Tax relief in Singapore (YA 2027): Are you missing out on tax savings?

The information in this article is current as of 13 October 2026 and applies to YA 2027 (income earned in 2026). For the latest information, please check the IRAS website.

Many taxpayers consider SRS contributions or CPF top-ups to lower their taxable income. Before doing so, it helps to know which reliefs you already receive, and whether you are close to the $80,000 cap. 

What is tax relief? A tax relief is an amount that the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) deducts from your assessable income to arrive at your chargeable income, which is the income actually taxed.

Tax relief differs from two related terms. A tax deduction, such as for approved donations or employment expenses, also reduces your income before tax. A tax rebate reduces the tax payable itself, after IRAS computes it. Personal reliefs are subject to an overall cap of $80,000 per YA, while deductions and rebates fall outside this cap.

This article walks through the YA 2027 tax brackets, the reliefs you get automatically and the ones you need to claim, and how to reduce income tax in Singapore with voluntary top-ups.

What are Singapore's income tax brackets for YA 2027?

Singapore's personal income tax rate for tax residents ranges from 0% on the first $20,000 of chargeable income to 24% on chargeable income above $1 million. The income tax brackets have been unchanged since YA 2024.

Singapore uses a progressive system, so each tax bracket applies only to the portion of income within it. Your marginal rate, which is the rate on your last dollar of income, determines how much each dollar of tax relief saves you.

How much income tax will you pay on $100,000 or $200,000?

For example, at $100,000 of chargeable income, the first $80,000 attracts $3,350 in tax. The next $20,000 is taxed at 11.5%, adding $2,300.

Non-residents pay a flat 15% on employment income or the progressive resident rates, whichever gives the higher tax. They also cannot claim personal reliefs.

How do you check how much tax relief you already have?

The fastest way is to check your previous Notice of Assessment (NOA). Log in to the myTax Portal with Singpass and go to Notices/Letters > Individual. Your Total Personal Reliefs from last year is a reasonable starting estimate.

Then adjust for anything that has changed since, such as:

1. A salary increase or bonus, which raises your compulsory CPF contributions
2. Becoming a parent, which may qualify you for QCR and Working Mother's Child Relief (WMCR)
3. Supporting more dependants, which may qualify you for Parent Relief or Sibling Relief (Disability)

IRAS also offers a tax relief checker that lists the reliefs you may qualify for, based on details such as citizenship, marital status, and employment status.

Which tax reliefs in Singapore are granted automatically?

Several tax reliefs are granted automatically because IRAS receives the data from your employer, CPF Board, or MINDEF/MHA. You do not need to claim them, but you should check that they appear correctly in your tax return each year.

How does CPF Relief work for employees?

We are exempted from paying taxes on any compulsory CPF contribution that we make as employees.

Note that there is an Ordinary Wage (OW) ceiling for CPF contributions. The OW ceiling, set at $8,000 per month from 1 January 2026, limits the amount of an employee's monthly wages that are subject to CPF contributions.

This means that if your monthly salary exceeds $8,000, the compulsory CPF contributions will only be calculated based on the first $8,000 of your salary. For instance, if your monthly salary is $10,000, the employee portion of monthly CPF contributions will be 20% of $8,000 ($1,600). Consequently, the tax relief you receive for compulsory CPF contributions is also capped at this amount.

CPF tax relief also extends to contributions from your annual bonus and leave pay. The Additional Wage (AW) ceiling for CPF contributions is calculated with the formula below:

AW ceiling = $102,000 - Total Ordinary Wages (OW) subject to CPF for the year

Similar to OW, it is mandatory to contribute part of your AW to your CPF, and the amount that exceeds the ceiling will be subject to tax. 

Which tax reliefs do you need to claim manually?

Family-related reliefs and Life Insurance Relief must be claimed when you first qualify, usually when you file your tax return. Once claimed, IRAS generally carries them forward to later years. Update your claim if your circumstances change, such as a dependant's income rising above the threshold.

Child reliefs: QCR, Child Relief (Disability), and WMCR

Costs of raising a child in Singapore can add up. With QCR, parents can enjoy tax relief for children below 16 years old who do not have an annual income exceeding $8,000 (from YA 2025). Working mothers can also claim WMCR.

To claim QCR or Child Relief (Disability), your child must satisfy all these conditions in the preceding year:

1. Your child is unmarried and was born to you and your spouse or ex-spouse, or is a step-child, or is legally adopted.
2. Your child was either below 16 years old, or above 16 years old and studying full-time at any university, college, or other educational institution at any time in the year.
3. Your child did not have an annual income exceeding $8,000.

The maximum QCR or Child Relief (Disability) you can claim is $4,000 and $7,500 per child respectively.

To qualify for WMCR, you must satisfy all of the following conditions:

1. You are a working mother who is married, divorced, or widowed.
2. You have taxable earned income.
3. Your child satisfies all conditions under QCR or Child Relief (Disability).

From YA 2025, WMCR is a fixed dollar relief, rather than a percentage of earned income, for qualifying Singapore citizen children born or adopted on or after 1 January 2024.

You can claim both QCR (or Child Relief (Disability)) and WMCR for the same child. QCR or Child Relief (Disability) is applied first, followed by WMCR. The combined relief from both is capped at $50,000 per child.

Dependant reliefs

Having a spouse, parent, or grandparent under your care may also entitle you to tax relief. You may even get Grandparent Caregiver Relief if your parent or grandparent takes care of your child.

Each relief has its own criteria. For example, under Parent Relief, your parent or grandparent cannot have an annual income above $8,000. Similarly, to qualify for Spouse Relief, your spouse's annual income should not exceed $8,000. From YA 2025, the income threshold for both reliefs rose from $4,000 to $8,000. Refer to the relevant IRAS page for the latest conditions.

Life Insurance Relief

You can claim Life Insurance Relief only if your compulsory CPF contributions for the year are below $5,000. This makes it relevant mainly to self-employed persons and lower-income earners. The relief is the lower of $5,000 minus your CPF contributions, or 7% of your insured capital sum.

How to reduce income tax in Singapore with CPF and SRS top-ups

Voluntary CPF cash top-ups and SRS contributions are the main ways to reduce income tax in Singapore beyond the reliefs you already qualify for. Both give dollar-for-dollar relief within their annual limits, and the relief appears automatically once you contribute.

Why should you estimate your tax relief before making year-end top-ups?

You need to make CPF cash top-ups and SRS contributions by 31 December to qualify for tax relief in the upcoming YA. However, IRAS only finalises your reliefs after you file your tax return in March or April, and before you receive your NOA.

This timing gap matters if you are close to the $80,000 relief cap. Any relief above the cap is disregarded. Neither CPF cash top-ups nor SRS contributions can be reversed or refunded once made. You can withdraw SRS funds early, but 100% of the withdrawal is taxable and attracts a 5% penalty, so it does not undo the contribution.

To avoid contributing more than you can claim, you may consider:

• Tallying your expected reliefs for the year, including compulsory CPF contributions on any year-end bonus
• Using the IRAS tax calculator to estimate your tax payable and remaining room under the cap
• Revisiting your estimate before making top-ups in December, when your income for the year is clearer

Both schemes also trade liquidity for tax savings. CPF top-ups generally stay in CPF until age 55 or later. SRS withdrawals before the statutory retirement age prevailing at your first contribution attract a 5% penalty, and 100% of the amount withdrawn is taxable.

For a detailed comparison, read our guide to CPF and SRS top-ups. For SRS specifically, see how SRS tax relief works and our SRS guide. 

What is the maximum personal income tax relief you can claim?

The maximum personal income tax relief you can claim is $80,000 per YA. This cap covers all your reliefs combined, including CPF cash top-up and SRS relief.

Once you have added up all the reliefs you are entitled to, you will know your Total Personal Relief. For example, if your Total Personal Relief before SRS contributions or CPF top-ups is $75,000, you can receive only $5,000 of tax relief from those top-ups.

Beyond the cap, it is important to consider your tax bracket after accounting for all the tax reliefs you are entitled to.

For instance, a young working woman whose chargeable income after other tax reliefs was $100,000 last year might find it beneficial to make SRS contributions if she has no children. Without any child-related tax reliefs, she would be in the 11.5% tax bracket, making the tax savings from SRS contributions more attractive.

However, if she becomes a parent and qualifies for child-related reliefs, her chargeable income might drop enough to place her in the 7% tax bracket. In this lower bracket, the tax savings from SRS contributions are less significant. She would need to weigh these smaller savings against the opportunity cost of having less available cash. This example is hypothetical and for illustration purposes only.

Your tax bracket after reliefs determines how much each additional dollar of tax relief is worth, so it is worth checking before making voluntary contributions.

Plan your tax relief before the YA 2027 deadline

Tax relief in Singapore works best when planned ahead. CPF top-ups and SRS contributions must be made by 31 December 2026 to count for YA 2027. Start by checking your automatic and claimed reliefs, and how much room you have under the $80,000 cap. Then consider whether voluntary contributions suit your cash needs and time horizon.

Why invest your CPF and SRS with Endowus?

Both CPF and SRS are built for long-term saving, so how you invest them matters as much as how much you contribute. Endowus helps you match your CPF and SRS investments to your goals, track them alongside your other retirement savings, and keep them on course over time. All of this comes at an annual Endowus Fee of 0.15% for cash management funds and 0.40% for multi-fund CPF and SRS portfolios. Investing your CPF savings means giving up the guaranteed CPF interest on the amount invested. Investment returns are not guaranteed, and you may get back less than you invested.

CPF and SRS portfolios built by experts

Our Core Flagship Portfolios are built and managed by the Endowus Investment Office, led by Chairman and Group Chief Investment Officer, Samuel Rhee, and Chief Investment Officer, Hugh Chung.

The Investment Office brings together diverse experience from leading global financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, UBS, Macquarie, and HSBC. The team carries out due diligence on every fund before it is onboarded onto our platform, and continues to monitor each fund regularly.

Calibrate your CPF and SRS investments to your risk tolerance and time horizon

Choose from six portfolios within the Core Flagship Portfolios suite. Each has a tailored asset allocation to suit different risk appetite and time horizon, with a thoughtful fund selection designed for long-term investing. They are rebalanced automatically, so their respective asset allocations stay in line with your chosen risk level.

All you have to do is to set a one-time or recurring transfer, and we will invest your CPF and SRS monies for you.

Still unsure which Endowus advised portfolio suits you? Feel free to speak to our MAS-licensed client advisors.

Track your retirement savings in one view

Endowus makes it easy for you to track your progress towards retirement. Within one platform, track your investments across all fund sources—your cash, CPF and SRS. As you near retirement, you may want to take on less risk. In just a few clicks, you can move your investments into lower-risk portfolios or funds.

Let us do the heavy lifting for your retirement investments. Invest with confidence and manage your retirement savings within the Endowus app. Start investing today.

Frequently asked questions about tax relief in Singapore

Is tax relief in Singapore automatic?

Some tax reliefs are, such as Earned Income Relief, CPF Relief, and NSman Relief. Family-related reliefs, such as Parent Relief and QCR, must be claimed the first time, after which IRAS generally carries them forward.

How much salary is taxable in Singapore?

Tax residents pay no tax on the first $20,000 of chargeable income. Chargeable income is your income after deducting tax reliefs and deductions, so your taxable amount is usually lower than your gross salary.

What is the maximum tax relief in Singapore?

Personal income tax reliefs are capped at $80,000 per Year of Assessment. This includes CPF cash top-up and SRS relief, but excludes deductions such as approved donations.

Is there a deadline for CPF top-up and SRS tax relief?

Yes. Contributions must be made by 31 December to qualify for tax relief in the following Year of Assessment. For example, contributions made in 2026 count towards YA 2027.