Buying Guide · Stage 1: Before you book

First-Time Home Buyer Malaysia 2026: Stamp Duty Exemption, Tax Relief, SJKP and Government Schemes

First-time home buyer Malaysia 2026 benefits come down to three main breaks: full stamp duty exemption on a first home up to RM500,000 (SPA signed by 31 December 2027), income tax relief of up to RM7,000 a year on first-home loan interest, and guaranteed financing through SJKP. I only list schemes confirmed by an official source or several reliable ones, with figures as at September 2026.

No stamp duty up to RM500kInterest relief up to RM7,000 × 3 yearsSJKP guarantee now RM20bni-MILIKI has endedVerified 2026-09-20

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Part ofBuying new property Buying subsale property Stage 1 · Before you book

By Louis Koh · 11 years in Malaysian propertyVerified: 2026-09-207 min read📞 +60 10-906 6685

Short answer

A Malaysian first-time buyer in 2026 has three main breaks. A first home priced up to RM500,000 pays no stamp duty on the MOT or the loan agreement if the SPA is signed by 31 December 2027, worth RM11,250 on a RM500,000 purchase with a 90% loan. First-home loan interest is deductible up to RM7,000 a year for three years, and SJKP guarantees financing of up to RM500,000.

Key numbers at a glance

First-home stamp duty exemption	100% on the MOT and the loan agreement, home up to RM500,000
Who qualifies	Citizen who has never owned any home, incl. an inherited share
SPA deadline for the exemption	Signed 1 Jan 2026 to 31 Dec 2027
Saving on a RM500,000 home	RM11,250 (MOT RM9,000 plus loan duty RM2,250, 90% loan)
Loan interest tax relief	RM7,000/yr up to RM500k; RM5,000 for RM500k-RM750k; 3 years
SPA window for the relief	Signed 1 Jan 2025 to 31 Dec 2027; not rented out
SJKP HCGS financing	Up to RM500,000, and it can include legal and valuation fees
PR1MA household income	RM2,500 to RM15,000 a month; first or second home

Key points in 30 seconds

Stamp duty: Malaysian first-time buyers pay none on the MOT or loan for homes up to RM500,000 with an SPA signed 1 Jan 2026 to 31 Dec 2027, saving RM11,250 on a RM500k home with a 90% loan.
Tax relief: for SPAs signed 2025–2027, first-home loan interest is deductible up to RM7,000 a year (homes up to RM500k) or RM5,000 (RM500k–RM750k) for three years.
SJKP’s Housing Credit Guarantee Scheme finances up to RM500,000 including legal and valuation fees, and Budget 2026 doubled the guarantee pool from RM10bn to RM20bn.
PR1MA is open to households earning RM2,500 to RM15,000 a month, for a first or second owner-occupied home.
i-MILIKI (2021–2022) has ended, although older articles still quote it.

First-time home buyer Malaysia 2026: what incentives can you get?

Incentive / scheme	What you get	Key conditions	Deadline / status
First-home stamp duty exemption	No duty on MOT or loan agreement	Citizen, never owned a home, price ≤ RM500,000	SPA by 31 Dec 2027
First-home loan interest tax relief	Up to RM7,000 or RM5,000 a year for 3 years	First home, price ≤ RM750,000, not rented out	SPA 1 Jan 2025 – 31 Dec 2027
SJKP Housing Credit Guarantee (HCGS)	Loan up to RM500,000 including fees	Citizen, first owner-occupied home, fixed or non-fixed income	Ongoing
HCGS-MADANI	Loan up to RM360,000, can cover renovation and furnishing	See SJKP site	Ongoing
Skim Rumah Pertamaku	100%–110% bank financing	Price ≤ RM500,000; household income cap often quoted at RM10,000	Per bank
PR1MA	Middle-income affordable homes	Household income RM2,500–RM15,000; first or second home	Ongoing
Rumah Mampu Milik Johor (RMMJ)	Johor affordable homes	Long Johor residency, income caps	Ongoing
EPF Akaun Sejahtera	Withdraw for down payment and instalments	Under 55, at least RM500	Ongoing

From Louis: “first-time buyer” means different things in different schemes. The stamp duty exemption requires that you have never owned a home, even an inherited share, while PR1MA allows a second home. Check each one separately.

Step by step: where each incentive is claimed

Set the budgetWork out the down payment and costs with how much money you need to buy a house, and decide whether to stay at or below RM500,000.
Get pre-approvalAsk banks about a normal loan, SJKP or Skim Rumah Pertamaku so you know your limit.
Book or make an offerFor new projects, check the developer’s licence and the promotion terms; for a subsale, do your due diligence.
Sign the SPAIt must be dated on or before 31 December 2027; both the stamp duty exemption and the tax relief turn on this date.
Statutory declaration and stampingYour lawyer claims the exemption when stamping the MOT and loan agreement.
Apply for the EPF withdrawalOnce you have the SPA and the loan approval letter, apply through i-Akaun.
File your taxes each yearClaim the interest relief for three consecutive years from the first year you pay loan interest.

What one ringgit over the cap costs

Above RM500,000 the first-home stamp duty exemption disappears in full, not tapered. At RM500,001 with a 90% loan you pay about RM11,250 in duty, and the yearly interest relief drops from RM7,000 to RM5,000. The price written in the SPA is what counts, so check it against the cap before you sign. See stamp duty and legal fees.

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Tell me your budget and whether you have ever held any share in a home, even an inherited one, and I will tell you which of these you still qualify for before you commit.

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I will work out what you would save at your price and send you a one-page list of the documents and declarations your lawyer needs to claim the exemption.

First-time home buyer stamp duty exemption: conditions and savings

This is the biggest and most direct saving. Budget 2026 extended the exemption, which was due to end in 2025, to 31 December 2027.

Malaysian citizen (PRs do not qualify).
Never owned a residential property, including inherited, gifted or jointly held shares.
Residential property priced at no more than RM500,000.
SPA signed between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2027.
A statutory declaration, which your lawyer files when claiming the exemption at stamping.

Stamp duty saved (assuming a 90% loan)
Price	Loan	MOT duty	Loan agreement duty	Total saved
RM300,000	RM270,000	RM5,000	RM1,350	RM6,350
RM450,000	RM405,000	RM8,000	RM2,025	RM10,025
RM500,000	RM450,000	RM9,000	RM2,250	RM11,250
RM500,001	RM450,000.90	RM9,000.03	RM2,250	RM0 (above the cap, no exemption)

Look at the last row: one ringgit over RM500,000 and the whole exemption is gone, so you pay about RM11,250 as normal. The full formulas are in stamp duty Malaysia 2026.

Can you claim tax relief on your first home loan interest?

Budget 2025 brought back income tax relief on housing loan interest, limited to first homes, and it still applies in 2026:

Price	Maximum relief a year	Duration
Up to RM500,000	RM7,000	3 consecutive years of assessment
RM500,001 – RM750,000	RM5,000	3 consecutive years of assessment
Above RM750,000	Not eligible	—

The SPA must be signed between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2027, and only first-time buyers qualify.
The three years start from the year you first pay loan interest, which for a new home can be during construction.
The home must not be rented out.
Joint owners claim in proportion to the interest each pays.
Relief reduces taxable income, not tax directly. At a 10% marginal rate, RM7,000 of relief saves about RM700 a year.

Rough maths: if you use the full RM7,000 in each of the three years, someone at a 10% marginal rate saves about RM2,100 in total and someone at 20% about RM4,200 (illustrative rates only). That assumes you actually pay at least RM7,000 of interest each year; early in construction, when little has been disbursed, the claim will be smaller. If you later plan to rent the home out, see renting out property in Malaysia.

SJKP and Skim Rumah Pertamaku: when the down payment is the problem

The Housing Credit Guarantee Scheme (HCGS) run by Syarikat Jaminan Kredit Perumahan (SJKP) is a government guarantee that lets banks lend to first-time buyers who would otherwise struggle, including the self-employed and gig workers.

Financing up to RM500,000, which can include the principal, MRTA/MRTT, long-term houseowner takaful, legal fees and valuation fees.
Malaysian citizens aged 18 and above, joint applications allowed, with fixed or non-fixed income.
First home, owner-occupied; new, under-construction, subsale and auction properties all qualify.
Total loan repayments within 65% of gross monthly income, and no more than two months’ arrears in 12 months on CCRIS.
Tenure up to 35 years, with two-generation financing allowed.
HCGS-MADANI: up to RM360,000 covering up to 100% of the price plus renovation and furnishing, with the guarantee up to 120% of the price.
Budget 2026 raised the guarantee pool from RM10bn to RM20bn, for about 80,000 buyers. Some older articles still say RM10bn.

Skim Rumah Pertamaku (My First Home Scheme) is still offered by participating banks: 100%–110% financing for homes up to RM500,000. A household income cap of RM10,000 is often quoted; check the bank’s current terms. Borrowing 100% means bigger instalments, so run your DSR first: see DSR, CCRIS and CTOS explained.

From Louis: zero down payment is not zero cash. Even when fees are financed, you still pay booking, disbursements, moving and renovation. Start with how much money you need to buy a house.

PR1MA and Rumah Mampu Milik Johor (RMMJ)

PR1MA

Malaysian citizen aged 21 or above, single or married.
Individual or combined husband-and-wife gross income of RM2,500 to RM15,000 a month.
First or second home only, owner-occupied, no subletting.
Register at pr1ma.my; new launches are balloted, and you pay a RM500 booking fee when choosing a unit.
EPF has a dedicated PR1MA withdrawal: see EPF withdrawal for housing.

Johor state affordable housing (RMMJ)

Johor’s affordable homes are applied for through the e-Rumah Johor system (erumah.johor.gov.my). iProperty lists the conditions as Malaysian citizens aged 18 or above who have lived in Johor for more than 10 years, with four price categories by income (listed there as Rumah Mampu Biaya Johor):

Source: iProperty (updated September 2024); check the state system for current prices and rules
Category	Price	Household income cap
A	RM42,000	RM4,000
B	RM80,000	RM6,000
C	RM150,000	RM8,000
D	RM250,000 – RM300,000	RM10,000

Separately, Budget 2026 allocated RM672 million to build Residensi Rakyat and Rumah Mesra Rakyat homes. That is a construction programme, not a buyer subsidy.

Five first-time buyer myths

“As a PR I count as a first-time buyer.” The stamp duty exemption is for Malaysian citizens only.
“My small inherited share doesn’t count.” It does. Any inherited, gifted or jointly held share in a home disqualifies you from the stamp duty exemption.
“At RM520,000 I’ll just pay duty on the extra RM20,000.” No. Above RM500,000 the stamp duty exemption is lost entirely, although you can still claim the RM5,000 tier of interest relief.
“First-time buyers always get 100% financing.” 100%–110% financing comes through specific schemes and still depends on the bank’s assessment of your DSR and CCRIS record.
“I can still use i-MILIKI.” It ended in 2022; the 2026–2027 exemption is what applies now.

From Louis: when first-time buyers are torn between units at RM480,000 and RM550,000, I ask them to put the roughly RM10,000 stamp duty saving and the RM7,000-versus-RM5,000 relief into the comparison. Sometimes the cheaper unit wins clearly over three years. Location and resale still matter more than any incentive, though; see how to choose a property.

EPF and a first-time buyer checklist

EPF Akaun Sejahtera savings can go towards the down payment and costs. You can withdraw the lower of (price minus loan, plus 10% of the price) or your balance. Details are in EPF withdrawal for housing.

Confirm you have never owned any home in Malaysia, including an inherited share; this decides both the stamp duty exemption and the tax relief.
Keep the price at RM500,000 or below to get both the full stamp duty exemption and the RM7,000 relief.
Sign the SPA before 31 December 2027.
Short on the down payment? Ask banks about SJKP or Skim Rumah Pertamaku.
Check your Akaun Sejahtera balance and work out your withdrawal limit.
Keep loan interest statements for your tax return.
For a new project, check the developer’s licence first: see how to check the KPKT register.

From Louis: deadlines and amounts here are as at September 2026. Budget 2027 is expected in early October and could change them, so get your lawyer and bank to confirm in writing before you sign. Still deciding what to buy? See new vs subsale property.

Frequently asked questions

Do first-time home buyers in Malaysia pay stamp duty in 2026?

Not if they qualify. Malaysian citizens who have never owned a home, buying a residential property up to RM500,000 with an SPA signed between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2027, are fully exempt on the MOT and loan agreement. On a RM500,000 home with a 90% loan, that saves RM11,250.

Is there a first-home stamp duty exemption above RM500,000?

No. The current exemption only covers residential homes priced up to RM500,000; above that you pay full stamp duty on both the MOT and the loan agreement. The first-home loan interest tax relief does reach further: homes priced between RM500,001 and RM750,000 get relief of up to RM5,000 a year.

How does the first home loan interest tax relief work?

If you are a first-time buyer and signed your SPA between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2027, you can claim the housing loan interest you pay: up to RM7,000 a year for homes up to RM500,000, or RM5,000 for RM500,001 to RM750,000, for three consecutive years. The home must not be rented out.

What is SJKP and who can apply?

SJKP runs a government-backed Housing Credit Guarantee Scheme that helps first-time buyers get a loan. Malaysian citizens aged 18 and above, with fixed or non-fixed income, buying a first owner-occupied home can borrow up to RM500,000, including legal and valuation fees, through participating banks.

What is the income limit for PR1MA?

Individual or combined husband-and-wife gross income of RM2,500 to RM15,000 a month. You must be a Malaysian citizen aged 21 or above, and the PR1MA home can be your first or second, but it must be owner-occupied with no subletting. Register at pr1ma.my.

Is i-MILIKI still available?

No. i-MILIKI ran from 2021 to 2022 and has ended, although some older articles still describe it. The current first-home stamp duty exemption is a separate measure: a full exemption on the MOT and loan agreement for homes up to RM500,000, with the SPA signed by 31 December 2027.

Sources & verification

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.

Stage 1

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Louis Koh

11 years in Malaysian property · Johor Bahru & Kuala Lumpur · English & 中文

I help local buyers and cross-border buyers from Singapore with new and subsale property. Every figure in these guides is sourced; when a rule changes, I update the page and date it.

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