test sits on the giver, not the recipient — so a foreign parent gifting to a Malaysian child does not get no-gain-no-loss treatment.
• Spousal transfers are separately covered by subparagraph 3(1)(b)(i), restricted from 1 January 2018 to a resident who is a Malaysian citizen.
• Siblings do not qualify — no stamp duty relief and no no-gain-no-loss treatment.

The sting: the recipient inherits the donor's original cost

The price of no-gain-no-loss is that the recipient takes an acquisition price equal to the price the donor paid, plus the donor’s permitted expenses. When the recipient eventually sells, the gain is measured against that old, low figure — not against today’s value.

In numbers. A father bought in 2009 for RM250,000 and transfers to his son in 2026 by way of love and affection. No RPGT on that step. The son sells three years later for RM900,000: agent’s commission of 3% (RM27,000) with 8% SST is RM29,160, and the seller’s legal fee of RM10,250 with SST is RM11,070 — selling expenses of RM40,230.

• Chargeable gain = 900,000 – 40,230 – 250,000 = RM609,770 (not measured from the 2026 value)
• Individual exemption, the higher of RM10,000 or 10% of the gain = RM60,977, leaving RM548,793
• Disposal within three years, so 30% — RPGT of RM164,637.90

(The example assumes no receipts survive for the father’s 2009 purchase costs. If the original stamp duty and legal fee invoices can be found, they add to the acquisition cost.) The same property sold by a Malaysian citizen after five full years attracts 0% RPGT. So when you transfer often matters more than whether you transfer. The full computation, retention and 60-day filing rules are in selling property in Malaysia and RPGT 2026.

What if there is still a loan on the property?

You can still transfer, but the loan controls the timetable. Where the property is subject to a bank charge, the charge has to be dealt with first — the land office will not register a clean Form 14A into a new owner’s name while the old charge is still on the title.

1. Get a redemption statement from the bank first. It tells you the outstanding balance, how much of the lock-in period is left and what the early settlement penalty is.
2. Obtain the bank’s consent or arrange redemption. Depending on the structure this can mean full redemption, fresh financing or refinancing in the recipient’s name, or the existing lender’s written approval.
3. If the recipient is taking on financing, the bank underwrites them normally — income, debt service ratio, CCRIS and CTOS all apply. This is not a change of name on a file. See DSR, CCRIS and CTOS.
4. Discharge the old charge and register the new instruments, including the recipient’s new charge (Form 16A) where there is fresh financing.

Practitioners put it plainly: a family transfer is more involved where the property is subject to an existing bank charge or financing, and the transfer should not be prepared in isolation from the financing position. Lock-in periods and early settlement penalties are covered in refinancing and settling your home loan.

Transfer now, or use a will or a trust?

“Transfer it to the children now while it is cheap” sounds efficient. Three things have to be weighed together: what you pay today, the tax consequence, and what you give up.

Malaysia has no inheritance tax — estate duty was abolished in 1991 and nothing has replaced it — so “transfer early to avoid death duties” is not a reason that applies here. Leaving the property to pass on death costs time and process, not a tax. Wills, intestacy and joint ownership are covered in wills and property inheritance in Malaysia.

• Confirm the relationship qualifies (parent-child, grandparent-grandchild, spouse), the recipient is a Malaysian citizen and the donor is a Malaysian citizen
• Call the bank first: is there a loan, how long is the lock-in, what is the redemption figure and the early settlement penalty
• Have the conveyancer check the title for a restriction in interest and whether state consent is needed
• Dig out the original purchase price and purchase cost receipts – that becomes the recipient’s RPGT cost base
• If the recipient has not yet bought their own first home, price what losing the first-home exemption costs them
• For a part share, get the basis of assessment in writing or go straight to adjudication
• Compare transfer, will and trust side by side before choosing

Sources & verification

1. EY Malaysia – Stamp duty exemption for the transfer of property on grounds of love and affection [P.U.(A) 178/2023]
2. Skrine – Stamp duty exemption for transfer of property between family members (15 June 2023)
3. EY Malaysia – Revocation of previous stamp duty remission [P.U.(A) 189/2023] (3 July 2023)
4. LHDN – Disposal Price Deemed To Be Equal To Acquisition Price (paragraph 12, Schedule 2)
5. Malaysian Bar – Circular No. 128/2026 (first-home stamp duty exemption orders and amendments)
6. RLSE – The Price of Love and Affection: Stamp Duty on Inter Vivos Gifts (7 September 2023)
7. Tay & Partners – Stamp Duty Treatment for Transfer of Property by way of Love and Affection
8. MahWengKwai & Associates – Transfers between Family Members: Stamp Duty and RPGT Exposure (cost base carry-over)
9. Teh & Yu – How to Transfer Property Between Husband and Wife or Family Members in Malaysia (updated 23 August 2026)
10. Chia, Lee & Associates – Stamp Duty for Transfer of Property [P.U.(A) 420/2007]
11. Bank Negara Malaysia – press release, 3 November 2010 (70% LTV on third housing loan)

Verified: 2026-09-20. This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and rates change — confirm in writing with your lawyer, bank or the relevant authority before you sign.