9 mins read • by Home Central
CPF Grants to
maximise savings
Buying your first HDB flat?
Learn how you can stack CPF grants to maximise your savings.
A house is more than just a place to sleep for many of us. It’s about creating a home, a haven and a place of comfort for ourselves and our loved ones. But buying a house and building a home is not cheap. Therefore, in this article, we are going to show you how a resale flat is almost as affordable as a BTO flat (without the waiting time).
The CPF grants (HDB housing grants) are designed to help us obtain a house at a more affordable price. They are mainly determined by your income, nationality and the type of HDB flat you are planning to buy i.e. HDB BTO flat or HDB Resale flat.
What are the CPF grants I am eligible for?
To help you start off, you can use the flowchart below to see which grants you might be qualified for under the various schemes (Learn More).
The ‘+ grants’ are for HDB Resale flats only. The coloured boxes grants are for both HDB BTO and HDB Resale flats.
For example, if you and your co-owner are both Singapore Citizen (SC), and it is both of your first time buying a HDB flat, then you are eligible for the Enhanced Housing Grant (EHG), Family Grant and Proximity Housing Grant (PHG), under the First Timer Scheme. However, if you are buying an HDB BTO flat, then you are only eligible for the EHG. Whereas, if you are buying an HDB Resale flat, then you are eligible for the EHG, the Family Grant and the PHG.
What are the criteria for the grants?
Once you have found out the grants you might be eligible for, we will now take you through the criteria you need to meet in order for you to be qualified.
Here is a cheat sheet that contains all the available grants based on the type of flat and their criteria.
For instance, in order for you to be qualified for the Enhanced Housing Grant (EHG), both you and your co-owner must be first-time HDB buyers and are both Singaporeans. The average gross monthly household income must be less than $9,000 per month and one of you must be currently working and has been working the past year. You are also not allowed to own any private residential property locally or overseas which includes disposing of any the past 30 months.
Young couples can apply for a Deferred Income Assessment at the HDB Portal.
How can I stack the CPF grants?
a) Singaporean – Singaporean Couple
| Portfolio | - First-time buyers - Staying near parents (within 4km) - Buying a 4 room flat - Combined Income of $5,200/month | |
| Type of HDB flat | BTO | Resale |
| Grant(s) you are eligible for | EHG*^ | EHG^ Family Grant PHG |
| $40,000 | $40,000 $50,000 $20,000 |
|
| Total | $40,000 | $110,000 |
*Proximity Housing Grant/ Family is not applicable for HDB BTO flats. Thus, only EHG applies.
*If PHG criteria of staying with or near parents/child within 2km are met for applications before Feb 2018 and within 4km for applications after, you will be given priority in the balloting of applications under the Married Child Priority Scheme (MCPS).
b) Singaporean – Singapore Permanent Resident Couple
| Portfolio | - First-time buyers - Spouse is a SPR - Staying near parents (within 4km) - Buying a HDB 4 room flat - Combined Income of $4,500/month - SC income $2,500* | |
| Type of HDB flat | BTO | Resale |
| Grant(s) you are eligible for | EHG (Singles)^ | EHG (Singles)^ Family Grant PHG |
| $22,500 | $22,500 $40,000 $20,000 |
|
| Total | $22,500 | $82,500 |
*Only the income of the SC will be reflected.
c) Singles
| Portfolio | - First-time buyer - Buying a HDB 2 room Flexi flat - Staying with parents (within 4km) - Income of $3,500/month - Age 37 years old | |
| Type of HDB flat | BTO | Resale |
| Grant(s) you are eligible for | EHG (Singles)^ | EHG (Singles)^ Singles Grant PHG |
| $12,500 | $12,500 $25,000 $15,000 |
|
| Total | $12,500 | $52,500 |
^Refer to the table at the end of this article for the EHG and EHG (Singles) amount.
Is BTO flat really cheaper?
While the selling price of BTO flats is cheaper, there are also many grants for resale flats. Buying a resale flat might help you save your renovation cost and you can get the flat immediately. Hence, resale flats can bring as much value as a BTO flat.
EHG Amount
| Average Monthly Household Income | EHG Amount |
|---|---|
| Not more than $1,500 | $80,000 |
| $1,501 to $2,000 | $75,000 |
| $2,001 to $2,500 | $70,000 |
| $2,501 to $3,000 | $65,000 |
| $3,001 to $3,500 | $60,000 |
| $3,501 to $4,000 | $55,000 |
| $4,001 to $4,500 | $50,000 |
| $4,501 to $5,000 | $45,000 |
| $5,001 to $5,500 | $40,000 |
| $5,501 to $6,000 | $35,000 |
| $6,001 to $6,500 | $30,000 |
| $6,501 to $7,000 | $25,000 |
| $7,001 to $7,500 | $20,000 |
| $8,501 to $8,000 | $15,000 |
| $8,001 to $8,500 | $10,000 |
| $8,501 to $9,000 | $5,000 |
EHG (Singles) Amount
| Average Monthly Household Income | EHG (singles) Amount |
|---|---|
| Not more than $750 | $40,000 |
| $751 to $1,000 | $37,500 |
| $1,000 to $1,250 | $35,000 |
| $1,251 to $1,500 | $32,500 |
| $1,501 to $1,750 | $30,000 |
| $1,751 to $2,000 | $27,500 |
| $2,001 to $2,250 | $25,000 |
| $2,251 to $2,500 | $22,500 |
| $2,501 to $2,700 | $20,000 |
| $2,751 to $3,000 | $17,500 |
| $3,001 to $3,250 | $15,000 |
| $3,251 to $3,500 | $12,500 |
| $3,501 to $3,700 | $10,000 |
| $3,701 to $4,000 | $7,500 |
| $4,001 to $4,250 | $5,000 |
| $4,251 to $4,500 | $2,500 |
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