Modernising IRAS’ Stamp Duty system

What you need to know about the overhaul of the Stamp Duty system

Digital first and greater agility!

Under the old Stamp Duty system, IRAS officers manually processed some 6,000 applications every year. Through the system overhaul, new rules were incorporated to automatically process these applications, thereby increasing the turnaround time for taxpayers, and improve IRAS’ productivity.

The new system lets taxpayers and their agents submit any Stamp Duty stampings, requests and correspondences (i.e. myTaxMail) digitally and also facilitates a seamless end-to-end transaction flow for Stamp Duty transactions.

The system overhaul was made possible with the shift to a microservices architecture. This key technology innovation improved system agility, allowing IRAS to respond quickly to policy changes. For instance, the changes in Stamp Duty rates were updated on the system almost immediately after the Government’s announcement of revised rates for Buyer’s Stamp Duty and Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty in 2023.

The team: Bringing convenience to taxpayers for Stamp Duty applications

The project took two years to complete, and the team rolled out the new Stamp Duty system in Oct 2022. In 2024, they received an innovation award for Service Delivery Excellence, otherwise known as the IRAS LEA:D Award.

Let’s hear it from the team which never gave up on their vision to create a fully digital experience for taxpayers performing Stamp Duty transactions.

Q: What sparked the idea to overhaul and modernise IRAS’ Stamp Duty System?

A: The Stamp Duty System was re-developed in recognition of the need to take early steps to modernise our technology platform progressively, as opposed to upgrading only when the technology becomes obsolete. Additionally, we recognised that with changing policy and evolving customer needs, the Stamp Duty System needed to be more agile and responsive.

By overhauling the system, we were able to develop new system capabilities to support IRAS’ transformation movement (LEA:D), while laying a strong foundation to seize future opportunities.

Q: In three sentences, sum up the benefits of the revamped Stamp Duty System.

A: The revamped system makes it simple and fuss-free for taxpayers to submit their Stamp Duty stampings and requests online.

Taxpayers enjoy the ease of a seamless digital end-to-end stamping experience – from stamping their documents, making digital payments, downloading the stamp certificate and even retrieving past requests.

Enhanced data security for taxpayers, with mandatory authentication via Singpass/ Corppass to verify the identity of the Stamp Duty applicant.

Q: What were some challenges which the team faced?

A: The top three challenges were rationalising the user feedback during the testing stage, powering through the project during the COVID-19 lock-down period and ensuring a smooth roll-out of the new system.

When designing the new Stamp Duty System, the team worked with a large pool of users for UX testing to gather diverse perspectives. It was not easy to manage the wide range of inputs and expectations from various stakeholders and the team had to make informed decisions that balanced user needs with the system's design objectives.

Additionally, the development of the stamp duty system took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, which introduced additional difficulties. Remote work and communication challenges, coupled with the fact that we were implementing the first fully cloud-enabled government system, further complicated the process. The adoption of cloud and microservices technologies, which were unfamiliar to many on the team, required significant upskilling, and the steep learning curve was intensified by the constraints of the pandemic.

Given the wide impact of the new stamp duty system on industry practitioners (e.g. conveyance practitioners and property agents), the team came up with a carefully planned and detailed change management strategy. We are happy that stakeholders transited smoothly to the new Stamp Duty System with minimal disruption.

Q: Any takeaways to share?

A: At IRAS, driving digital transformation is a key focus as we push the boundaries of innovation.

Through the Stamp Duty System project, we enhanced our capabilities through advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation. It’s also a deeply rewarding experience that brought people together. The project gave us the opportunity to collaborate across divisions, with teams specialising in Infocomm Technology, Property Tax, payment, and compliance all working in unison.

Together, we designed seamless, data-driven systems that improved service delivery and efficiency. But beyond the digital breakthroughs, it was the relationships we built, the challenges we tackled together, and the memories we created that stood out the most. These shared experiences not only shaped our professional journeys but also strengthened our bonds, reminding us of the spirit of teamwork as we continue to innovate for the future.