MM2H Property Purchase Rules 2026: Official Prices, Stamp Duty and Holding Rules

Buying property is compulsory under the current MM2H rules in the Silver, Gold and Platinum categories and in the SEZ/SFZ (Forest City) category, and from 2026 the stamp duty on qualifying residential transfers for foreign companies and for buyers who are neither Malaysian citizens nor permanent residents is a flat 8% (for that same buyer class, non-residential transfers remain at 4%). This page sets out the rules from the official sources: the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) MM2H portal, the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN), the Finance Act 2025 and the Immigration Department, with links to each source.

We checked these figures against the official sources on 2 November 2026: the mm2h.gov.my tier tables, the MOTAC announcement, the Finance Act 2025 and LHDN’s First Schedule guideline dated 30 June 2026. State thresholds are different: they come from secondary sources (Bar Circular 444-2024, with data as at October 2024), they are not official state instruments, and they may have changed.

The category figures come from the official mm2h.gov.my requirements table, version dated 10 February 2026. The purchase deadlines come from the MOTAC announcement dated 28 May 2025. The stamp duty rates come from the changes announced in Budget 2026 and from LHDN’s replies in the joint memorandum on the 2026 tax bills. The fixed deposit rules come from Immigration Department endorsement requirements and the same MOTAC announcement.

This page is published by 7 STAR (MM2H) Sdn Bhd (MOTAC licence MM2H1001). Your approval letter controls, so check its exact conditions before committing to a property.

Core MM2H category figures

The table summarises selected programme and property figures. Each category also carries official conditions outside this table, including minimum days of residence in Malaysia per year and medical checks; see the MOTAC guidelines for the full conditions.

Purchase timing differs by category. Silver, Gold and Platinum: complete the purchase within 12 months after the pass endorsement date, per the MOTAC announcement dated 28 May 2025. SEZ/SFZ (ZEK/ZKK): own or purchase the Forest City property before the pass is endorsed (within six months before endorsement for the FD property-purchase withdrawal to apply), buying only from a Forest City developer; the licensed MM2H operator must notify IMFC-J of the transaction. In every category the residence must be purchased and owned by the participant, per the MOTAC guidelines; it cannot be sold for 10 years, except when upgrading to a residence of higher value; and failure to comply with the purchase terms can result in the MM2H pass being revoked. Source: MOTAC, MM2H guidelines, the MOTAC announcement dated 28 May 2025 and the official category pages at mm2h.gov.my.

The category minimum and the state minimum for foreign buyers work together: the buyer must satisfy whichever is higher. A Gold participant in Kuala Lumpur, for example, must still clear the RM1,000,000 federal territory floor; a Silver participant buying in a state with a RM2,000,000 zone floor must meet that floor, not the RM600,000 category minimum.

State minimum prices for foreign buyers: selected examples

Have your lawyer confirm in writing the threshold for your specific property before any booking or deposit: state floors change by administrative order, differ by district, zone, property type and title, and some state policies may apply separate, lower floors for MM2H participants; confirm with the state.

Each Malaysian state, and in some cases each district or zone within a state, sets its own minimum purchase price for foreigners, and the thresholds differ further by property type and title. MM2H participants buy under these floors, except where a state grants MM2H participants a separate concession. Illustrative subsale thresholds from secondary sources (Malaysian Bar Circular No. 444-2024, which summarizes state orders; the state orders themselves are the controlling instruments and must be verified in writing):

This table is only a starting point. State thresholds change by administrative order and are enforced per district and per property type, so the binding figure for any specific property is the one confirmed in writing by the relevant state or Federal Territory authority or your conveyancing lawyer before any booking or deposit.

Historical only, not actionable: Bar Circular 444-2024 also recorded temporary developer-direct thresholds under the Home Ownership Campaign 2024 (SPAs signed in 2024 only, since expired): Penang landed RM 1,500,000, strata RM 700,000. These HOC figures are listed here so readers do not mistake them for current thresholds; they cannot be used for a booking decision today.

Stamp duty for buyers who are neither citizens nor permanent residents, and for foreign companies

Before any booking fee, deposit or SPA, get written confirmation of your duty rate from LHDN or your Malaysian conveyancing lawyer, especially for SPAs signed before 1 January 2026: the memorandum reply points to the SPA date, while other official guidance is silent on the trigger date (see below).

Budget 2026 introduced a new Item 32(ab) into the First Schedule of the Stamp Act 1949, effective from 1 January 2026: where the buyer of residential property is a foreign company (in practice, a company incorporated outside Malaysia; the Stamp Act does not define the term), or a person who is neither a Malaysian citizen nor a permanent resident, the transfer is charged a flat duty of RM8 per RM100, an effective 8%, on the consideration or the market value, whichever is greater. This doubled the previous 4% flat rate. Malaysian citizens and permanent residents continue on the tiered citizen scale. Source: Finance Act 2025, section 29; the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN)’s reply in the Joint memorandum on the 2026 Budget and Tax Bills 2025; and LHDN’s First Schedule stamp duty guideline dated 30 June 2026.

Which date fixes the rate. The only official statement on file, LHDN’s reply in the joint memorandum, is that item 32(ab) applies to sale and purchase agreements signed from 1 January 2026. Other public LHDN guidance does not state a trigger date, and practitioners report differing readings for transition cases. On a RM1,000,000 purchase the readings mean RM40,000 rather than RM80,000 for a pre-2026 SPA. Before any booking fee, deposit or SPA, obtain written confirmation of the applicable rate from LHDN or your conveyancing lawyer; if the SPA was already signed before 1 January 2026, obtain that confirmation before completion, releasing funds, or finalising the stamp-duty budget.

The rates in this table apply to residential property unless stated otherwise.

For a citizen the tiered scale on a RM1,000,000 home is RM24,000 (1% on the first RM100,000, 2% on the next RM400,000, 3% on the next RM500,000). The same RM1,000,000 condo bought by a buyer who is neither a citizen nor a permanent resident now costs RM80,000 in transfer duty, RM56,000 more. Add the 0.5% duty on a 70% loan agreement (RM3,500 on a RM700,000 loan) and that buyer’s transfer and loan stamp duty together are roughly RM83,500 on a RM1,000,000 purchase. Permanent residents pay the citizen scale.

Citizen first-home exemption (in force): a 100% stamp-duty exemption for a first residential home priced up to RM500,000, on the loan agreement and the instrument of transfer, for a citizen buyer buying a first residential home in Malaysia, one unit only, never having owned any residential property including by inheritance, gift or joint ownership, with the SPA signed by 31 December 2027. The LHDN exemption declarations under P.U.(A) 448/2025 and 449/2025 exclude SOHO, SOFO, SOVO and service apartments, despite the wider statutory definition of residential property.

Proposed, not yet in force: Budget 2027 (tabled 9 October 2026, per the Ministry of Finance at belanjawan.mof.gov.my) would extend the exemption to SPAs signed from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2030, with homes up to RM750,000 receiving 100% relief on the first RM500,000 and 50% on the balance. Eligibility in every case is confirmed in writing by your lawyer.

The duty details most often missed:

• The trigger date: one official statement. LHDN’s joint-memorandum reply points to the SPA date. Other official guidance does not state a trigger date, and practitioners report differing readings for transition cases. A pre-2026 SPA completing in 2026 needs the rate confirmed in writing first.
• Residential is defined broadly. The Stamp Act 1949 defines residential property as a house, condominium, apartment, flat, service apartment or small office home office solely to be used as a dwelling house; LHDN’s Budget 2026 guidance confirms the definition covers all of these types.
• MM2H participants are within the statutory buyer class. MM2H is a long-term social visit pass, not permanent residency, so participants who are neither citizens nor permanent residents fall under Item 32(ab).
• Self-assessment is phasing in. Under LHDN’s Stamp Duty Self-Assessment System (STSDS), Phase 1 from 1 January 2026 covers lease or tenancy instruments, securities and general stamping; Phase 2 from 1 January 2027 moves most instruments of transfer for property to self-assessment: per LHDN’s self-assessment stamping guideline, the declaration must be submitted within 30 days of the instrument being signed, and duty is payable per the confirmation slip; where a formal assessment notice is issued instead, payment is due within 14 days of the notice (or the period stated on it). Transfers requiring a JPPH (Valuation and Property Services Department) valuation are excluded from self-assessment and continue on the stamping-office route. Your lawyer confirms the route and deadline for your instrument. Source: LHDN STSDS stamping guideline, 26 December 2025.

If you later sell while still neither a Malaysian citizen nor a permanent resident, a flat RPGT rate of 30% applies to chargeable gains for disposals in years one to five after acquisition, and 10% from the sixth year onwards, under the LHDN RPGT schedule for non-citizens. When a seller who is neither a citizen nor a permanent resident sells, for disposals under section 21B of the Real Property Gains Tax Act, the acquirer must, within 60 days of the disposal, remit to LHDN the lowest of: the whole of the consideration, 7% of the total consideration, or the tax on the chargeable gain. The third option applies only where the notification of the deemed tax under section 13(9) of the RPGT Act has reached the acquirer from the disposer before the retained amount is paid over. Separately from the MM2H restriction, participants who hold the property beyond the fifth year after acquisition sell in the 10% RPGT band, provided they remain non-citizens without permanent residence at the date of disposal.

Six rules buyers get wrong

These are the six points to check before you choose a property:

1. Second-hand property is allowed. Silver, Gold and Platinum participants can buy subsale units, subject to state consent and the price conditions; only SEZ/SFZ (Forest City) purchases must be new units direct from a developer. Confirm the subsale purchase is accepted under the conditions in your approval letter.
2. The state floor can be higher than the category minimum, and the higher figure applies. Budgeting only the category minimum fails in any state whose foreign-buyer floor is higher.
3. The purchase has a deadline. Silver, Gold and Platinum: within 12 months after the date the MM2H pass is endorsed in the passport, per the MOTAC announcement of 28 May 2025. SEZ/SFZ (ZEK/ZKK): own or purchase the Forest City property before the pass is endorsed (within six months before endorsement for the FD property-purchase withdrawal to apply), buying only from a Forest City developer; the licensed MM2H operator must notify IMFC-J of the transaction. Confirm the exact condition stated in your own approval letter.
4. The 10-year no-sell rule’s stated exception is upgrading: selling to buy a residence of higher value. Other early sales risk breaching the pass conditions; your approval letter states the exceptions that apply to you.
5. Stamp duty doubled to 8% from 1 January 2026. The duty applies to qualifying residential transfers under Item 32(ab), charged on the greater of the price paid or the market value from the first ringgit, not progressively. Your lawyer or the stamping office confirms the rate for your specific instrument.
6. Part of the fixed deposit can fund the purchase, with timing conditions. Property purchase route: up to 50% of the FD principal, where the house was purchased within two years before the pass endorsement date (Silver, Gold and Platinum) or within six months before endorsement (SEZ/SFZ), at a price meeting the category minimum, per the MOTAC announcement. Reimbursement route: Immigration Department guidance for existing participants allows partial withdrawals from the second year of the pass, capped at RM50,000 for participants aged 50 and above and RM150,000 for those below 50, covering residential purchase, children’s education and medical costs (MOTAC category pages also cover domestic tourism), while a minimum balance is maintained (RM100,000 aged 50+, RM150,000 below 50). This may affect cash planning.

Buying in someone else's name

A third party sometimes offers to register a Malaysian friend or relative as the purchaser instead. We advise against this arrangement. In Peninsular Malaysia, under the National Land Code (subject to its exceptions, such as trusts recognized by law), the person registered on the title is the registered owner, and a private arrangement between the parties generally does not appear on the title. An off-title arrangement does not give the participant registered ownership. Practical risks include: the registered owner’s debts, divorce or death affecting the property; and, for MM2H participants, the approval condition requiring the residence to be purchased and owned by the participant, which a nominee purchase does not satisfy and which puts the pass itself at risk. Whether any private arrangement between the parties is enforceable depends on its facts and legality, and needs advice from a Malaysian property lawyer. The compliant route is to buy in your own name, with the required state consent and all applicable MM2H conditions satisfied; stamp duty is payable on the transfer under Item 32(ab), at the rate confirmed for your transaction dates.

Frequently asked questions

Does the property purchase condition still apply to current participants, and is there a blanket 2026 deadline?

The purchase condition still applies, but there is no blanket calendar-year 2026 deadline. For participants approved under the current categories, the purchase is compulsory in the Silver, Gold and Platinum categories: RM600,000, RM1,000,000 and RM2,000,000 minimums respectively, purchased and owned by the participant, with the purchase completed within 12 months after that participant’s pass endorsement date. SEZ/SFZ participants buy in Forest City direct from a developer before the pass is endorsed, at the price set under the SEZ/SFZ property policy for that zone. Existing participants approved under earlier programme versions are governed by their own approval documents. Your approval and endorsement dates set your own timeline.

Can MM2H participants buy a second-hand property?

Yes for Silver, Gold and Platinum, subject to state consent, title restrictions, the conditions in your approval letter, the category minimum and the applicable state floor. Only SEZ/SFZ is restricted to new units bought directly from a Forest City developer.

How much stamp duty will I pay as a buyer who is neither a citizen nor a permanent resident?

From 2026 the flat rate is 8% on the residential transfer, on the greater of the price paid or the market value, provided the transaction falls under Item 32(ab). Which transaction date brings a purchase under 32(ab) is not fully settled in public guidance (the SPA-date reading comes from LHDN’s memorandum reply; other official guidance is silent on the trigger date, and any differing readings are practitioner-reported): on a RM1,000,000 purchase the readings mean RM40,000 (the former flat rate for this buyer class applying to a pre-2026 SPA) or RM80,000 (8%), so get written confirmation before you budget. Plus 0.5% duty on any loan agreement. Permanent residents pay the citizen scale of 1% to 4% instead.

When does the purchase have to be completed?

Within 12 months after the pass endorsement date for Silver, Gold and Platinum, per the MOTAC announcement of 28 May 2025. SEZ/SFZ buyers must own or purchase before endorsement, direct from a Forest City developer. The exact deadline in your own approval letter governs.

Can I use my fixed deposit for the purchase?

Yes, with timing conditions: the 50% property-purchase route requires the purchase within two years before endorsement (Silver, Gold, Platinum) or six months before endorsement (SEZ/SFZ), at a category-minimum price; separately, from the second year of the pass, reimbursement-based withdrawals cover residential purchase, education and medical costs while the minimum balance is maintained (RM100,000 aged 50+, RM150,000 below 50). Your licensed MM2H operator or Immigration confirms the route and timing for your file.

Can I sell the property before 10 years?

Only to upgrade to a higher-value residence. Any other early sale may breach the MM2H conditions and may put the pass at risk; the approval letter and current MOTAC terms govern. Non-citizen sellers also face RPGT of 30% on chargeable gains within the first five years after acquisition and 10% from year six; the acquirer must remit the section 21B amount to LHDN within 60 days of the disposal.

Rules and state policies change; this page is general information current as of 2 November 2026 and is not legal or tax advice.