Introduction to HOC
House Ownership Campaign (HOC) is a government initiative/policy to allow the purchaser/borrower to enjoy tax exemption in the form of stamp duty exemption. It comes in two form – stamp duty exemption for the transfer of title (MOT) and also the stamp duty exemption for the stamping of loan.
This means that the purchaser/borrower will only pay RM10 as stamping fee instead of a huge sum/scale fee stamping fee.
[for more on different type of stamp duty exemption, please refer: https://jc-law.my/stamp-duty-exemption-for-loan-and-mot-jr-ng-chin/]
The stamp duty MOT for a property priced at RM480,000 can go up to RM8,600. The formula as follow:
First RM100,000 x 1% – RM1,000
Second RM400,000 x 2% – RM8,000
Total – RM9,000
In our case, let says the property is priced at RM480,000
First RM100,000 x 1% – RM1,000
Second RM380,000 x 2 % – RM7,600
Total – RM8,600
The payment for RM8,600 is to be paid after you have obtained your vacant possession. Even though it is a future costs, purchaser will still have to fork out this sum and in most cases, purchaser will drag this payment and resulted in his property title not registered under his name.
Tax Saving of up to RM8,590 under HOC
The HOC campaign allows the purchaser to get a payment of nominal fee of RM10 instead of paying RM8,600. This is a tax saving of up to RM8,590. Imagine, you can save RM8,590 compare to other owner that has to pay RM8,600 for the same property price.
You have missed the boat
Unfortunately, the government’s policy of HOC has ended last 31st December 2021. The developer can no longer offer this benefit. What can you do?
You can still get exemption for property price under RM500,000
The government has announced on 21st January 2021 that any property priced at RM500,000 or below can still enjoy exemption of stamp duty MOT. This means you only pay the nominal fee of RM10.
This policy only allows you to get the exemption provided that you have not inherited nor bought any property before.
The answer lie in this Stamp Duty (Exemption) Order 2021. So, no worries, you can still buy a property with nominal fee of RM10. Consult your lawyer or property agent to know whether the property that you are looking at allows you to enjoy such an entitlement.
Authored by Dylan Chong, Partner from JR Ng & Chin who specialises in tax appeal (Income Tax, Real Property Gains Tax, Service and Sales Tax, Custom Duties) and tax planning for companies’ directors and individuals. You may contact him at dc@jc-law.my
The contents of this publication are given as general information for reference purposes only and do not constitute the firm’s legal advice. For any specific matter or legal issue, please do not rely on this publication but make sure to consult a legal adviser. We would be delighted to answer your questions, if any.