IRAS allows you to legally reduce your chargeable income through specific reliefs. Most people know the CPF deduction exists. Few know the full list or how to stack them deliberately. This post covers the reliefs that matter for wealth building, with worked numbers at two income levels.
CPF Cash Top-Up Relief
You get up to $8,000 in tax relief for cash top-ups to your own CPF Special Account (SA) or Retirement Account (RA). You get another $8,000 relief for cash top-ups to your parents', spouse's, siblings', or children's CPF SA or RA accounts. That is a combined maximum of $16,000 per Year of Assessment.
The top-up must be in cash. Transferring CPF funds between your own accounts does not count. Top-ups must be completed by 31 December of the relevant year. For YA2026, the deadline is 31 December 2025.
Practical note: once funds enter your SA or RA, they earn the CPF interest rate (4% on SA, up to 5% on the first $60K in combined RA + OA). You cannot withdraw them as freely as a bank account. Weigh the liquidity trade-off before topping up the full $8,000.
SRS Relief
The Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) is the most flexible tax relief mechanism available. Contributions reduce your chargeable income dollar for dollar.
- Singapore Citizens and PRs: up to $15,300 per year
- Foreigners: up to $35,700 per year
SRS contributions sit in your SRS account at a participating bank (DBS, OCBC, or UOB). You invest them from there into approved instruments: unit trusts, ETFs, stocks, bonds, insurance endowments, fixed deposits. The money grows largely untaxed within the account.
Withdrawals from age 63 (the SRS statutory retirement age) are taxed at 50% of the amount withdrawn. If you withdraw $30,000 in a year, only $15,000 is added to your taxable income. If your other income in retirement is low, the effective tax on SRS withdrawals approaches zero.
The SRS deadline is also 31 December each year.
Life Insurance Relief
Up to $5,000, minus your CPF employee contributions for the year. For most salaried employees in Singapore, CPF contributions exceed $5,000, making this relief effectively $0. It is relevant primarily for self-employed individuals who do not make mandatory CPF contributions.
If you are self-employed and your MediSave contributions are below $5,000, the remainder of the $5,000 cap is available for life insurance premiums on policies you hold on your own life or your spouse's life.
Course Fees Relief
Up to $5,500 per year for fees paid for approved courses, seminars, or conferences. The course must be relevant to your current trade, business, profession, or employment. SkillsFuture-approved courses count. You claim the actual amount spent, capped at $5,500.
This is a direct deduction from chargeable income, not a SkillsFuture Credit redemption. Both the Credit and this relief can be used independently.
NSman Relief
For Singapore males who have completed NS and their immediate family members:
- Active NSman (IPPT or Annual High Key in-camp training): $3,000
- NSman key appointment holder, not on IPPT: $1,500
- Non-active NSman: $750
- Wife of NSman: $750
- Parent or grandparent of NSman: $750 each
NSman reliefs are assessed based on your NS status during the calendar year. MINDEF provides the details to IRAS automatically; you confirm on your tax return.
Earned Income Relief
This applies automatically to all individuals with earned income (salary, trade income, rental income if personally managed):
- Below age 55: $1,000
- Age 55 to 59: $6,000
- Age 60 and above: $8,000
No action needed. IRAS applies this automatically when you file.
Worked Examples: SGD 100K and SGD 150K Gross Income
The following table shows the impact of stacking CPF top-up and SRS relief on two income levels. Assumptions: salaried employee, below age 55, CPF employee contribution rate 20% (capped on ordinary wages of $6,800/month = maximum OW contribution $20,400/year), full CPF top-up relief of $8,000, full SRS contribution of $15,300.
| Item | SGD 100K Gross | SGD 150K Gross |
|---|---|---|
| Gross Employment Income | $100,000 | $150,000 |
| Less: Earned Income Relief | ($1,000) | ($1,000) |
| Less: CPF Employee Contribution | ($20,000) | ($20,400) |
| Less: CPF Cash Top-Up Relief | ($8,000) | ($8,000) |
| Less: SRS Contribution Relief | ($15,300) | ($15,300) |
| Chargeable Income | $55,700 | $105,300 |
| Approximate Tax Payable | ~$2,700 | ~$9,600 |
| Tax Without CPF Top-Up + SRS | ~$5,300 | ~$13,700 |
| Estimated Annual Tax Saving | ~$2,600 | ~$4,100 |
These are approximate figures based on published YA2026 tax rates. Personal rebates, parenthood tax rebate, and other reliefs are not included.
Singapore Tax Rate Table (YA2026)
| Chargeable Income | Tax Rate |
|---|---|
| $0 to $20,000 | 0% |
| $20,001 to $30,000 | 2% |
| $30,001 to $40,000 | 3.5% |
| $40,001 to $80,000 | 7% |
| $80,001 to $120,000 | 11.5% |
| $120,001 to $160,000 | 15% |
| $160,001 to $200,000 | 18% |
| $200,001 to $240,000 | 19% |
| $240,001 to $280,000 | 19.5% |
| $280,001 to $320,000 | 20% |
| $320,001 to $500,000 | 22% |
| $500,001 to $1,000,000 | 23% |
| Above $1,000,000 | 24% |
The Mechanics: How Relief Actually Saves Tax
A common misconception: tax reliefs do not reduce your tax bill dollar for dollar. They reduce your chargeable income. Your tax saving depends on your marginal tax rate at that income band.
At $100K gross income, after standard deductions, your marginal rate on the income around the $55K-$79K band is 7%. So $8,000 of CPF top-up relief saves approximately $560 in tax on that $8,000 slice. The SRS $15,300 saves more because it applies across a wider band, potentially including the 7% and lower bands. That is still useful, but less dramatic than people expect.
At $150K gross, after deductions the income sits in the 11.5% band. The same $8,000 CPF top-up relief saves approximately $920. The combined $23,300 of CPF top-up + SRS relief saves approximately $2,500 to $3,000 in tax depending on exact positioning within the bands.
Deadline Summary
- CPF Cash Top-Up: 31 December each year (for current YA)
- SRS Contribution: 31 December each year
- Course Fees: Claimed on the tax return for the year you paid
- NSman: Auto-assessed, confirm on return
How This Fits the S.H.I.F.T. Method
Tax planning connects directly to the Heal and Flow stages of the S.H.I.F.T. Method. In the Heal stage, plugging tax leakage is equivalent to stopping cash from leaving your system unnecessarily. In the Flow stage, SRS and CPF top-ups channel money into compounding vehicles at a lower after-tax cost.
A person saving $2,600 per year in tax at $100K income and reinvesting that saving at 7% per annum accumulates an additional $96,000 over 20 years. That is real money created by doing the paperwork before 31 December.
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