Buying property in Singapore as dual-nationality

[nomadinsg]

Hi - I'm aware that Americans can buy property without the ABSD, but what if they have dual nationality e.g. American and French?

Additionally, what if I'm PR and it's connected to my French passport? Is there any issue with that? Or would I have to change the nationality attached to the PR?

Thanks!

[opsearch]

Hi nomadinsg, I'm in the same situation - EP tied to one passport while wanting to use American passport for ABSD exemption. Did you find out more information?

[sundaymorningstaple]

Good luck with that. They would cotton to that immediately I would suspect. If you tried to change passports to change connection to PR you may not be approved and then you would be hoist by your own petard.

[PNGMK]

Actually I don't think it's a problem and you're in a very interesting situation where you can buy a property cheaper than a PR!. The FTA is there. There is no rule stopping a PR having dual citizenship. I wouldn't change the passport your PR is linked to but use your US citizenship to request an ABSD waiver. You apply here: https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/stamp-dut ... nts-(ftas)

The LOWEST rate of ABSD is 0% for those with a waiver (not for SPR which is 5%) so I would buy the property as a US Citizen using your US passport. No luck on BSD though. You're stuck with that.

[malcontent]

Actually I don't think it's a problem and you're in a very interesting situation where you can buy a property cheaper than a PR!. The FTA is there. There is no rule stopping a PR having dual citizenship. I wouldn't change the passport your PR is linked to but use your US citizenship to request an ABSD waiver. You apply here: https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/stamp-dut ... nts-(ftas)

The LOWEST rate of ABSD is 0% for those with a waiver (not for SPR which is 5%) so I would buy the property as a US Citizen using your US passport. No luck on BSD though. You're stuck with that.

That is in line with my thinking as well - I would not think can deny you the lowest ABSD you are eligible for — and for Americans, it is a matter of honoring the FTA as signed, unless there is a clause that allows them to do otherwise.

[PNGMK]

I should add that there are additional burdens on being a US Citizen that may make this unpalatable. The foremost being taxation on capital gains (AFAIK).

[malcontent]

I should add that there are additional burdens on being a US Citizen that may make this unpalatable. The foremost being taxation on capital gains (AFAIK).

Yes, that is true - but it’s often not as bad as it seems. As long as you lived in the residence at least 2 of the last 5 years before the sale, you can exclude up to $500,000 of capital gains (couple) or $250,000 (single). And, if you reinvest the money into another property, you can potentially exclude all of the gains from tax, known as a 1031 exchange.

I recently sold a property in the US and unfortunately do not qualify for any exemptions because I didn’t live there at all and will not reinvest the proceeds in another property. I do get to deduct capital improvements, which helps - but the net gain is going to be taxable at the 15% federal level as well as 4.25% at the state level (in the state where the property was located). I also have to tack on 3.8% NIIT due to my earned income this year. All told I expect to pay around 23% on the gain, which is 10.5% of the net proceeds on the house sale.

[nomadinsg]

Hi nomadinsg, I'm in the same situation - EP tied to one passport while wanting to use American passport for ABSD exemption. Did you find out more information?

Hi - found out that it's ok to have dual nationality; just need to show proof of US/Swiss/Norwegian etc. citizenship. FYI it was quite informative to use the "Chat with IRAS" function so would recommend you use that.