Singapore
Singapore Tax Reliefs: CPF, SRS, and What Actually Moves the Needle
A resident's guide to the personal income tax reliefs that make the biggest difference — CPF, SRS, and family-related reliefs — with a worked example.
Singapore's progressive resident rates
The first $20,000 of chargeable income is tax-free, with rates then rising progressively from 2% up to 24% for the very highest earners — so every dollar of relief in a higher band is worth more than the same dollar in a lower one.
| Taxable income | Rate |
|---|---|
| $0 – $20,000 | 0% |
| $20,000 – $30,000 | 2% |
| $30,000 – $40,000 | 3.5% |
| $40,000 – $80,000 | 7% |
| $80,000 – $120,000 | 11.5% |
| $120,000 – $160,000 | 15% |
| $160,000 – $200,000 | 18% |
| $200,000 – $240,000 | 19% |
| $240,000 – $280,000 | 19.5% |
| $280,000 – $320,000 | 20% |
| $320,000 – $500,000 | 22% |
| $500,000 – $1,000,000 | 23% |
| Over $1,000,000 | 24% |
How to value a relief
A relief reduces your chargeable income, so its value is the relief multiplied by the rate on the income it removes. The same $10,000 relief saves $200 if it comes off income taxed at 2%, but $1,150 if it comes off income taxed at 11.5%. Before you chase a relief, look up which band your income sits in.
CPF and SRS contributions
CPF relief covers your mandatory and voluntary CPF contributions, for Singapore Citizens and PRs. Topping up a Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) account — up to $15,300 for citizens and PRs — is one of the few reliefs you can actively choose to maximize before year-end.
Example: with $100,000 of income and no reliefs, income tax is $5,650. An SRS top-up of $15,300 brings chargeable income down to $84,700 and tax down to $3,890.50, a saving of $1,759.50. That is 11.5% of the top-up, because most of the relief comes off income taxed at 11.5%.
The same top-up is worth more at a higher income
Now take someone with $150,000 of income. Tax with no reliefs is $12,450. The same $15,300 SRS top-up brings it down to $10,155, a saving of $2,295. That is 15% of the top-up, compared with 11.5% at $100,000, because more of the relief comes off income in the 15% band. This is why SRS is usually discussed as a tool for higher earners: the benefit grows with your marginal rate.
Family reliefs add up
Parent Relief and Qualifying Child Relief are easy to overlook but can meaningfully reduce your chargeable income if you support dependants — check you're claiming everything you're entitled to. Parent Relief is up to $9,000 per dependant living with you and Qualifying Child Relief is $4,000 per child, with higher amounts possible for a handicapped dependant.
Course fees and other reliefs
Course Fees Relief covers fees for courses, seminars or conferences leading to an approved qualification that relate to your current employment or trade, up to $5,500. It is worth checking before you pay for a course whether the expense would qualify.
Mistakes to avoid
A few slips come up repeatedly when people plan their reliefs:
- Assuming every relief is claimed automatically: some are, but others you must claim or keep records for.
- Confusing the Year of Assessment with the calendar year: the assessment you file in 2026 is based on income earned in 2025.
- Topping up SRS without checking the deadline and rules with your SRS bank and IRAS.
- Forgetting the overall $80,000 cap when several large reliefs stack up.
Mind the overall relief cap
IRAS caps total personal reliefs at $80,000 per year of assessment, so very high earners with many reliefs may not get the full benefit of each one. Run your numbers through the Taxolase calculator to see your actual chargeable income after reliefs.
What the calculator leaves out
Our estimate does not model one-off personal income tax rebates or other government support, reliefs that are not listed in the calculator, or the higher SRS cap for foreigners. Tax year 2026 here means Year of Assessment 2026, so it reflects income earned in the previous calendar year.
Sources
Figures were last checked against these sources on September 19, 2026. See our methodology for how the calculator uses them.
Estimate only. This is an approximation, not a tax return or professional advice, and may not reflect every credit, exemption, or recent law change. Verify with your tax authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. Read the full disclaimer or see how it's calculated.