Assessable income in Singapore: what it is and how to work it out
Your mum asks if she qualifies for the GST Voucher, and the cash part turns on her assessable income. What is that? Assessable income is your total income for the year after allowable expenses and approved donations come off. Personal reliefs haven't been taken off yet, so it sits one step above the chargeable income IRAS taxes. You'll find yours on your Notice of Assessment in myTax Portal.
What is assessable income?
It's the number IRAS gets to after two kinds of deductions. Start with all your income for the year: your salary and bonus, any business or freelance income, and other income such as rent. Take off allowable expenses and approved donations. What's left is your assessable income.
Reliefs don't come off at this stage. For tax residents, things like earned income relief, CPF relief and child relief are taken off in the next step, to get your chargeable income. Non-residents don't get personal reliefs, as IRAS's non-resident examples show.
Why have two numbers? Assessable income shows what you earned after costs and donations. Chargeable income shows what's left to tax after the reliefs the government gives you. Both appear on your Notice of Assessment.
- Total income: employment, trade and other income such as rent.
- Less allowable expenses and approved donations.
- Equals assessable income.
- Less personal reliefs.
- Equals chargeable income, the amount the tax rates apply to.
How do you calculate assessable income?
Add up your income, then subtract the two deductions, as IRAS's own worked example for Year of Assessment 2026 shows.
Mr Heng earned $50,000 from his job in 2025 and gave $250 in donations that count for tax, so his assessable income is $49,750.
From there, his reliefs come off: $1,000 earned income relief, $4,000 qualifying child relief and $10,000 relief for his own CPF contributions. That leaves chargeable income of $34,750.
His tax works out to $366.25: $200 on the first $30,000, then 3.5% on the next $4,750. He had a newborn in 2025, so a Parenthood Tax Rebate wiped that out, and he paid $0 for the year.
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Employment income in 2025 | $50,000 |
| Less approved donations | $250 |
| Assessable income | $49,750 |
| Less earned income relief | $1,000 |
| Less qualifying child relief | $4,000 |
| Less employee CPF relief | $10,000 |
| Chargeable income | $34,750 |
| Tax before rebate | $366.25 |
Assessable income vs chargeable income
These two get mixed up all the time. The difference is your personal reliefs.
Assessable income is income after allowable expenses and approved donations. Chargeable income is assessable income after personal reliefs. For tax residents, the rates apply to chargeable income.
In IRAS's second example, Mr Fong earned $250,000 in 2025 and gave $250 in donations. His assessable income is $249,750. After $8,000 earned income relief and $7,650 CPF relief, his chargeable income is $234,100, and his tax is $27,629.
Reliefs have a ceiling. All your personal income tax reliefs together are capped at $80,000 a year. Our guide to personal income tax reliefs covers which ones you can claim.
| Figure | What it is | What comes off next |
|---|---|---|
| Total income | Everything you earned: employment, trade and other income such as rent | Allowable expenses and approved donations |
| Assessable income | Income after expenses and donations | Personal reliefs |
| Chargeable income | Assessable income after reliefs | Nothing: the tax rates apply here |
| Tax payable | Tax on chargeable income | Any rebates, such as the Parenthood Tax Rebate |
What counts as income, and what doesn't?
For most people, employment income is nearly all of it. That's your salary, bonus and the other pay that comes with your job.
Trade income is what you make from a business or freelance work. Other income includes rent from a property you let out.
Donations aren't income. They come off your total, which is why approved donations show up as a deduction in IRAS's example.
Got foreign income, investment gains or something unusual? The tax treatment depends on what it is. Check IRAS's guidance for that type of income before you file.
What lowers your assessable income?
Only two things lower it: allowable expenses and approved donations. Reliefs work one step later, on your chargeable income.
govbenefits.gov.sg gives a simple example. Someone with $35,000 of income and $5,000 of donations has assessable income of $30,000.
Allowable expenses matter most if you're self-employed or rent out a property. A freelancer who earned $42,000 and has $4,000 of allowable business expenses would have assessable income of $38,000.
An employee with no allowable expenses and no donations has an assessable income equal to their employment income. Mr Gabriel, IRAS's non-resident example, earned $21,000, had no employment expenses, and so had assessable income of $21,000.
Why the GST Voucher cares about your assessable income
Your assessable income isn't just a tax number. Government schemes use it as a cut-off too, and the GST Voucher is the one most people meet.
For the 2026 GST Voucher cash payout, your assessable income for Year of Assessment 2025 must not be more than $39,000. That's your income earned in 2024. You also need to be a Singapore citizen living in Singapore, aged 21 or above in 2026, and own no more than one property. The Annual Value of the home on your NRIC at 31 December 2025 must be $31,000 or less.
The payout is $850 if your home's Annual Value is up to $21,000, and $450 if it's over $21,000 and up to $31,000. It was paid from August 2026, automatically to anyone who signed up for an earlier payout. If you're eligible and never signed up, sign up on the GSTV e-services by 20 June 2027.
Notice the timing. The 2026 payout looks at income from two years before. A pay rise this year won't change this year's voucher. Our GST Voucher guide has the full list of what each part pays.
| Your home's Annual Value at 31 December 2025 | Payout, if your assessable income for YA 2025 is $39,000 or less |
|---|---|
| Up to $21,000 | $850 |
| More than $21,000 and up to $31,000 | $450 |
| More than $31,000 | Not eligible |
Quick maths: are you under the GST Voucher cut-off?
The cut-off checks your assessable income, which can sit below your salary, and that gap matters if you're close to the line.
Say you earned $40,000 in 2024 from your job, and your Notice of Assessment shows a donations deduction of $1,500. Your salary is over $39,000. But your assessable income is $40,000 minus that $1,500 deduction, which is $38,500. That's under the cut-off.
Now say you're a freelancer who invoiced $45,000 in 2024 and had $7,000 of allowable business expenses. Your assessable income is $38,000. That's under the line too, even though your invoices came to more.
Reliefs don't help here. CPF relief, earned income relief and child relief come off later, on the way to chargeable income. They never touch the number the GST Voucher checks.
- $40,000 salary, $1,500 donations deduction: assessable income $38,500.
- $45,000 freelance income, $7,000 allowable expenses: assessable income $38,000.
- $40,000 salary, no donations, $10,000 of reliefs: assessable income still $40,000.
Where to find your assessable income
It's on your Notice of Assessment. Log in to myTax Portal with Singpass, then go to Individual Income Tax, View Account Details, View Details, View Notices, and open the Notice of Assessment (Individual).
Make sure you're looking at the right year, because a Year of Assessment taxes the income of the year before. The YA 2026 notice is about money you earned in 2025.
No notice because you've never filed? Then there's no assessable income on record, and govbenefits says it can't check your GST Voucher eligibility without one. Call IRAS on 1800 356 8300 to file first, then log in to the GSTV e-services with Singpass to reach the GSTV team.
- Log in to myTax Portal with Singpass.
- Go to Individual Income Tax, then View Account Details.
- Choose View Details, then View Notices.
- Open the Notice of Assessment (Individual) for the year you need.
How assessable income shapes your tax bill
Your assessable income is the starting point, but your reliefs decide how much of it gets taxed. Then the rates apply in steps.
Resident rates start at 0% on the first $20,000 of chargeable income, then 2% on the next $10,000 and 3.5% on the next $10,000. They climb from there, and the top rate of 24% only applies to chargeable income above $1,000,000.
Because reliefs come off before the rates, two people with the same assessable income can pay very different tax. Try your own numbers in our income tax calculator, and our income tax guide walks through filing and payment.
| Chargeable income | Rate | Tax on this band |
|---|---|---|
| First $20,000 | 0% | $0 |
| Next $10,000 | 2% | $200 |
| Next $10,000 | 3.5% | $350 |
| Next $40,000 | 7% | $2,800 |
| Next $40,000 | 11.5% | $4,600 |
Mistakes people make with assessable income
Most mix-ups come from reading the wrong line or the wrong year, and these five come up most.
- Using your salary instead. Your assessable income is lower if you had allowable expenses or approved donations.
- Taking reliefs off too early. CPF relief and the other personal reliefs only come off on the way to chargeable income.
- Reading the wrong year. The YA 2026 notice covers income earned in 2025, and the 2026 GST Voucher looks at YA 2025.
- Forgetting other income. Rent and freelance income count, even if your employer's figure is your biggest one.
- Assuming a pay rise affects this year's voucher. The scheme looks back at income from two years earlier.
Frequently asked questions
What is assessable income in Singapore?
It's your total income for the year after allowable expenses and approved donations, before personal reliefs. It includes employment, trade and other income such as rent.
How do I calculate my assessable income?
Add up your employment, trade and other income, then subtract allowable expenses and approved donations. With $50,000 of income and $250 of donations, your assessable income is $49,750.
What is the difference between assessable income and chargeable income?
Personal reliefs. Chargeable income is your assessable income after reliefs such as earned income relief and CPF relief, and it's the figure the tax rates apply to.
Where can I find my assessable income?
On your Notice of Assessment in myTax Portal. Log in with Singpass and go to Individual Income Tax, View Account Details, View Details, View Notices.
What assessable income do I need for the GST Voucher?
For the 2026 GST Voucher cash payout, $39,000 or less for Year of Assessment 2025, which is income earned in 2024. The other conditions include citizenship, age, home Annual Value and owning no more than one property.
Sources
- IRAS, Sample Income Tax calculations (read 9 November 2026)
- IRAS, Individual income tax rates, YA 2024 onwards (read 9 November 2026)
- govbenefits.gov.sg, GST Voucher eligibility and amounts for 2026 (read 9 November 2026)
- MOF, Supplementary Retirement Scheme (relief cap of $80,000; read 9 November 2026)
Keep exploring
- Income Tax in Singapore: How It Works and How to Pay Less (Legally)
- Tax Relief in Singapore (2026): Every Relief, the $80,000 Cap, and How to Claim
- GST Voucher 2026: Who Gets What, How Much, and When
- Singapore income tax calculator
- Chargeable Income
- Year Of Assessment
- IRAS
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change, so verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.
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