Wondering what you'll owe when you next file? Income tax in Singapore works on a sliding scale for residents. The first $20,000 of chargeable income is taxed at 0%, and the rate rises only on the income above each band. You file by 18 April for the income you earned the year before, and most employees only need to check what IRAS has already filled in. Below: who pays, the rate table, your marginal and effective rate, the reliefs you can claim and how to file and pay.
Your tax depends on your tax residency. Your passport doesn't decide it. You're a tax resident for a Year of Assessment if you're a citizen or PR who normally lives here. A foreigner who stayed or worked here for at least 183 days in the previous year is one too.
Tax residents are taxed on the progressive resident rates below and can claim personal reliefs. Non-residents are taxed differently: employment income is taxed at a flat 15% or the resident rates, whichever is higher, and most other income at 24%, with no personal reliefs.
A Year of Assessment (YA) is the year you're taxed on the income you earned the year before. Income you earned in 2025 is assessed in YA2026, which you filed between 1 March and 18 April 2026. Your 2026 pay falls in YA2027.
Singapore raised the top marginal rates from YA2024. Income above $500,000 is taxed at 23%, and income above $1,000,000 at 24%. The bands below the top tiers are unchanged. The rate in each row applies only to the slice of chargeable income inside that band.
| Chargeable income | Rate on this band | Tax on the band | Cumulative tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| First $20,000 | 0% | $0 | $0 |
| Next $10,000 | 2% | $200 | $200 |
| Next $10,000 | 3.5% | $350 | $550 |
| Next $40,000 | 7% | $2,800 | $3,350 |
| Next $40,000 | 11.5% | $4,600 | $7,950 |
| Next $40,000 | 15% | $6,000 | $13,950 |
| Next $40,000 | 18% | $7,200 | $21,150 |
| Next $40,000 | 19% | $7,600 | $28,750 |
| Next $40,000 | 19.5% | $7,800 | $36,550 |
| Next $40,000 | 20% | $8,000 | $44,550 |
| Next $180,000 (to $500,000) | 22% | $39,600 | $84,150 |
| Next $500,000 (to $1,000,000) | 23% | $115,000 | $199,150 |
| Above $1,000,000 | 24% | n/a | n/a |
Singapore taxes income earned in or derived from Singapore. Employment pay, bonuses, commissions, trade and business profits, rent from a property you own, and most pensions all count. Foreign income received in Singapore by an individual is generally not taxed, with narrow exceptions such as foreign income brought in through a partnership here.
A few sources catch people out because they feel like income but are not taxed. The reverse also happens, so it is worth knowing both lists before you file.
Your marginal rate is the rate on your next dollar of income, the band your top dollar falls into. Your effective rate is the tax you actually pay divided by your chargeable income, and it is always lower because the early bands are taxed at 0% to 7%.
Take someone with $80,000 of chargeable income. Their top dollar sits in the 7% band, so their marginal rate is 7%, but their tax is $3,350, an effective rate of about 4.2%. This is why a pay rise that pushes you into a higher band never leaves you worse off. Only the income inside the new band is taxed at the higher rate. To see your own numbers, run them through our income tax calculator.
Numbers make the bands concrete. Take Wei, whose chargeable income after all reliefs works out to $52,000. The first $40,000 of that carries $550 of tax, taken from the rate table. The remaining $12,000 falls in the 7% band, which adds $840. His gross tax is $1,390.
His marginal rate is 7%, the band his top dollar sits in. His effective rate is $1,390 on $52,000, about 2.7%. Now say he hadn't put $9,000 into SRS and a parent's CPF account. His chargeable income would have been $61,000 and his tax $2,020. Those two top-ups cut his bill by about $630.
Plug your own figures into the income tax calculator to see your bands and the saving from each relief.
Spent fewer than 183 days here in the income year, and you're not a citizen or PR who normally lives here? Then you're usually taxed as a non-resident, and the rules tend to cost more.
Non-resident employment income is taxed at a flat 15%, or at the resident rates if those produce a higher figure, so you pay whichever is larger. Director's fees, rent, pension, and most other income are taxed at a flat 24%. Non-residents cannot claim personal reliefs, so the progressive 0% and 2% bands that shelter the first slice of a resident's income do not apply.
The 183-day test is the line that matters. If a stint in Singapore straddles two calendar years, the days can be combined under IRAS rules to reach resident status, which is worth checking before you assume the flat rates apply.
| Item | Tax resident | Non-resident |
|---|---|---|
| Employment income | Progressive 0% to 24% | Higher of 15% flat or progressive rates |
| Director's fees | Progressive rates | 24% flat |
| Rent, pension, other income | Progressive rates | 24% flat |
| Personal reliefs | Can claim | Cannot claim |
| Residency test | Citizen, PR, or 183+ days | Under 183 days and not ordinarily resident |
Reliefs reduce your chargeable income before the rates apply, so a $10,000 relief saves you your marginal rate on that $10,000. Some are automatic; most you have to claim. The ones worth checking every year:
Total personal reliefs are capped at $80,000 per Year of Assessment. Most people never reach it, but high earners who stack SRS, CPF top-ups, and child reliefs can. Once your reliefs reach the cap, an extra dollar of relief saves you nothing. Also check whether a CPF top-up still earns its keep through the interest it earns even when the tax relief is capped out.
Separate from reliefs, the government sometimes grants a one-off rebate on the tax you owe. A rebate cuts the final bill after the rates and reliefs have done their work, so it helps even people who claim no reliefs at all.
For YA2024 the rebate was 50% of tax payable, capped at $200 per taxpayer. For YA2025 it rose to 60% of tax payable, again capped at $200. Tax residents get it automatically, with nothing to claim. The cap means the full benefit lands on lower and middle incomes. Someone with a $400 tax bill in YA2025 saw it halved to $200, while a high earner still got only $200 off.
Rebates are announced at each Budget and aren't given every year. As at 5 November 2026, IRAS's rebate page covers YA2024 and YA2025 only, with none listed for YA2026.
Every legal way to cut your bill works by lowering chargeable income or using a relief. The moves with the biggest effect for a typical working adult:
An SRS contribution reduces your chargeable income now and grows tax-deferred. At withdrawal from the statutory retirement age, only half of each withdrawal is taxable. The deadline is 31 December, not the filing date, so it has to be done in the income year itself. Our SRS account guide covers the caps and withdrawal rules. The SRS calculator shows the tax saving at your income, and SRS vs CPF top-up weighs it against a CPF cash top-up.
Cash top-ups to your Special or Retirement Account earn 4% or more and qualify for relief up to the limits above. It locks the money away for retirement, so it's long-term money. Our guide to CPF SA cash top-ups walks through the relief limits and the timing.
Donations to Institutions of a Public Character give 250% tax deduction. Every $100 donated removes $250 from your chargeable income. Deductions sit outside the $80,000 relief cap.
Most employees do not need to do much. If your employer is on the Auto-Inclusion Scheme, your salary is already reported to IRAS and pre-filled. You log in to myTax Portal, check the figures, add any reliefs or extra income, and submit.
The filing deadline is 18 April for e-filing. After IRAS processes your return, you receive a Notice of Assessment showing the tax payable. You can pay in one go or spread it over up to 12 months by GIRO. If you disagree with the assessment, you have 30 days from the date of the bill to file an objection.
You need to file if your total income for the year, gross rent included, is more than $22,000, or if your self-employed net profit is more than $6,000. If IRAS sends you a notice to file, you file whatever you earned. Its filing checker tells you in a few questions.
Missing the deadline is not free. If you don't file on time, IRAS can issue an estimated Notice of Assessment on its own figures. That estimated tax is due within one month, even if you plan to object. IRAS may also offer to settle the offence for a composition amount. That can be up to $5,000, and your filing record sets it.
Paying late is penalised separately from filing late. A 5% penalty applies to tax not paid by the due date. If it stays unpaid 60 days after that, IRAS adds 1% for each completed month, up to a further 12% of the outstanding amount. The fix is simple: file on time, and if the bill is large, set up a GIRO instalment plan before the due date.
The first $20,000 of chargeable income is taxed at 0%. After reliefs, many people with low incomes have no tax to pay. You generally need to file a return once your annual income exceeds $22,000.
Gross income is everything you earned. Chargeable income is what is left after deducting allowable expenses and personal reliefs, and it is the figure the tax rates are applied to.
File by 18 April. The return covers the income you earned in the previous calendar year. If you are on the No-Filing Service, you may not need to file at all, but you should still check your pre-filled details.
No. Singapore uses progressive bands, so a higher rate only applies to the income inside the higher band. Earning more always leaves you with more after tax.
Your compulsory employee CPF contributions are relieved from income tax automatically, so you are not taxed on that portion of your salary.
Non-resident employment income is taxed at a flat 15% or the resident progressive rates, whichever gives the higher tax. Director's fees, rent, and most other income are taxed at a flat 24%. Non-residents cannot claim personal reliefs.
Foreign income received in Singapore by an individual is generally not taxed. The main exception is foreign income brought into Singapore through a partnership here, which can be taxable.
Yes. Rent you collect is taxable income, though you can deduct allowable expenses such as mortgage interest, property tax, and maintenance. Failing to declare rental income carries penalties.
Singapore has no capital gains tax, so profits from selling shares or property you hold as an investment are not taxed. Gains from buying and selling as a trade are taxed as income. Dividends from Singapore companies are also generally tax-free, since the tax is paid at the company level.
Not for YA2026 so far. Rebates are decided at each Budget, and IRAS's rebate page, read on 5 November 2026, lists one for YA2024 (50%, capped at $200) and YA2025 (60%, capped at $200) only.
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.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).