- Simpler Tax
- Partial tax exemption
The partial tax exemption: how much tax does a company actually pay, worked
Every Singapore company that is not a qualifying start-up in its first 3 years of assessment gets the partial tax exemption: 75% of the first S$10,000 and 50% of the next S$190,000 of chargeable income are exempt, so up to S$102,500 a year is never taxed, and the 17% is charged on what is left. On S$100,000.00 of chargeable income the exempt amount is S$52,500.00, the tax is S$8,075.00, 8.1% of the income, and after the YA 2026 rebate the bill is S$4,037.50.
There is nothing to apply for. The return asks for the chargeable income before the exempt amount, and the exemption is applied in the computation.
Computed from the rulebook Edition YA-2027 · sources verified through 24 Jul 2026
The two tiers and the maximum
The exemption is two tiers on the chargeable income taxed at the 17% rate. The tiers are used up in order: the first tier on the first S$10,000, the second on the S$190,000 after that, and nothing on anything above S$200,000.
| Chargeable income | Exempt | At most, S$ |
|---|---|---|
| The first S$10,000 | 75% | 7,500.00 |
| The next S$190,000 | 50% | 95,000.00 |
| Maximum, reached at S$200,000 | 102,500.00 |
So a company with chargeable income of S$200,000 or more has S$102,500 exempt, whatever its size, and every dollar above S$200,000 is taxed at the full 17%. Below that the exempt amount is a larger share of the income, which is why the effective rate in the tables below climbs from 4.3% towards 17%.
The exempt amount is rounded to the whole dollar, and the tax is 17% of the chargeable income after exemption, itself rounded to the dollar, the way the IRAS tax computation does it. Every figure on this page was computed by the engine that way.
Four companies, worked for YA 2026
S$20,000.00, S$100,000.00, S$200,000.00 and S$500,000.00 of chargeable income
Four Singapore Pte Ltds on the partial exemption, each with a profit that needs no tax adjustment, so item 20 of Form C-S is the profit in the accounts. Company A has a small profit that reaches into the second tier; Company B has the profit most searchers have in mind; Company C has exactly the income at which the exemption reaches its maximum; Company D has a profit well past it.
| Step | Company A, S$ | Company B, S$ | Company C, S$ | Company D, S$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chargeable income before exemption (item 20) | 20,000.00 | 100,000.00 | 200,000.00 | 500,000.00 |
| Exempt: 75% of the first S$10,000 | 75% of 10,000.007,500.00 | 75% of 10,000.007,500.00 | 75% of 10,000.007,500.00 | 75% of 10,000.007,500.00 |
| Exempt: 50% of the next S$190,000 | 50% of 10,000.005,000.00 | 50% of 90,000.0045,000.00 | 50% of 190,000.0095,000.00 | 50% of 190,000.0095,000.00 |
| Less: exempt amount | 12,500.00 | 52,500.00 | 102,500.00 | 102,500.00 |
| Chargeable income after exemption | 7,500.00 | 47,500.00 | 97,500.00 | 397,500.00 |
| Tax at 17% | 1,275.00 | 8,075.00 | 16,575.00 | 67,575.00 |
| As a share of the chargeable income | 6.4% | 8.1% | 8.3% | 13.5% |
| Less: YA 2026 rebate, 50% of the tax (capped at S$40,000) | 637.50 | 4,037.50 | 8,287.50 | 33,787.50 |
| Tax after the rebate | 637.50 | 4,037.50 | 8,287.50 | 33,787.50 |
| As a share of the chargeable income | 3.2% | 4.0% | 4.1% | 6.8% |
Company A keeps S$12,500.00 of its S$20,000.00 out of tax and pays S$1,275.00. Company B's S$100,000.00 is taxed on S$47,500.00, so its 17% comes to S$8,075.00. Company C is at S$200,000.00, where both tiers are used in full and the exempt amount is the maximum, S$102,500.00. Company D gets the same S$102,500.00 and pays the full 17% on the S$300,000.00 above Company C, S$51,000.00 more.
The rebate row is the whole YA 2026 rebate, 50% of the tax. With a qualifying local employee S$2,000 of it arrives as a cash grant from IRAS instead of coming off the bill, so Company B would pay S$6,037.50 and receive S$2,000.00; its rebate is above the grant, so the relief is the same S$4,037.50 either way. A company whose rebate is under S$2,000 is paid the whole grant and takes nothing off the bill, which the last column of the next table shows. See the YA 2026 rebate, the cap and the cash grant.
Find your own row
The same computation at 9 levels of chargeable income, from the top of the first tier to well past the rebate cap. Chargeable income here is item 20 of Form C-S: the profit after the tax adjustments and capital allowances, before the exempt amount. See how item 20 is reached.
| Chargeable income, S$ | Exempt, S$ | Tax at 17%, S$ | Rate on the income | YA 2026 rebate, S$ | After the rebate, S$ | Rate after rebate | With the cash grant, S$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10,000.00 | 7,500.00 | 425.00 | 4.3% | 212.50 | 212.50 | 2.1% | 425.00rebate under the grant |
| 25,000.00 | 15,000.00 | 1,700.00 | 6.8% | 850.00 | 850.00 | 3.4% | 1,700.00rebate under the grant |
| 50,000.00 | 27,500.00 | 3,825.00 | 7.6% | 1,912.50 | 1,912.50 | 3.8% | 3,825.00rebate under the grant |
| 100,000.00 | 52,500.00 | 8,075.00 | 8.1% | 4,037.50 | 4,037.50 | 4.0% | 6,037.50 |
| 150,000.00 | 77,500.00 | 12,325.00 | 8.2% | 6,162.50 | 6,162.50 | 4.1% | 8,162.50 |
| 200,000.00 | 102,500.00 | 16,575.00 | 8.3% | 8,287.50 | 8,287.50 | 4.1% | 10,287.50 |
| 300,000.00 | 102,500.00 | 33,575.00 | 11.2% | 16,787.50 | 16,787.50 | 5.6% | 18,787.50 |
| 600,000.00 | 102,500.00 | 84,575.00 | 14.1% | 40,000.00capped | 44,575.00 | 7.4% | 46,575.00 |
| 1,000,000.00 | 102,500.00 | 152,575.00 | 15.3% | 40,000.00capped | 112,575.00 | 11.3% | 114,575.00 |
The rebate is 50% of the tax or S$40,000, whichever is less, so from S$600,000.00 of chargeable income the rebate is the cap and the rate after rebate starts climbing back towards 17%. The last column is the bill for a company with a qualifying local employee: IRAS pays it a S$2,000 cash grant, and only the rebate above the grant comes off the bill. In the first 3 rows the rebate is under S$2,000, so nothing comes off the bill and the S$2,000 grant is the whole relief, more than the rebate column shows; from S$100,000.00 up the bill is exactly S$2,000 higher than the column without the grant and the relief is the same rebate, by two routes.
Everyone else: who gets this exemption and not the start-up one
A new company can do better for its first 3 years of assessment. The start-up tax exemption is 75% of the first S$100,000 and 50% of the next S$100,000, up to S$125,000 a year, for a company that is incorporated in Singapore, tax resident in Singapore for the year of assessment, and has no more than 20 shareholders throughout the basis period, either all of them individuals or including at least one individual who holds 10% or more of its issued ordinary shares. A company whose principal activity is property development or investment holding is excluded. See the start-up exemption, worked.
Everyone else is on the partial exemption: a company past its first 3 years of assessment, a company that never met the shareholding test, and a company in an excluded activity. The engine computes all three the same way, and the table shows what the difference is worth at the one level where both exemptions are at their maximum.
| Company | Which exemption | Exempt, S$ | After exemption, S$ | Tax at 17%, S$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A qualifying start-up in its first 3 years of assessment | Start-up, 75% of the first S$100,000 and 50% of the next S$100,000 | 125,000.00 | 75,000.00 | 12,750.00 |
| The same company in its fourth yearfirst YA 2023, so YA 2026 is outside the window | Partial, 75% of the first S$10,000 and 50% of the next S$190,000 | 102,500.00 | 97,500.00 | 16,575.00 |
| A new company that fails the shareholding testor whose principal activity is property development or investment holding | Partial, 75% of the first S$10,000 and 50% of the next S$190,000 | 102,500.00 | 97,500.00 | 16,575.00 |
The gap at S$200,000.00 is S$22,500.00 of exemption and S$3,825.00 of tax, before the rebate. Simpler Tax reads the company's first year of assessment off its own year sequence and counts the window from it. Once the window has closed the pack is issued on the partial exemption and the rule plate under item 20 names it; a company inside the window is asked the two start-up questions, and a no to either settles it on the partial exemption as well. The engine underneath enforces the window itself: handed a first year of assessment outside it, it still applies the partial exemption and raises a hold saying why, where IRAS's Basic Tax Calculator spreadsheet grants the start-up figure to anyone who fills in a first YA.
Where it sits in the computation
The tax computation is the working that turns the profit in your accounts into the profit IRAS taxes: add-backs, capital allowances, exemptions. The exemption is the last step before the rate. Form C-S asks for the chargeable income before the exempt amount, item 20, and has no line for the exemption itself; the ECI estimates the same figure. IRAS applies the exemption, the 17% and the rebate in the assessment. See the ECI and its waiver.
An incorrect return can cost up to twice the tax undercharged.
The exempt amount on the Form C-S pack, computed from your own books
Post the year's documents and the Tax screen issues the Form C-S pack: item 20 from the posted entries, the exempt amount tier by tier, the tax at 17%, the YA 2026 rebate and the net tax to expect on the notice of assessment, each with a copy button. A company inside its first 3 years is asked the two start-up questions before any start-up figure is printed; everyone else gets the partial exemption without being asked. Simpler Tax files nothing.
Download for WindowsQuestions people ask
What is the partial tax exemption in Singapore?
An exemption on chargeable income that every company outside the start-up scheme gets, taken off before the 17% rate is applied: 75% of the first S$10,000 and 50% of the next S$190,000 are exempt, up to S$102,500 a year. On S$100,000.00 of chargeable income the exempt amount is S$52,500.00 and the tax is S$8,075.00, before the YA 2026 rebate.
What is the most that can be exempt?
S$102,500 a year, reached at S$200,000 of chargeable income. Above that the exempt amount stays at S$102,500 and every further dollar is taxed at the full 17%: Company C at S$200,000.00 pays S$16,575.00 and Company D at S$500,000.00 pays S$67,575.00, before the rebate.
Do I apply for the partial exemption, or claim it on Form C-S?
Neither. Form C-S asks for the chargeable income before the exempt amount, item 20, and has no line for the exemption; IRAS applies it in the assessment. Simpler Tax's pack shows the exempt amount and the tax under item 20 so you can check the notice of assessment against them.
How is it different from the start-up tax exemption?
The start-up exemption is 75% of the first S$100,000 and 50% of the next S$100,000, up to S$125,000 a year, for a qualifying company's first 3 years of assessment. The partial exemption is 75% of the first S$10,000 and 50% of the next S$190,000, up to S$102,500. At S$200,000.00 of chargeable income the difference is S$22,500.00 of exemption and S$3,825.00 of tax.
My company is in its fourth year of assessment. Which exemption do I get?
The partial one. The start-up exemption covers a company's first 3 years of assessment only, so a company whose first YA was 2023 is on the partial exemption for YA 2026. Simpler Tax counts the window from the company's own first year of assessment, and once it has closed the pack is issued on the partial exemption without asking the start-up questions.
What is the effective tax rate on S$100,000 of chargeable income?
8.1% before the rebate: tax of S$8,075.00 on S$100,000.00, because S$52,500.00 of it is exempt. After the YA 2026 rebate of S$4,037.50 the bill is S$4,037.50, 4.0% of the income.
Does the rebate come before or after the exemption?
After. The exemption is taken off the chargeable income first, the 17% is charged on what is left, and the YA 2026 rebate is 50% of that tax, capped at S$40,000. A company with a qualifying local employee receives a S$2,000 cash grant from IRAS and takes only the rebate above that off the bill; where the rebate is under S$2,000 the grant is still paid in full and nothing comes off the bill, so the relief is never less than the grant. On S$10,000.00 of chargeable income the rebate is S$212.50 and the relief with the grant is S$2,000.00; on S$100,000.00 the rebate is S$4,037.50, S$2,000.00 in cash and S$2,037.50 off the bill.
Sources
Statutory figures on this page are read from the Simpler Tax rulebook at build time, edition YA-2027, every source last checked 24 Jul 2026. The rulebook entries named below are the ones this page was computed from; the IRAS pages are what they were verified against.
- IRAS, Corporate income tax rate, rebates and tax exemption schemes
https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/corporate-income-tax/basics-of-corporate-income-tax/corporate-income-tax-rate-rebates-and-tax-exemption-schemes - IRAS, Examples on computing the amount of tax exemption for companies
https://www.iras.gov.sg/media/docs/default-source/uploadedfiles/pdf/examples-on-computing-the-amount-of-tax-exemption-for-companies.pdf?sfvrsn=891caf26_5 - IRAS, Guidance on filing Form C-S / Form C-S (Lite) / Form C
https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/corporate-income-tax/form-c-s-form-c-s-(lite)-form-c-filing/guidance-on-filing-form-c-s-form-c-s-(lite)-form-c - IRAS, Explanatory notes to the YA 2026 Form C (the start-up conditions)
https://www.iras.gov.sg/docs/default-source/uploadedfiles/pdf/explanatory-notes-to-ya-2026-form-c.pdf - Partial tax exemption tiers and maximum rulebook cit.pte
- Corporate income tax rate rulebook cit.rate.headline
- YA 2026 corporate income tax rebate, cap and cash grant rulebook cit.rebate.ya2026.enhanced
- Start-up tax exemption tiers, window and conditions rulebook cit.sute