What is a tax rebate in Singapore?

A tax rebate comes off the income tax payable after the tax is worked out, whereas a relief comes off income before it. Singapore individuals have two: the one-off Personal Income Tax Rebate — 60% for YA 2025 and 50% for YA 2024, each capped at SGD 200, with none announced for YA 2026 as at 2026-09-26 — and the Parenthood Tax Rebate (PTR) of SGD 5,000 to SGD 20,000 per child.

Updated Published 5 min read INCOME TAX
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Singapore · Personal Income Tax Rebate announced for YA 2026, as at 2026-09-26
None
YA 202560%, cap SGD 200
YA 202450%, cap SGD 200
PTR, 1st childSGD 5,000
PTR, 3rd+SGD 20,000
YA 2025 rebate60%of tax payable, capped at SGD 200
YA 2024 rebate50%of tax payable, capped at SGD 200
YA 2026 rebatenoneannounced for individuals, as at 2026-09-26
Parenthood, 1st childSGD 5,000born 2008 or later
Parenthood, 2nd childSGD 10,000once per child
Parenthood, 3rd and laterSGD 20,000each, born 2008 or later
On this pageRebate vs reliefWorked exampleWhat it means for youMisconceptionsRelated termsSources

Key takeaways

  • A relief reduces the income the tax is worked on; a rebate reduces the tax itself. Rebates are set against tax payable, so where tax payable is nil there is nothing to rebate and no cash is paid.
  • The Personal Income Tax Rebate was 50% of tax payable for YA 2024 and 60% for YA 2025, each capped at SGD 200, granted automatically to tax residents. IRAS describes it as a one-off for those two years.
  • No Personal Income Tax Rebate has been announced for YA 2026. The YA 2026 rebate in Budget 2026 is a Corporate Income Tax rebate for companies — raised on 7 April 2026 to 50%, with a minimum of SGD 2,000 and a cap of SGD 40,000 per company.
  • The Parenthood Tax Rebate is SGD 5,000 for the first child, SGD 10,000 for the second and SGD 20,000 for each later child born from 2008, for a tax resident who is married, divorced or widowed. It is given once per child.
  • Unused Parenthood Tax Rebate carries forward with no expiry and can be shared between spouses or transferred to a spouse, but it is never paid out in cash. The Personal Income Tax Rebate is applied before it.
Definition

What is a tax rebate?

Reliefs and rebates both lower a tax bill, but at different steps of the computation, and that decides how much each is worth.

Reliefon incomeDeducted from assessable income to reach chargeable income. What it saves depends on the tax band the income sits in.
Rebateon taxDeducted from the tax payable once the rates have been applied. It cannot take tax below nil.
Parenthood Tax Rebateto SGD 20,000A credit per qualifying child that offsets tax payable, carried forward until used up.

In the computation, the Personal Income Tax Rebate is worked on tax payable after double taxation relief and other credits, and before the Parenthood Tax Rebate is offset.

Worked example

IRAS’s example: a first child and a small tax bill

IRAS’s YA 2026 illustration of a parent whose first child was born in 2025. The rebate wipes out the year’s tax and the rest waits for later years.

StepAmount
Tax payable for YA 2026SGD 366.25
Less Parenthood Tax Rebate used− SGD 366.25
Net tax payableSGD 0
Rebate carried forwardSGD 4,633.75

How the YA 2025 rebate capped out

Tax SGD 300: 60%− SGD 180
Tax SGD 1,000: 60%, capped− SGD 200
Largest rebateSGD 200

Money Snap’s illustration of the YA 2025 rule: 60% of tax payable, capped at SGD 200. Any tax resident with tax payable of SGD 333.34 or more received the full SGD 200.

What it means for you

Where rebates change a tax bill

YA 2026 billsIncome tax calculator
IRAS’s YA 2026 sample computations deduct no Personal Income Tax Rebate: in its example with chargeable income of SGD 234,100, net tax payable of SGD 27,629 equals the tax on chargeable income.
New parentsIncome tax calculator
The Parenthood Tax Rebate is given in the Year of Assessment after the relevant year — usually the year of birth, or the year of marriage or adoption where those conditions apply. A child born in 2025 counts from YA 2026, and any balance carries into later years.
CouplesIncome tax calculator
Spouses can share the Parenthood Tax Rebate in any proportion they agree, and an unused balance can be transferred to a spouse through myTax Portal.
Low incomesIncome tax calculator
A rebate only offsets tax. Where tax payable is already nil, a rebate is worth nothing that year — the Parenthood Tax Rebate simply waits.
Reliefs and rebates togetherSRS calculator
Reliefs such as SRS contributions lower chargeable income first; rebates then come off the tax. IRAS caps the total of all reliefs at SGD 80,000 a Year of Assessment; rebates come later, off the tax payable rather than the income.
Common misconceptions

Five things people get wrong

A rebate and a relief are the same thing.
A relief reduces income before tax is worked out; a rebate reduces the tax afterwards.
There is a personal income tax rebate for YA 2026.
None had been announced as at 2026-09-26. The YA 2026 rebate in Budget 2026 is for companies.
A rebate is paid out in cash.
It only offsets tax payable. Unused Parenthood Tax Rebate is carried forward, not refunded.
The Parenthood Tax Rebate has to be used within the year.
It carries forward with no expiry until it is used up, and can be transferred to a spouse.
Every child brings the same rebate.
It rises with birth order: SGD 5,000, SGD 10,000, then SGD 20,000 for each later child born from 2008. A first child born before 2008 brings none.
Sources and reviewChecked against the IRAS rebate pages and the Budget 2026 papers on 2026-09-26

Official IRAS and MOF rules, for general information only. Not financial advice.

Sources: IRAS MOF

This page is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice. All figures and worked examples are estimates for illustrative purposes, are subject to change, and do not reflect any individual’s circumstances. Always refer to IRAS and MOF and seek independent professional advice before making any financial decisions.