Grant a Personal Income Tax (PIT) Rebate for Year of Assessment (YA) 2024

Proposed A PIT Rebate of 50% of tax payable will be granted to all tax resident individuals for YA 2024. The rebate will be capped at $200 per taxpayer.

Increase the Dependant’s or Caregiver’s Income Threshold for Dependant-related Reliefs

Current Currently, the annual income of the dependant or caregiver cannot exceed $4,000 in the preceding year if a tax resident individual wishes to claim the following dependant-related reliefs:

• Spouse Relief
• Parent Relief
• Qualifying Child Relief
• Working Mother’s Child Relief
• Central Provident Fund (CPF) Cash Top-up Relief for top-up to the CPF account of spouse or siblings[1]
• Grandparent Caregiver Relief[2].

Proposed To allow more taxpayers who are providing for dependant family members to enjoy these reliefs, while giving family members the flexibility to do some work, the income threshold of $4,000 will be increased to $8,000 with effect from YA 2025.

Withdrawal of Tax Concessions and Incentives

Withdraw the Course Fees Relief (CFR)

Current A tax resident individual may claim CFR with a maximum relief of $5,500 in each YA. To qualify, the course, seminar, or conference must:

• Be relevant to the individual’s present or future trade, business, profession, vocation or employment, or
• Lead to an approved academic, professional or vocational qualification.

Proposed With the introduction of more targeted direct subsidies to support lifelong learning and upskilling over the years, the CFR will lapse with effect from YA 2026.

Individuals can continue to receive support for upskilling, reskilling, and career transitions through other existing Government initiatives, e.g. course fee subsidies for SkillsFuture Singapore-funded courses, SkillsFuture Credit, SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme, and Career Conversion Programmes.

Remove the CPF Cash Top-Up Relief for Cash Top-ups that Attract Matching Grant from the Government under the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme (MRSS)

Current

Cash top-ups to the Retirement Account of a MRSS-eligible CPF member attract the MRSS matching grant and may also entitle the giver to the CPF Cash Top-Up Relief[3].

Proposed With effect from YA 2026, cash top-ups made on or after 1 January 2025 to the Retirement Account of a MRSS-eligible CPF member that attract the MRSS matching grant will no longer entitle the giver to the CPF Cash Top-Up Relief.

A giver may continue to enjoy tax relief of up to $16,000 a year for eligible CPF cash top-ups that do not attract the MRSS matching grant. The maximum amount of CPF Cash Top-Up Relief is $8,000 per year for cash top-ups to the giver’s own Special Account, Retirement Account or MediSave Account, and another $8,000 per year for cash top-ups to such accounts of the giver’s loved ones.

Withdraw the Income Tax Concession on Royalty Income Accorded to Authors, Composers, and Choreographers

Current Royalty income derived by any author, composer, choreographer or any company wholly owned by such individuals in respect of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work is brought to tax based on the lower of:

• the net amount of royalties (i.e. gross amount of royalties, less allowable deductions and capital allowances), and
• 10% of the gross amount of royalties.

Proposed To ensure parity in the treatment of royalty income, the tax concession will be withdrawn in phases with effect from YA 2027.

For YA 2027 and YA 2028, eligible taxpayers may continue to claim the tax concession and report their taxable royalty income based on the lower of:

• the net amount of royalties (i.e. gross amount of royalties, less allowable deductions and capital allowances), and
• a specified rate applied on the gross amount of royalties. The specified rate will be as follows:

The tax concession will be lapsed after YA 2028. From YA 2029, taxpayers should report the net amount of royalties.

1. Annual income of non-handicapped spouse/siblings cannot exceed $4,000 in the year immediately preceding the year of top-up.
2. Annual income of caregiver only includes those from trade, business, profession, vocation and employment.
3. CPF Cash Top-Up Relief may, subject to conditions, be allowed to a giver for cash top-ups:

• made by the giver or the giver’s employer on the giver’s behalf, to the giver’s own Special Account, Retirement Account or MediSave Account, and
• made by the giver to the Special Account, Retirement Account or MediSave Account of the giver’s parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandparent-in-law, spouse or siblings. To qualify for tax relief for cash top-ups to spouse/siblings, a non-handicapped spouse/sibling must not have an annual income exceeding $4,000 (this income threshold will be raised to $8,000 from YA 2025) in the year preceding the year of top-up.

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