A partial voluntary CPF housing refund returns some of the CPF savings you used for your home before you sell it. CPF Board says the refund generally reduces the principal first. Once the principal is fully reduced, any remaining amount goes towards the accrued interest. At sale, you still need to account for the balance of CPF used and interest.
Check the amount available for refund in your CPF Home ownership dashboard. If you are planning both a sale and a purchase, keep two figures visible. One is the cash you would use for the voluntary refund now. The other is the updated estimate of the CPF refund due when you sell. Read CPF Board’s partial refund guidance.
- Record the amount your dashboard shows before making a payment.
- Decide how much cash your household needs to retain before the sale.
- Check the dashboard again after the refund is reflected.
- Give your conveyancing lawyer the latest figures for the sale.
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Understand what the refund changes
| Figure | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| CPF principal used | The CPF savings withdrawn for the property |
| Accrued interest | The interest that would have been earned on CPF savings used for housing |
| Voluntary refund | The amount you return to CPF before the sale |
| Remaining refund shown in the dashboard | The figure to check again as you prepare for completion |
Say an owner’s dashboard shows $70,000 of principal and $10,000 of accrued interest. If the owner voluntarily refunds $15,000 and CPF applies it to principal, the illustrative principal balance falls to $55,000. Use the updated dashboard for the actual amount and check it again nearer the sale. Later CPF usage or interest can change what is due.
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Compare cash now with cash at completion
A voluntary refund uses money before the sale. In return, it can reduce the CPF refund to be deducted from the sale proceeds later. If your household has to pay a deposit, moving costs or expenses for a child during the gap, check whether you still have the cash when those payments fall due. Put those dates next to the date you expect the sale to complete.
For a jointly owned home, check each owner’s CPF figures separately and ask how they feed into the sale calculation. CPF Board says that after a partial voluntary refund the balance still has to be refunded at sale. Read CPF Board’s guidance on refunds at sale.
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Frequently asked questions
Where do I make the partial refund?
CPF Board gives online and mobile-app routes. Select the property and enter the amount after checking your Home ownership dashboard.
Does this reduce the outstanding mortgage?
Track the voluntary CPF refund and your mortgage separately. CPF Board lists the outstanding housing loan and required CPF refund as separate deductions from sale proceeds.
Where should I record the numbers for my next home?
Use the cash and CPF timing worksheet to track when each amount is expected to be available.