Legal Fees and Stamp Duty Calculator
An estimate of the legal fees and stamp duty on buying property in Sarawak. Legal fees here follow the Sarawak scale under the Advocates’ Remuneration Rules, not the Solicitors’ Remuneration Order 2023 that applies in Peninsular Malaysia.
Legal fees: Sarawak scale (First Schedule)
| Price or loan amount | Rate |
|---|
| First RM10,000 | 2.5% |
| Next RM40,000 | 1.0% |
| Next RM50,000 | 0.90% |
| Next RM200,000 | 0.80% |
| Next RM400,000 | 0.70% |
| Next RM500,000 | 0.60% |
| Next RM1,000,000 | 0.55% |
| Next RM3,000,000 | 0.50% |
| Next RM5,000,000 | 0.45% |
| Above RM10,000,000 | Negotiable, up to 0.45% |
Stamp duty on transfer
| Price or market value | Rate |
|---|
| First RM100,000 | 1% |
| RM100,001 to RM500,000 | 2% |
| RM500,001 to RM1,000,000 | 3% |
| Above RM1,000,000 | 4% |
- Purchase legal fees are your advocate’s fees: the full scale where the transaction covers both the Sale and Purchase Agreement and the Memorandum of Transfer, and three-quarters of the scale where no individual title has been issued yet. The minimum charge is RM500.
- Loan legal fees are the bank’s advocate’s full scale on the loan amount. If your own advocate also acts for you on the loan, a further charge applies.
- Stamp duty on the loan agreement is 0.5% of the loan amount.
- Service tax at 8% is added to legal fees where the firm is registered for service tax.
- Not included: disbursements such as searches and registration fees, valuation, and any stamp duty exemption, for example for a first home. Lower fees apply to some housing estate units priced under RM100,000.
- Foreign buyers pay different stamp duty rates. Ask us for a figure.
- This is an estimate, not a quotation.
