Finance Ministry: Stamp duty exemption for first-time house buyers from Jan 1, 2019

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng says Malaysia will find it challenging to meet its 3% fiscal deficit target for next year due to uncertainties around the US-China trade war.

PETALING JAYA: First-time homebuyers will be fully-exempted from paying stamp duty for properties up to RM1mil from Jan 1, says the Finance Ministry.

Its minister Lim Guan Eng (pic) said the move was primarily to increase home ownership as well as to stimulate the sluggish residential real estate market that has resulted in an overhang of unsold developer units.

"As announced in Budget 2019, the Pakatan Harapan government has agreed to give 100% stamp duty exemption as incentive for the purchase of first homes.

"This move is among the many measures to solve the issue of oversupply of residential properties which continue to increase," he said in a statement on Saturday (Dec 29).

He also announced that the government would maintain the stamp duty for instruments of transfer for current assets (surat cara pindah milik harta semasa) imposed on properties above RM1mil and up to RM2.5mil for a six-month period.