PETALING JAYA: First-time home buyers will enjoy a boost following a tax relief of up to RM7,000 announced for purchasing residential properties priced up to RM750,000.
This initiative, aimed at encouraging home ownership among first-time buyers, is part of Budget 2025 unveiled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Parliament on Friday (Oct 18).
He said those who purchase residential properties priced below RM500,000 will get tax relief of up to RM7,000.
As for properties priced between RM500,000 and RM750,000, purchasers will also qualify for tax relief of up to RM5,000.
"Relief can be claimed for three consecutive assessment years on sale and purchase agreements completed between Jan 1, 2025, and Dec 31, 2027," said Anwar.
To further support first-time homebuyers, Anwar said the Housing Credit Guarantee Scheme (SJKP) has approved RM12.8bil in government guarantees for over 57,000 individuals purchasing their first homes.
To help young Malaysians own a home, he announced a step-up financing scheme under SJKP that provides a government guarantee of up to RM5bil for young first-time homebuyers, offering lower loan repayments for the initial five years.
In a push to provide affordable housing, Anwar also announced RM900mil to implement 48 People's Residency Programs (PRR) and 14 Rumah Mesra Rakyat (RMR) projects.
"This includes two new PRR projects in Port Dickson and Seberang Prai Tengah.
"Thirty PRR projects are on track for completion by the end of 2025, which will benefit nearly 17,500 new residents."
The budget also outlines a maximum assistance increase of RM90,000 for constructing new homes for residents in the hardcore poor housing programme (PPRT), fishermen and Chinese new villages.
Repairs on existing homes will see the ceiling rate increase to RM20,000.
Besides, efforts to maintain low-cost and medium-cost public strata homes have been reinforced with an allocation of RM200mil, which includes replacing old elevators.
In addition, RM100mil has been set aside to upgrade 48 public parks, enhancing recreational areas and landscapes in both urban and small-town settings.
Recognising the importance of community facilities, RM84mil is allocated for Chinese New Villages to upgrade basic and social amenities.
The Housing and Local Government Ministry will also coordinate needs within Indian settlements, ensuring comprehensive support across communities.
Meanwhile, Anwar also announced key measures for disaster preparedness, focusing on flood mitigation.
He said RM600mil is allocated to the National Disaster Management Agency for flood response, while RM150mil will go to local councils and the Drainage and Irrigation Department for cleaning and river dredging in affected areas.
To improve aid distribution, Anwar said RM20mil in matching grants will support government-linked investment companies (GLIC) and government-linked companies (GLC) response efforts for flood victims.
Additionally, he said RM250mil is earmarked for nationwide slope repairs to prevent landslides, and RM10mil to fund geo-technical studies on key roads in the Golden Triangle area in Kuala Lumpur.
