Short answer: ad valorem means "according to value". An ad valorem duty scales with the transaction; a fixed duty is a flat sum, almost always RM10, no matter how large the deal. Knowing which is which explains why your sale and purchase agreement costs RM10 to stamp while the transfer of the same property costs RM44,000.
| Instrument | Item | Duty |
|---|---|---|
| Instrument of transfer (MOT) | 32(a) | Ad valorem, 1-4% tiered for citizens |
| Transfer to a non-citizen, residential | 32(ab) | Ad valorem, flat 8% from 1 Jan 2026 |
| Transfer to a non-citizen, non-residential | 32(aa) | Ad valorem, flat 4% |
| Charge or financing agreement | 27(a)(iii) | Ad valorem, 0.5% |
| Tenancy or lease | 49(a) | By reference to rent, RM1-7 per RM250 |
| Sale and purchase agreement | 4 | Fixed, RM10 |
| Deed not otherwise described | 38 | Fixed, RM10 |
| Declaration of trust | 37 | Fixed, RM10 |
| Counterpart or duplicate | 34 | Fixed, RM10 (where the original exceeded RM10) |
The Ad Valorem Instruments
Instrument of transfer, Item 32(a)
The big one. Charged on the consideration or the market value, whichever is greater — you cannot lower the duty by under-declaring the price, because the Collector can assess on market value. For Malaysian citizens and permanent residents:
| Portion of value | Rate |
|---|---|
| First RM100,000 | 1% |
| RM100,001 to RM500,000 | 2% |
| RM500,001 to RM1,000,000 | 3% |
| Above RM1,000,000 | 4% |
The Act expresses these as ringgit per RM100 rather than percentages: RM1.00 on the first RM100,000, RM2.00 on the next band, and so on. Same thing, and it explains the odd phrasing you see in official documents about "every RM100 or fractional part of RM100".
For non-citizens, the Finance Act 2025 (Act 874) restructured this from 1 January 2026: residential property moved to a flat 8% under a new Item 32(ab), while Item 32(aa) was amended to exclude residential property and continues to charge 4% on everything else.
Charge or financing agreement, Item 27(a)(iii)
RM5.00 for each RM1,000 or part thereof — 0.5% of the amount secured.
The heading of Item 27 is worth quoting because it settles a question that comes up constantly: "CHARGE OR MORTGAGE, AGREEMENT FOR A CHARGE OR MORTGAGE (including that under the Syariah), BOND, COVENANT, DEBENTURE...". Islamic financing is charged on identical terms. There is no separate Shariah rate, no exemption, and no structural saving to hunt for.
Note the "or part thereof". An RM450,500 facility is charged on 451 units of RM1,000, not 450.5, so the duty is RM2,255 rather than RM2,252.50.
There is also a reduced tier: Item 27(a)(i) charges RM0.50 per RM1,000 on the first RM250,000 for qualifying SME financing, including Syariah SME financing.
Tenancy and lease, Item 49(a)
Charged by reference to the average annual rent rather than a capital value, at RM1, RM3, RM5 or RM7 per RM250 depending on the term. The RM2,400 exemption was removed by the Finance Act 2024 with effect from 1 January 2025. Work it out with the tenancy stamp duty calculator.
The Fixed Instruments
Everything else in a normal property file is RM10.
The one that surprises people is the sale and purchase agreement. The SPA is the document you negotiate for weeks, and it attracts RM10 under Item 4 as an "agreement or memorandum of agreement not otherwise specially charged". The value-based duty falls on the transfer, not the contract to transfer.
Item 38 is the catch-all: a "Deed of any kind not described in this Schedule" is RM10. Item 32(i) does the same job within the transfer family: a conveyance or assignment "of any kind not otherwise specially charged with duty" is RM10.
The RM10 Minimum
Since 1 January 2025, section 36CB imposes a minimum duty of RM10 per instrument wherever the computed duty would come to less than that. Cheques and contract notes are excepted.
This matters for small tenancies. A room let at RM250 a month is RM3,000 a year, which is 12 units of RM250 at RM1 each = RM12, so it clears the minimum. But a very short or very cheap arrangement that computes to RM4 is stamped at RM10.
Why This Distinction Is Worth Knowing
Three practical consequences.
Budgeting. People add up "stamp duty" as one line. It is at least two: the ad valorem duty on the transfer, and a separate ad valorem duty on the financing. On an RM500,000 purchase with RM450,000 financing that is RM9,000 plus RM2,250, and the SPA's RM10 is a rounding error.
Exemptions are instrument-specific. The first-time buyer exemption is delivered by two separate orders: P.U.(A) 53/2021 for the transfer and P.U.(A) 54/2021 for the financing agreement. They are not one exemption covering "stamp duty" generally.
Under-declaring the price does not work. Because Item 32(a) charges on consideration or market value, whichever is greater, and because the self-assessment regime now lets the Collector raise an assessment within five years — or at any time in cases of fraud, wilful default or negligence — a low declared price is a deferred problem rather than a saving.