Hong Kong Buyers
The Full Cost Stack
From 1 January 2026, non-citizen buyers pay a flat 8% stamp duty on transfer — double the previous 4%. Add legal fees, Johor's levy if applicable, and RPGT on eventual exit, and the full cost stack is materially heavier than a headline purchase price suggests.
Quick summary
Quick answer
Best for
Risk level
Buyer action
| Best for | Hong Kong buyers who want the complete, honest cost stack before they anchor a budget to a developer's or agent's headline price. |
|---|---|
| Risk level | High — this is the number that most changes your real budget |
| Buyer action | Ask Lewis for a full landed-cost worksheet on any shortlisted unit — stamp duty, legal fees, state levy where applicable, and financing costs — before you make an offer. |
Stamp Duty: The Biggest Recent Change
From 1 January 2026, non-citizen individuals and foreign companies (permanent residents excluded) pay a flat 8% stamp duty on the Memorandum of Transfer for residential property, up from the previous flat 4% — a change introduced through the Finance Act 2025 (Act 874), which inserted a new Item 32(ab) into the First Schedule of the Stamp Act 1949. The rate applies to any instrument of transfer executed on or after 1 January 2026, even if your SPA was signed before that date. Malaysian citizens and PRs continue to pay the tiered 1–4% scale, and Malaysia's first-time-homebuyer exemption (property up to RM500,000) doesn't apply to foreign buyers at all. On a RM1,500,000 unit, that's RM120,000 in transfer stamp duty alone — double what it would have been under the old rate.
Legal Fees: The Solicitors' Remuneration Order 2023 Scale
Legal fees for the SPA and separately for the Memorandum of Transfer follow the Solicitors' Remuneration Order 2023 (SRO 2023) scale, which is law, not a negotiable guideline: 1.25% on the first RM500,000 of the property price (subject to a minimum of RM500), and 1% on the balance up to RM7,000,000. If you're financing, the loan agreement is charged the same scale against the loan amount, as a separate fee. Add 6% Service Tax (SST) on top of all professional fees under the Service Tax Act 2018. On a RM1,500,000 purchase, the SPA plus MOT legal fees alone run to roughly RM16,250 before SST, or roughly RM17,225 with it — and that's before the separate loan agreement fee if you're financing.
The Johor Levy, If You're Buying There
If your purchase is in Johor, add the state's own foreign-buyer approval levy on top of everything else: 3% of the purchase price or RM30,000, whichever is higher, effective from transactions processed after 1 July 2025 (up from the previous 2%/RM20,000 rate). On a RM1,500,000 Johor unit, that's RM45,000. This is charged by the Johor State Authority as a condition of granting consent to the foreign purchase, separate from — and in addition to — the federal stamp duty. Other states charge their own consent-related fees, which vary; confirm the specific figure for your target state with your lawyer rather than assuming Johor's rate applies elsewhere.
DISCUSS WITH LEWIS
The 8% stamp duty change is the single biggest shift in the Malaysian foreign-buyer cost stack in years, and I still meet buyers who quote me the old 4% figure because that's what an out-of-date blog told them. Run the full stack — stamp duty, legal fees, state levy, and RPGT on your intended exit horizon — before you fall in love with a headline price, because the true landed cost on a Johor purchase can run 12–15% above the SPA price before you've paid a single ringgit of maintenance.
Ongoing Holding Costs
Beyond the one-time purchase costs, budget for recurring annual charges: quit rent (cukai tanah), a small land tax paid to the state, and local council assessment tax (cukai pintu or cukai taksiran), both generally modest but non-negotiable. For a stratified unit — the norm for most Hong Kong buyers' target properties — monthly maintenance fees and sinking fund contributions typically run RM0.25–0.45 per square foot, higher for a full-facility high-rise with extensive common areas. None of these are large individually, but stacked over a multi-year hold they add a meaningful percentage to your total cost of ownership, and they're easy to underestimate when you're focused on the headline purchase price.
RPGT: The Tax You Pay on the Way Out
Real Property Gains Tax applies to your eventual gain on sale, and foreigners are treated notably less favourably than citizens: 30% on the chargeable gain for a disposal within the first five years of ownership, dropping to 10% from the sixth year onward — but unlike Malaysian citizens and PRs, who reach 0% after five years, a foreigner's RPGT rate never goes to zero. This matters directly for your exit planning: a quick flip within five years is taxed heavily, and even a long-term hold still costs 10% of your gain on the way out. Factor RPGT into any yield or capital-appreciation model from the outset, not as an afterthought when you're ready to sell.
Putting the Full Stack Together
On a RM1,500,000 Johor unit financed at 65%: roughly RM120,000 in stamp duty (8%), roughly RM45,000 in the Johor levy (3%), roughly RM17,225 in SPA/MOT legal fees with SST, plus a separate loan agreement fee, plus your 35% cash deposit of roughly RM525,000. That's over RM700,000 in cash before instalments even begin, against a RM1,500,000 headline price — a landed cost roughly 12–15% above the SPA figure once you add stamp duty and the state levy alone. Run this full calculation, specific to your state and purchase price, before you commit to any unit.
Buyer checklist
On a RM1,500,000 Johor unit, expect roughly RM120,000 in flat 8% stamp duty, RM45,000 or 3% (whichever is higher) in the Johor state levy, and legal fees around RM17,000–19,000 plus 6% SST — before you've even moved in. On exit within five years, RPGT claims 30% of your gain as a foreigner; that only drops to 10% from year six, and never to zero.
1
2
3
4
5
| 1 | Confirm you're budgeting the current flat 8% foreigner stamp duty, not an outdated 4% figure |
|---|---|
| 2 | Calculate legal fees on the SRO 2023 scale (1.25%/1%) plus 6% SST, separately for SPA, MOT and loan agreement |
| 3 | If buying in Johor, add the 3% or RM30,000 (whichever is higher) state levy on top of everything else |
| 4 | Budget ongoing quit rent, assessment tax and monthly maintenance/sinking fund as recurring costs, not one-offs |
| 5 | Model RPGT (30% within 5 years, 10% from year 6, never zero for foreigners) into your exit plan from day one |
Common questions
Is the 8% stamp duty confirmed, or still a proposal?
It's law — introduced through the Finance Act 2025 (Act 874) as Item 32(ab) of the Stamp Act 1949's First Schedule, applying to instruments of transfer executed on or after 1 January 2026. Some older articles still quote the previous 4% rate; disregard those.
Does the 8% stamp duty apply to commercial property too?
No — the increase specifically targets residential property transfers by non-citizens and foreign companies. Commercial and industrial property transactions are not affected by this change.
Is the Johor state levy separate from federal stamp duty?
Yes — the Johor levy (3% or RM30,000, whichever is higher) is a state-level condition for consent to a foreign purchase, charged in addition to, not instead of, the federal 8% stamp duty.
Will I ever pay 0% RPGT as a foreigner?
No — unlike Malaysian citizens and permanent residents, who reach 0% RPGT after five years of ownership, a foreigner's rate floors at 10% from the sixth year onward and never reaches zero.
Lewis Chong
REN 69566 · IQI GlobalProperty advisor helping KL, JB, and Penang buyers make data-backed property decisions.
Related reading
Use one buyer framework across different news.
HK vs JB/KL: Price per Square Foot
A straight HKD-to-RM comparison of what a square foot buys in Kowloon and the New Territories against Johor Bahru and KL, converted at today's rate — written for a Hong Kong buyer who prices everything in 呎.
Lewis Conclusion
I don't sell Malaysia by pretending Hong Kong prices are irrational — they reflect real scarcity on a small, dense island. What I do say is: the same capital buys a materially different lifestyle and yield profile 4 hours away, and a buyer who only ever compares absolute price tags (never psf, never yield, never holding cost) will overpay for the wrong unit in either market.
Getting a Malaysian Mortgage
What Malaysian banks actually lend a Hong Kong non-resident buyer, how much cash you need upfront, and which document trail speeds up approval — a working guide, not a marketing pitch.
Lewis Conclusion
I'd rather a Hong Kong client walk in assuming 60% and be pleasantly surprised than assume 80% off a marketing brochure and scramble for the shortfall two weeks before completion. Get a bank's actual in-principle approval — not a broker's estimate — before you commit deposit money on any unit.
BNO vs MM2H
BN(O) is a route into the UK; MM2H is a long-stay visa for Malaysia. They solve different problems and don't compete with each other — here's what each one legally gives you, and where people confuse them.
Lewis Conclusion
I've had clients arrive assuming BNO status somehow smooths their Malaysian property purchase or visa application. It doesn't — Malaysia's immigration system doesn't recognise BNO as a distinct category at all; you're simply an HKSAR passport holder to them. If UK relocation and Malaysian property are both on your table, treat them as two separate decisions with two separate applications, not one bundled plan.
Prefer Lewis to contact you?
Tell Lewis your budget and area — get a hand-picked 3-project shortlist with price, rental and risk notes on WhatsApp.
Prefer to chat directly? WhatsApp Lewis
Decision check
Want Lewis to apply this to your shortlist?
Send your budget, preferred area, purpose and timeline. Lewis can turn the news into a practical project comparison.
Send
Confirm you're budgeting the current flat 8% foreigner stamp duty, not an outdated 4% figure
Send
Calculate legal fees on the SRO 2023 scale (1.25%/1%) plus 6% SST, separately for SPA, MOT and loan agreement
Send
If buying in Johor, add the 3% or RM30,000 (whichever is higher) state levy on top of everything else
Send
Budget ongoing quit rent, assessment tax and monthly maintenance/sinking fund as recurring costs, not one-offs