The Annual Values (AVs) for HDB flat owner-occupiers will be raised by The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), starting on 1 January 2010.

To help HDB owners adjust to the upcoming AV increase, the Singapore government will grant a one-time property tax refund to all HDB owners for their property tax payable next year.

This new property tax rebate is capped at $120 and set at 50 percent payable in 2010, after deducting the 1994 GST Rebate available to all residential property owners.

Currently, there are two property tax rebates existing—the $100 rebate and the 40 percent rebate that were part of Budgets 2007 and 2009, respectively. Both rebate programmes are scheduled to expire this year.

To provide more help to owners of smaller flats, the rebate will be lowered to $50 or to the actual amount of property tax. This means that owner-occupiers of HDB flats with a property tax of $50 or below are not required to pay property tax for 2010.

With the new rebate and the ongoing 1994 GST Rebate, all one- and two-room HDB flat owners will continue to pay zero property tax next year.

For owners of three-room flats, the increase in property tax next year after deducting the new rebates will amount to $72.

For owners of four-room flats, the average tax increase will be $97 for the whole year. For five-room flats, the tax increase will be $107 and for Executive HDB flat owners, they will pay $103 property tax next year.