What will your CPF actually refund?
Every dollar of CPF you put into a home keeps earning 2.5% — against you. On sale, you must refund the principal and that accrued interest back to your own CPF. Drag the years and watch the debt to yourself grow.
CPF OA interest rate
2.5% p.a.
Compounding
Monthly
Refundable on sale
Principal+ interest
Checked
19 Jul 2026
— Step 01 · How long you'll hold
— Step 02 · CPF you've put in
CPF used upfront
Downpayment + BSD + legal + grant
$
$0$300k$550k$800k
Monthly CPF to loan
OA used each month to service the mortgage
$
$0$2k$4k$6k
CPF OA rate
Board rate — currently 2.5%
% p.a.
1.0%2.5%3.5%5.0%
— Step 03 · Used for the negative-sale test below
Purchase price
The negative-sale test defaults to this
$
$300k$1.5M$3M$5M
Outstanding loan at sale
Balance still owed to the bank
$
$0$1M$2.5M$4M
— The longer you hold, the more you refund
Refund by year held— Total CPF you must refund on sale
$
0
back to CPF
CPF principal used$0
Accrued interest$0
Extra vs. Year 1$0
— Will the sale cover everything?
Positive saleSale brings in $0
Sale must pay out $0
Selling price
Outstanding loan
CPF principal
Accrued interest
— Same CPF, different holding periods
What the wait actually costs you.
At 2.5% · your current CPF inputs
— Numbers are easier than decisions
Let me read this with you.
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No pitch. No pressure. Just questions answered.
"The refund isn't a fee. It's interest you owe yourself — quietly compounding."
Most people treat CPF as free money for the downpayment. It isn't. The moment you draw it out, CPF keeps charging that money 2.5% a year — compounded monthly — and you're the one who has to pay it back on sale.
Hold for ten years and the accrued interest alone can run to six figures. It doesn't vanish; it just moves from your sale proceeds back into your CPF. You keep it — but it's locked, not cash.
The dangerous case is the negative sale: if a soft market means your price barely clears the outstanding loan, there may be nothing left to refund CPF — and the shortfall comes out of your own pocket in cash. That's how a family can sell at what looks like a profit and still need to top up.
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