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How to Lower Your Income Tax in Singapore Legally: SRS, CPF Top-Ups and Reliefs

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How to lower your income tax in Singapore, legally

Most of us treat the tax bill like the weather. It arrives, we look at it, we pay it. But the number on that bill depends on more than your salary. Singapore's system gives you a handful of legal ways to bring it down, and most of them need one small action from you before 31 December.

This guide walks through how reliefs actually work, the options with the biggest effect (SRS, CPF cash top-ups, donations and family reliefs), who each one suits, and what each one asks of you in return. At the end there's a 15-minute check you can do this week and a free Tax Savings Check that shows which areas apply to you.

Step 1: find your top tax rate

Singapore taxes income in slices. Your first $20,000 of chargeable income is taxed at 0%, the next $10,000 at 2%, and so on up to 24% on anything above $1 million (IRAS tax rates).

A relief comes off your chargeable income, starting from the top slice. So the value of any relief depends on the rate of your top slice. That's the number worth knowing before you do anything else.

How to find it: log in to myTax Portal, open last year's Notice of Assessment and look for "Chargeable Income". Then match it to the table below.

Chargeable incomeRate on your top sliceWhat $1,000 of relief saves
$20,001 to $30,0002%$20
$30,001 to $40,0003.5%$35
$40,001 to $80,0007%$70
$80,001 to $120,00011.5%$115
$120,001 to $160,00015%$150
$160,001 to $200,00018%$180
$200,001 to $240,00019%$190
$240,001 to $280,00019.5%$195
$280,001 to $320,00020%$200
$320,001 to $500,00022%$220
$500,001 to $1,000,00023%$230
Above $1,000,00024%$240

A worked example (made up): Mei has chargeable income of $200,000. Her top slice, from $160,001 to $200,000, is taxed at 18%. If she adds $10,000 of reliefs, her chargeable income drops to $190,000 and her tax drops by $1,800. A big relief can push you down into a lower band, so the saving on the last dollars can be a little smaller than this.

Two things to keep in mind. All your reliefs together are capped at $80,000 a year (IRAS). And if your chargeable income is under about $30,000, the options below save very little tax, so the other trade-offs matter more.

Step 2: understand SRS before you use it

The Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) is a voluntary account for retirement savings. Here's how it works, from MOF and IRAS:

  • Singapore Citizens and PRs can put in up to $15,300 a year. Foreigners can put in up to $35,700.
  • Whatever you put in comes off your chargeable income the following year. The relief is added automatically from your SRS operator's records.
  • Contributions are optional. You can put in any amount, any time, as often as you like, up to the cap, by 31 December. Your SRS operator may have an earlier cut-off.
  • Investment returns inside SRS aren't taxed while they stay there.

The other half of the deal is when you take money out (IRAS):

  • From the statutory retirement age that applied when you first contributed, only 50% of each withdrawal is taxed, and you can spread withdrawals over 10 years.
  • The minimum retirement age has been 64 since 1 July 2026 (MOM), so 64 is the age that applies if you make your first contribution now.
  • Take money out before that age and 100% of it is taxed, plus a 5% penalty. Withdrawals on medical grounds and on death are treated differently.

Why SRS can lower your lifetime tax

Here's an example (made up). Say that in retirement your only taxable income is a $40,000 SRS withdrawal each year. Half of it, $20,000, is taxable. The first $20,000 of chargeable income is taxed at 0%, so you'd pay no tax on it. Over 10 years, that's $400,000 withdrawn without income tax, money that earned you relief at your working-years rate on the way in.

That works only if your other taxable income in retirement is low. Rental income, a part-time job or other taxable income would stack on top and push the SRS slice into higher bands.

Is SRS for you? Four questions

  1. Is your top rate now higher than you expect it to be after 64? That gap is where SRS earns its keep. If you're at 15% or more now and expect modest taxable income later, the maths works for you. If you're at 2% or 3.5%, it barely does.
  2. Can you leave this money alone until then? Early withdrawal costs you the full tax plus 5%. Treat SRS money as gone until retirement age.
  3. Do you already have an emergency fund? Cash you might need in a job loss or a medical emergency shouldn't go into a locked account.
  4. What will you do with it inside SRS? Contributing is only the first step. The money can sit as cash or be invested in permitted options such as fixed deposits, bonds, shares or unit trusts (MOF lists them). It's your decision, and it's worth making on purpose.

If you're unsure, there's no rule that says you must contribute every year, or the full amount.

Step 3: CPF cash top-ups, and what you give up

Topping up CPF with cash gives you tax relief and builds your retirement savings at the same time (IRAS):

  • Up to $8,000 of relief a year for cash top-ups to your own Special, Retirement or MediSave account.
  • Up to another $8,000 for top-ups to family members, including parents and grandparents. For a spouse or sibling, their income in the previous year must be $8,000 or less, unless they have a disability.
  • Transfers from your own CPF account don't count. Cash top-ups that receive matching grants under the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme also don't qualify.
  • The relief is added automatically from CPF Board's records. Your top-up must reach CPF by 31 December.

What you give up: the money becomes CPF money, under CPF's rules on when and how it can be used. For many people that's the point. A top-up to a parent's account also helps their retirement income. Just make sure it's money you won't need in cash.

Step 4: donations, if you were going to give anyway

Donations to approved charities (Institutions of a Public Character) made by 31 December 2026 get a tax deduction of 2.5 times the amount (Charity Portal, Budget 2023). Give $1,000 and $2,500 comes off your chargeable income.

The step people miss is the NRIC. The deduction is added automatically only if the charity has your name and NRIC or FIN. IRAS doesn't accept claims based on receipts (IRAS). If you give by GIRO, the NRIC you gave at sign-up covers it.

A deduction never makes a donation free. It's a reason to give to a cause you already care about through an approved charity, with your NRIC attached.

Step 5: family reliefs you have to claim yourself

Some reliefs are granted automatically: Earned Income Relief, NSman relief, SRS relief and CPF cash top-up relief all come from records other agencies send to IRAS. Family reliefs are different. You usually have to claim them the first time.

Parent Relief (IRAS): up to $9,000 per parent if you live with them, or $5,500 if you don't, for up to two dependants. Your parent or grandparent must be 55 or older and have earned $8,000 or less in the year. If they live separately in Singapore, you must have spent $2,000 or more supporting them. Once it's been allowed, it's pre-filled the next year.

Siblings who support the same parent can share it equally or in any split they agree, up to the full amount. Agree on the split before either of you files.

For parents (IRAS):

  • Qualifying Child Relief: up to $4,000 per child, shareable between spouses.
  • Working Mother's Child Relief: for children born or adopted from 1 January 2024, $8,000 for the first child, $10,000 for the second and $12,000 for the third and later. For children born before 2024, it's 15%, 20% and 25% of the mother's earned income.
  • Grandparent Caregiver Relief: $3,000 for a working mother whose parent or grandparent looks after her child and earned $8,000 or less in the previous year.
  • Parenthood Tax Rebate: $5,000, $10,000 and $20,000 for the first, second and third and later child. It's a rebate, so it comes off your tax, not your income.

The 15-minute check you can do this week

  1. Open last year's Notice of Assessment in myTax Portal. Write down your chargeable income and find your top rate in the table above.
  2. Check your reliefs on that Notice. Note which ones you got, and any that should be there but aren't, such as Parent Relief for a parent you started supporting.
  3. Run the four SRS questions. If the answers point to yes, decide on an amount and check your SRS operator's year-end cut-off.
  4. If a CPF top-up makes sense for you or a parent, put it in your diary for well before 31 December.
  5. If you donate, check the charity has your NRIC.
  6. Add up what you plan to claim and make sure it stays under the $80,000 cap.

Or take the free Tax Savings Check. It's 12 quick questions, and it shows which of these areas may apply to you, what each $1,000 of relief is worth at your rate, and the official page for each one. Nothing you enter is saved unless you choose to book a review.

Where to check, and where to get help

WhatWho it's forHow to start
myTax PortalAnyone filing in SingaporeLog in with Singpass and open your Notice of Assessment
IRAS tax reliefsAnyone checking eligibilityRead the page for each relief you think applies
MOF SRS pageAnyone considering SRSRead the rules, then open an account with an SRS operator
CPF cash top-upsMembers topping up themselves or familyLog in with Singpass and use the top-up service
Charity PortalDonorsCheck the charity is an approved IPC before giving
Tax Savings CheckAnyone who wants a quick shortlistAnswer 12 questions; book a free review if you'd like

Some honest caveats

  • Lock-ups are real. SRS and CPF money is hard to get back early. A tax saving of 15% or 20% doesn't make up for cash you need for an emergency.
  • Low top rate, low saving. Below about $30,000 of chargeable income, these options save little tax, and some may not be worth the lock-up.
  • Rules change. Figures here are IRAS rules as published for YA 2026. Check the official pages before you act, especially for anything due by 31 December.
  • Claim only what's true for you. Reliefs can be reviewed later, and a wrong claim isn't worth the trouble.
  • Your situation is yours. Retirement plans, other income and family needs all change the answer.

Our 5 cents

Tax savings are a nice bonus. They're rarely a good enough reason on their own to lock money away. The people who get the most from these options would have saved for retirement, supported a parent or given to a cause anyway, and they use the system to make that money go further.

So before 31 December, ask yourself:

  • Do you know your top tax rate?
  • Would you still want that money in SRS or CPF if there were no tax relief?
  • Is there a relief you qualify for that isn't on last year's Notice of Assessment?

Take the free Tax Savings Check → It's 12 quick questions. At the end, if you'd like someone to go through your answers with you, you can book a free 30-minute review with a verified, MAS-licensed adviser from our partner financial advisory firm. It's optional, and no products are sold or recommended during the review.

That's just our 5 cents.

This article is our opinion and general commentary, not financial advice. We are not licensed financial advisers. Everyone's circumstances are different — please speak to a MAS-licensed adviser before making any financial decisions.

Sources

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