First-Home Buyer Schemes Malaysia: 2026 Stamp Duty Guide

Summary

Buy your first home for RM500,000 or less and you pay zero stamp duty. The full exemption on both the transfer (MOT) and the loan agreement runs to 31 December 2027 — worth RM11,000 or more to a first-time Malaysian buyer.
Skim Rumah Pertamaku (SRP) lets you borrow up to 110% of the price on a home up to RM500,000, so a first home can need little to no deposit. Household income cap: RM10,000 a month.
MyDeposit puts a grant of 10% of the price, up to RM30,000, toward your deposit.
SJKP guarantees loans for gig workers and anyone without fixed payslips — up to 120% of the price.
Above RM500,000 the caps stop. SkyOne's advertised entry (around RM628,000) sits over that line, so those schemes do not apply to those units — but as a Malaysian you still pay the 1–4% duty scale, not the 8% foreigner rate, and can claim the 15% Bumiputera discount and use your EPF.
Run your numbers on the installment calculator →

Here is the number that decides which schemes you can touch: RM500,000. Keep your first home at or under it and Malaysia hands you real money — waived stamp duty, near-full financing, a deposit grant. Cross it, and most of the help falls away. This is what a Malaysian first-home buyer can actually claim in 2026, and where the line sits.

Zero stamp duty on a first home up to RM500,000

The headline saving is the first-home stamp duty exemption. On a first residential property priced at RM500,000 or below, a Malaysian citizen pays no stamp duty at all — the exemption covers both the Memorandum of Transfer (MOT) that puts the title in your name and the loan agreement that funds it. Budget 2026 extended it to 31 December 2027. Source: Ministry of Finance (accessed August 2026).

What is that worth? On a RM500,000 home the transfer duty alone is about RM9,000, and the loan agreement adds roughly RM2,000–RM2,500 more. The exemption wipes out both — over RM11,000 you keep.

One caveat that trips people up: the old partial exemption on homes between RM500,001 and RM1 million expired at the end of 2023 and was not renewed. In 2026 there is no first-home stamp duty relief above RM500,000. The cliff is real.

What you pay as a Malaysian vs a foreigner

Even above the exemption band, buying as a local costs far less than buying as a foreigner. Malaysian citizens and permanent residents pay the graduated MOT scale:

1% on the first RM100,000
2% on the next RM400,000 (up to RM500,000)
3% on the next RM500,000 (up to RM1 million)
4% on anything above RM1 million

A foreigner pays a flat 8% from 2026, plus a 3% state consent fee in Johor. The full side-by-side sits in our Malaysian cost-of-buying guide and the foreigner cost breakdown. Rates: Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) (accessed August 2026).

Skim Rumah Pertamaku: up to 110% financing

SRP (My First Home Scheme) is for the buyer who can service a loan but has not saved a deposit. It lets you borrow up to 110% of the price from a participating bank — the extra 10% covering entry costs — so a qualifying first home can need little to no cash down. The loan is guaranteed by Cagamas SRP Berhad. To qualify you must be a first-time buyer, the home must be RM500,000 or below and for your own stay, and gross household income must not exceed RM10,000 a month. The former under-40 age limit has been dropped.

MyDeposit: a grant toward the deposit

MyDeposit is a straight government grant, not a loan. It pays 10% of the price or RM30,000, whichever is lower, toward the down payment on a first home priced RM80,000 to RM500,000. It is open to Malaysian citizens aged 21 and up, first-time buyers, with household income under RM10,000 a month. Pair it with a bank loan and the cash you need at signing shrinks sharply.

SJKP: a loan guarantee if your income is not on a payslip

If you drive, freelance, run a stall, or earn without fixed monthly payslips, the usual roadblock is loan approval. The Housing Credit Guarantee Scheme (SJKP) exists for exactly that: the government stands as guarantor, so a bank can approve a borrower it would otherwise turn away. It guarantees up to 120% of the price — the extra covering MRTA, legal and valuation fees — on homes up to RM500,000, with tenures up to 35 years. Budget 2026 expanded the fund, widening access for gig and variable-income earners.

MyHome and the Bumiputera discount

Two more levers worth checking. MyHome is a one-off subsidy of up to RM30,000 on eligible units in participating projects (you cannot stack it with PR1MA pricing on the same home). Separately, the Bumiputera discount is set by each state on qualifying purchases — at SkyOne the developer, CTC Development, applies a 15% Bumiputera discount, which for an eligible buyer dwarfs most of the schemes above.

How to stack the savings

The reliefs are not either-or. A first-home buyer under the caps can line them up in order:

Claim the stamp duty exemption on both the transfer and the loan — automatic on an eligible sub-RM500,000 first home.
Fund the deposit with MyDeposit (a grant), or lean on SRP / SJKP to borrow above 100%.
Draw your EPF/KWSP housing withdrawal to top up the down payment — see how Malaysians finance a JB property.
Apply any Bumiputera discount you qualify for before all of the above is calculated.

Do SkyOne units qualify?

Straight answer: mostly no, and it is worth being clear about why. SkyOne's advertised entry price is around RM628,000 — above the RM500,000 ceiling that the stamp duty exemption, SRP, MyDeposit, SJKP and MyHome all share. Those schemes are built for sub-RM500,000 stock, and most SkyOne units sit over that line.

What still works in your favour as a local first-home buyer here:

You pay the 1–4% duty scale, not the foreigner's flat 8% — and none of Johor's 3% foreign-consent fee.
An eligible buyer can take the developer's 15% Bumiputera discount.
You can use your EPF/KWSP housing withdrawal for the deposit and borrow as a local at full LTV.
The unit is freehold, 300 m from the Bukit Chagar RTS station (opening early 2027), and completes November 2030.

See the current SkyOne price list and layouts, and the wider case in why JB is a Malaysian buyer's market.

Before you apply: the checklist

Have these ready — most applications stall on missing paperwork, not on eligibility:

Proof you are a first-time buyer — no prior residential title in your name.
Latest income documents — payslips and your EPF statement, or bank statements if you earn variable income (for SJKP).
Household income under RM10,000 a month, if you are claiming SRP or MyDeposit.
The Sale and Purchase Agreement showing a price within the scheme's cap.
Bumiputera status confirmation, if you are claiming that discount.

Run your first-home numbers on the installment calculator to see the monthly repayment at your price and deposit — then message us on WhatsApp for a unit-specific breakdown of which reliefs you can actually claim at SkyOne.