Singapore income tax calculator

Twelve steps, and they climb very gently

Singapore's resident scale rises in twelve small steps from 0% to 24%. The first $20,000 of chargeable income is taxed at nothing, and the rate does not reach double figures until past $80,000.

On $120,000 the tax is $7,950 — an effective rate of 6.6%. On $300,000 it is $40,550, or 13.5%. Both are low by the standards of every other country on this site at the same income.

The steps are unusually fine, which is deliberate: a scale that rises in two- and three-point increments avoids the cliff effects that larger jumps create, and it means crossing a threshold in Singapore is close to a non-event.

The top rate of 24% applies above $1,000,000, which is a long way up. For almost everyone the relevant part of the scale is the section below $320,000.

The figures on this page are before personal reliefs, which reduce chargeable income and are not modelled. Earned income relief, spouse and child relief, CPF cash top-up relief and course fees can move the answer materially, so this is an upper bound.

CPF is the biggest number on a Singaporean payslip, and it is not tax

A Singapore citizen or permanent resident contributes 20% of wages to the Central Provident Fund up to a monthly ceiling, and the employer contributes more on top. It dwarfs the income tax at most salaries.

A foreigner on a work pass contributes nothing at all. Two people doing the same job for the same salary can therefore take home very different amounts, and neither figure is wrong — they are different systems applied to different people.

That is why this page computes income tax rather than take-home pay, and says so. Producing a single "take-home" number would require guessing which of the two situations applies, and being wrong about it by 20% of gross.

CPF is not a tax in the ordinary sense: it is a compulsory personal savings account used for retirement, housing and healthcare, and the balance is yours. But it comes out of the payslip like a tax does, which is the part that matters when comparing a Singapore salary against an offer somewhere else.

Contributions to CPF also generate relief against chargeable income in defined circumstances, which is one of the reliefs this calculator does not model.

What Singapore does not tax at all

There is no capital gains tax. Selling shares or property at a profit produces no income tax charge for an individual, which is a structural difference rather than a rate difference.

Most dividends are not taxed in the hands of the individual either, because Singapore operates a one-tier system in which tax is settled at the company level.

There is no inheritance or estate duty. It was abolished, and nothing replaced it.

The consequence for comparison is that setting Singapore's income tax scale against another country's understates the difference. A large part of what other systems tax — gains, dividends, estates — is simply outside the Singaporean base.

What Singapore does charge is GST on consumption, property tax on ownership, and stamp duties on transactions, including additional duties on residential property aimed at second and subsequent purchases. Those are real costs and none of them appears in an income tax calculation.

Where these figures come from

The scale was read off IRAS — Individual Income Tax rates (resident tax rates) on 2026-09-02.

The engine is checked against the "Gross Tax Payable" column of IRAS's own table at every one of its twelve steps — $200 at $30,000, $3,350 at $80,000, $21,150 at $200,000, $199,150 at $1,000,000 and the rest. Reproducing the published amounts rather than only the percentages is what catches a misplaced threshold, which produces plausible percentages and the wrong money.

Singapore taxes the previous calendar year's income in each Year of Assessment, so a figure is always describing a year that has finished. That is different from every other country on this site and worth holding in mind when reading a rate labelled with a year.

The scale applies to tax residents. A non-resident is taxed on an entirely different basis, generally at a flat rate on employment income with no progressive scale and no reliefs, and that is not modelled here.

What else is not modelled is stated under the calculator: Personal reliefs are not modelled: earned income relief, spouse and child relief, CPF cash top-up relief, course fees and the rest. They reduce chargeable income substantially, so this figure is an upper bound.

The scale at four incomes

Because the steps are small and start from a large exempt band, the Singaporean effective rate stays low far longer than in any other country on this site.

On $60,000: $1,950 of tax, an effective rate of 3.3% with a marginal rate of 7.0%.

On $120,000: $7,950 of tax, an effective rate of 6.6% with a marginal rate of 11.5%.

On $200,000: $21,150 of tax, an effective rate of 10.6% with a marginal rate of 18.0%.

On $400,000: $62,150 of tax, an effective rate of 15.5% with a marginal rate of 22.0%.

Compare the first and last rows. Income rises more than sixfold and the effective rate roughly triples — a much gentler progression than the same range produces in the Netherlands or the UK, and the reason Singapore appears where it does in international comparisons.

The reliefs that lower the figure above

Personal reliefs reduce chargeable income before the scale applies, and they are not modelled here — so the figure above is an upper bound rather than an estimate of what most people pay.

Earned income relief is automatic and scales with age. Spouse, child and parent reliefs apply to supported family members. CPF cash top-up relief rewards voluntary contributions to your own or a family member's retirement account. Course fees relief covers approved training.

There is an overall cap on the total personal reliefs an individual may claim in a Year of Assessment, which limits how far the stacking can go. It was introduced precisely because the reliefs were stackable enough to matter.

The practical effect at middle incomes is meaningful: a household claiming several reliefs can reduce chargeable income by a five-figure sum, and because the scale is progressive that reduction comes off the top rates first.

To use this calculator accurately, subtract the reliefs you actually claim from your income before entering it. Entering gross salary produces the no-relief case.

Resident or not, and why 183 days decides a great deal

Tax residency in Singapore turns on presence: a foreigner who stays or works in Singapore for at least 183 days in a calendar year is generally treated as resident for that Year of Assessment.

The difference is not marginal. A resident gets the progressive scale, the exempt first $20,000 and the personal reliefs. A non-resident gets none of the three: employment income is generally taxed at a flat rate with no scale and no reliefs.

That makes arrival timing consequential in a way it is not in most systems. Someone arriving in August may fall short of 183 days in the calendar year, and the same salary can be taxed very differently depending on the month the contract started.

Rules exist to relieve the harshest cases across consecutive years, and they depend on the specific pattern of presence. Anyone near the line should get the position confirmed rather than assumed — it is a case where a calculator genuinely cannot answer the question.

This page computes the resident scale. For a non-resident it is the wrong calculation entirely, not a slightly wrong one.

What low income tax does and does not tell you

Singapore's income tax is low by any international measure, and it is genuinely low rather than offset by a hidden income levy. But a take-home figure is not a cost-of-living figure, and the gap between the two is larger here than almost anywhere.

Housing is the dominant cost, and for private property the additional buyer's stamp duties are substantial, particularly for foreigners and for second and subsequent purchases. They are transaction taxes rather than annual ones, so they never appear in a take-home comparison.

Vehicle ownership is taxed through a certificate system that makes cars extraordinarily expensive relative to other high-income countries. GST applies to consumption. Annual property tax applies to ownership, at progressive rates that are higher for non-owner-occupied property.

For a citizen, CPF removes a fifth of wages into a locked account that funds housing, healthcare and retirement — so the money is theirs but not available. That is closer to a forced saving than a tax, and it makes the take-home figure a poor guide to disposable income.

The honest summary: the income tax figure on this page is accurate and it answers a narrower question than most people are asking when they compare Singapore against somewhere else.

Four ways a Singapore estimate goes wrong

Treating income tax as take-home. For a citizen or permanent resident, CPF takes 20% of wages up to a ceiling — several times the income tax at most salaries. For a foreigner on a work pass it takes nothing. The difference between those two people is far larger than the tax.

Entering gross salary as chargeable income. Personal reliefs come off first, and at middle incomes they can be a five-figure reduction. Entering gross produces the no-relief case, which is an upper bound.

Assuming residency. Under 183 days of presence and the progressive scale does not apply at all: employment income is generally taxed at a flat rate with no exempt band and no reliefs. Arrival timing decides it.

Comparing scales across countries. Singapore does not tax capital gains, most individual dividends or estates. Setting its income tax scale against another country's understates the difference, because a large part of what other systems tax is outside the base entirely.

What CPF actually does with the money

It is worth understanding what the 20% buys, because calling it a deduction and moving on misrepresents it in both directions.

Contributions are split across accounts with different purposes: one that can be used for housing and certain approved uses, one earmarked for healthcare costs, and one for retirement. The balances earn interest at floors set by statute, which have historically been well above ordinary deposit rates.

The housing use is the reason CPF is not simply locked savings for most citizens: it can fund the purchase of a home, which is how a large majority of Singaporeans own property. Money that would have been rent becomes equity.

The rates change with age. Younger workers contribute the highest share and see it fall as they approach retirement, with the employer's share falling too — which has real consequences for the cost of employing older workers.

For a foreigner on a work pass none of this applies: no contribution, no account, no housing use, and a take-home figure roughly a fifth higher than a citizen on the same salary. That is the single largest fact about Singaporean pay, and it is why this page reports income tax rather than take-home.

Filing, and how little of it there usually is

For most employees there is almost nothing to do. Employers participating in the auto-inclusion scheme report employment income directly to IRAS, and the return arrives pre-filled with it.

Filing runs from March, with an ordinary deadline in April and a later one for electronic filing. Someone whose only income is employment covered by auto-inclusion and whose reliefs have not changed may be on no-filing service and need do nothing at all.

Where filing matters is reliefs: they are claimed by the individual, and an unchanged claim from a previous year carries forward while a changed circumstance does not announce itself. A new child, a supported parent, a course of study — each needs claiming.

Tax is assessed after the year and paid on assessment, either in a lump or by instalments through a monthly arrangement. That is a different rhythm from a pay-as-you-earn system, and it is why leaving Singapore triggers tax clearance: an employer must withhold and settle before a departing foreign employee is paid.

That clearance requirement catches people. Final salary is withheld pending clearance, which is a cash-flow event at exactly the moment someone is relocating.

How Singapore compares with the rest of this site

Against the US, the contrast is total. The US taxes worldwide income of citizens wherever they live, has fifty-one jurisdictions and taxes capital gains, dividends and estates. Singapore taxes territorially, has one scale, and taxes none of those three.

Against the UK and the Netherlands, the difference is not just the rate but the shape. Neither of those has a marginal spike here: Singapore's scale rises in small steps with nothing being withdrawn alongside, so the published marginal rate is the real one — which is unusual across the seven countries on this site.

Against Australia, the systems rhyme: a large exempt band, one national scale, no sub-national income tax. Australia then adds the Medicare levy on top and Singapore adds CPF, and the two are quite different things wearing similar positions on a payslip.

Against Germany, the philosophies are opposite. Germany funds a large social insurance system through compulsory contributions and taxes income steeply through a formula; Singapore keeps both low and pushes provision into individual accounts.

The transferable point is the same one that runs through every country here: what a payslip does is only partly about the income tax rate, and comparing rates across borders without comparing what sits beside them produces confident wrong answers.

Territorial taxation, and what that means in practice

Singapore taxes income accruing in or derived from Singapore, and foreign income received in Singapore in defined circumstances. It does not tax its residents on worldwide income the way the United States taxes its citizens wherever they live.

The practical consequence for a mobile professional is large. Income earned and kept abroad is generally outside the Singaporean charge, which is a structural difference rather than a rate difference and one that no comparison of scales captures.

Foreign-sourced income received in Singapore by an individual is generally exempt, subject to conditions. That exemption is a deliberate policy choice and it is part of why the headline rates can stay where they are.

Employment income for work performed in Singapore is taxable regardless of where it is paid, which is the rule that catches people who assume an offshore payroll changes the position. It does not.

None of this is modelled by the calculator, which computes tax on a chargeable income you supply. Working out what is chargeable in a cross-border situation is exactly the kind of question a calculator cannot answer and a professional can.

What to take away

The income tax on this page is accurate and it answers a narrower question than most people are asking. Two things sit beside it that matter more to a comparison.

The first is CPF. For a citizen or permanent resident it removes a fifth of wages; for a foreigner on a work pass it removes nothing. That single fact separates two people on the same salary more than the entire tax scale does.

The second is what Singapore does not tax: capital gains, most individual dividends, estates. Comparing scales alone understates the difference against a country that taxes all three, because the base is different rather than the rate.

Use the figure for what it is — the resident income tax on a chargeable income, before reliefs — and subtract your reliefs before entering an amount if you want it closer. It is a planning estimate and not tax advice.

Questions

How much income tax do I pay on $120,000 in Singapore?

$7,950 before reliefs — an effective rate of 6.6% with a marginal rate of 11.5%. Personal reliefs reduce chargeable income and are not modelled, so the actual figure is usually lower.

Is CPF included in this calculation?

No, and it is the largest deduction on a Singaporean payslip for anyone who pays it. A citizen or permanent resident contributes 20% of wages up to a ceiling; a foreigner on a work pass contributes nothing. This page computes income tax rather than take-home, because a single take-home figure would have to guess which case applies.

Does Singapore tax capital gains?

No. There is no capital gains tax on an individual, most dividends are not taxed in the individual's hands under the one-tier system, and there is no inheritance duty. That is why comparing income tax scales alone understates how different Singapore is.

What is the top tax rate in Singapore?

24%, and it applies above $1,000,000 of chargeable income. Below $320,000 the rate has not exceeded 20%, which is the part of the scale relevant to almost everyone.

What is a Year of Assessment?

Singapore taxes the previous calendar year's income in each Year of Assessment, so YA 2026 assesses income earned in 2025. It is a genuine difference from systems that tax the current year, and it means a rate labelled with a year is describing income already earned.