Employment Expenses:

Employment expenses can be deducted from employment income if they are wholly and exclusively incurred in the production of the income in Singapore.

These expenses must have been incurred by the employee in carrying out one's official duties and cannot have been reimbursed by the employer or of a capital/private nature.

Personal Deductions:

Generally, a 250% deduction may be claimed for qualifying donations to Community Chest or any approved institution of a public character (status accorded to certain charities).

Interest expense may be deductible, provided it is incurred wholly and exclusively in the production of taxable income. Mortgage interest is, therefore, deductible only where the property concerned yields income.

An individual can deduct annual subscriptions paid to professional institutes or societies in which membership is generally required as a condition of employment. Subscriptions paid to professional bodies or societies for professional updates, knowledge, and networking are generally allowed as a deduction as well if relevant to the individual’s employment duties. 

No deductions are allowed for medical expenses or for any other personal or household expenditure.

Spouses cannot transfer qualifying deductions (including excess capital allowances, trade losses, donations, and rental deficits) to each other.

Any unabsorbed trade losses or capital allowances can be carried forward to future years to be offset against the future income of the taxpayer until the amount is fully utilised, subject to existing rules. Any unutilised donations can also be carried forward to future years to be offset against the future income of the taxpayer, up to a maximum of five years.

Personal Reliefs:

For year of assessment 2024 (income year 2023), the following amounts are deductible from the assessable income of a resident individual to arrive at the income subject to tax:

  1. Qualifying child relief: SGD 4,000 for each child under the age of 16 years or in full-time education provided the child’s annual worldwide income is not more than SGD 4,000 (SGD 8,000 from year of assessment 2025).

  2. Handicapped child: SGD 7,500 instead of the qualifying child relief of SGD 4,000. There is no income threshold for this relief.

  3. Working mother's child relief for each Singaporean child born or adopted before 1 January 2024, who satisfies all conditions under the qualifying child relief or handicapped child relief, is a percentage of the mother's earned income, subject to a cumulative maximum of 100% of her earned income. The percentages applicable for the first, second, and each subsequent child are 15%, 20%, and 25%, respectively. For qualifying Singaporean children born or adopted on or after 1 January 2024, the relief is SGD 8,000, SGD 10,000, and SGD 12,000 for the first, second, and each subsequent child, respectively.

Qualifying child relief and handicapped child relief may be apportioned and claimed as agreed between a husband and wife. The total relief claimed by husband and wife must not exceed the maximum claim available for each child.

  1. Aged parent or grandparent maintained by taxpayer in Singapore: SGD 5,500.

  2. Aged parent or grandparent maintained and living with taxpayer in Singapore: SGD 9,000.

  3. Handicapped aged parent or grandparent maintained by taxpayer in Singapore: SGD 10,000.

  4. Handicapped aged parent or grandparent maintained and living with taxpayer in Singapore: SGD 14,000.

Relief for aged parents and grandparents are available subject to the dependant’s worldwide income not exceeding SGD 4,000 (SGD 8,000 from year of assessment 2025). There is no qualifying income threshold for handicapped aged parents and grandparents. Aged dependent relief may be shared by two or more taxpayers.

  1. Contributions made up to the limit prescribed in the CPF Act.

  2. For a self-employed individual, a relief on contributions made for each year of assessment is restricted to the lower of SGD 37,740 (i.e. CPF contributions up to the specified income ceiling of SGD 102,000) and the CPF contribution rate of 37% applied to the individual's assessable business income.

Additional reliefs are granted for dependant great-grandparents and handicapped siblings.

PIT reliefs are subject to a cap of SGD 80,000 per year of assessment.

Business Deductions:

Where an individual carries on a trade, business, profession, or vocation, deductions are allowed for all outgoings and expenses incurred wholly and exclusively in the production of the income being assessed (except expenses specifically prohibited under the Income Tax Act), including capital allowances (fiscal depreciation) on most fixed assets except for land and non-industrial buildings.

Qualifying self-employed persons may claim a deemed amount of business expenses based on a prescribed percentage of the gross income earned (known as the Fixed Expense Deduction Ratio) instead of the actual expenses incurred.

Losses:

Business losses and unutilised capital allowances may be offset against other sources of income such as employment, interest, dividend, and rental income in the same year.

Any remaining unabsorbed losses and capital allowances can be carried forward, subject to certain conditions.

Current year unutilised business losses and capital allowances of up to SGD 100,000 can also be carried back to the year of assessment immediately preceding the year of assessment in which the loss and capital allowance arose.