Legal fees and stamp duty to buy a shop lot in Malaysia (2026)

Buying a shop lot carries four main costs on top of the down payment: stamp duty on the memorandum of transfer (MOT), your lawyer's fee on the sale and purchase agreement (SPA), stamp duty on the loan agreement, and the lawyer's fee on the loan. For a RM 3 million shop with an 85% loan, those four add up to about RM 179,390, or roughly 6% of the price, before disbursements. Check your own figures with our stamp duty calculator and legal fee calculator.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your lawyer's quotation and the stamp office assessment are final.

The MOT duty is charged on the price, or on the market value if that is higher, in tiers:

On a RM 3 million shop: RM 1,000 plus RM 8,000 plus RM 15,000 plus RM 80,000, which is RM 104,000. Because most ground-floor and whole shoplots in the Klang Valley sell above RM 1 million, most of the duty falls in the 4% band.

For a foreign buyer, our calculator applies a flat 4% on the whole price. Budget 2026 raised the stamp duty on transfers to foreigners to 8% for residential homes only, according to the MOF Budget 2026 tax measures; it did not apply that rise to shops.

The loan agreement is stamped at 0.5% of the loan amount. An 85% loan on RM 3 million is RM 2,550,000, so the duty is RM 12,750. Alliance Bank, for example, advertises commercial property loans for shop lots of up to 85%, plus 5% for credit insurance and/or entry costs, over up to 30 years or to age 70 (bank page accessed 14 November 2026). Model your instalment with the shoplot loan calculator.

Lawyers' fees for the SPA and the loan agreement follow the same scale under the Solicitors' Remuneration Order 2023:

Service tax of 8% is added to legal fees. On a RM 3 million SPA, the fee is RM 6,250 plus RM 25,000, which is RM 31,250, plus RM 2,500 SST, so RM 33,750. On a RM 2,550,000 loan, the fee is RM 6,250 plus RM 20,500, which is RM 26,750, plus RM 2,140 SST, so RM 28,890.

On top of the scale fee, lawyers charge disbursements such as land searches, registration fees and stamping charges. These vary by firm and by the work needed, so ask for a written quotation.

For context, NAPIC's H1 2026 report shows double-storey shops in established KL areas such as Lucky Garden and Taynton View transacting at RM 1.38 million to RM 5 million. Our own adverts show the middle half of asking prices for shops for sale at RM 3.35 million to RM 11 million in SS2 Petaling Jaya and RM 2 million to RM 3.4 million in Taman OUG (MCE analysis of recent portal adverts, Nov 2026: last 6 months, shop types only, bait and duplicate adverts removed, middle half of asking prices).

In a normal Malaysian shop purchase, the buyer pays the MOT stamp duty, the buyer's own SPA legal fee, the loan stamp duty and the loan legal fee. The seller pays their own lawyer and any agent they appointed. Quit rent and assessment are usually apportioned to the completion date. Check the SPA for any different arrangement.

Partly. Stamp duty and legal fees on the purchase are purchase costs, and they reduce the chargeable gain for Real Property Gains Tax when you sell. Keep the receipts and see our RPGT guide.

• Run the price through the stamp duty and legal fee calculators
• Ask the bank for a letter of offer before paying the balance deposit
• Ask two law firms for a written quotation including disbursements
• Confirm whether the valuation may set market value above your price
• Keep cash for the 15% down payment plus about 6% for fees and duty

Looking for a ground-floor or whole shoplot to buy? See our buyers page.

Written by Tok Ginstee (REN 37505), CID Realtors Sdn Bhd (E (1) 1855). Updated November 2026.