Sg Tax Residency

---
name: sg-tax-residency
description: "Use this skill for any question about Singapore tax residency. Trigger on: \"Singapore tax resident\", \"SG residency 183 days\", \"move to Singapore tax\", \"Singapore non-resident tax rate\", \"Employment Pass Singapore tax\", \"Singapore PR taxes\", \"Singapore foreigner income tax\", \"SG territorial taxation\". Covers residency tests, resident vs non-resident rates, territorial taxation, and foreign income exemption."
license: "AGPL-3.0-or-later (code) / OpenAccountants Guide License v1.0 (content)"
metadata:
  source: openaccountants
  openaccountants_url: "https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/sg-tax-residency"
  jurisdiction: "SG"
  tax_year: "2025"
  last_updated: "2026-07-13"
---

# SG Tax Residency

## Section 1 — Quick Reference

**Quick Reference**

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Country | Singapore |
| Tax system | Territorial — Singapore-sourced income only |
| Capital gains tax | **None** — Singapore has no CGT |
| Residency test | 183+ days physical presence in calendar year |
| Resident individual top rate | 24% (marginal, from YA 2024) |
| Non-resident rate | 15% flat on employment income or 22% (higher of) |
| Primary legislation | Income Tax Act 1947 (Cap. 134) |
| Tax authority | Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (iras.gov.sg) |
| Verified by | Pending — Singapore tax adviser sign-off required |

## Section 2 — Tax Residency Tests

- **Singapore tax resident — test 1: 183+ days** — Physically present in Singapore for 183 days or more during the preceding calendar year
- **Singapore tax resident — test 2: Employment** — In continuous employment in Singapore for an uninterrupted period spanning 3 consecutive calendar years (including the immediate preceding year and following year)
- **Singapore tax resident — test 3: Permanent resident** — A Singapore Permanent Resident (PR) who has established a "permanent home" in Singapore
- **Key point — assessment basis** — Singapore uses a calendar-year basis for presence, but tax is assessed in the following year (e.g. income earned Jan-Dec 2024 is assessed in YA 2025).

## Section 3 — Territorial Taxation: The Key Feature

Singapore taxes on a **source** basis, not a worldwide basis. This means:

**Income type taxed in Singapore?**

| Income type | Taxed in Singapore? |
| --- | --- |
| Income from Singapore employment | Yes |
| Business income from Singapore | Yes |
| Dividends from Singapore companies (one-tier) | **Exempt** (already taxed at company level) |
| Foreign-source income (dividends, interest, profits) remitted to Singapore | **Generally exempt** (since 2004) |
| Capital gains | **No CGT at all** — see sg-zero-cgt |
| Rental income from Singapore property | Yes |
| Rental income from overseas property | Generally exempt (foreign-source) |

- **Foreign income exemption** — Since 1 Jan 2004, foreign-sourced dividends, branch profits, and service income remitted to Singapore are exempt from tax, provided they were subject to tax in the source country (headline rate ≥ 15%).

## Section 4 — Tax Rates: Resident vs Non-Resident

**Resident rates (YA 2024+):**

**Resident rates (YA 2024+)**

| Chargeable income (SGD) | Rate |
| --- | --- |
| First 20,000 | 0% |
| 20,001 – 30,000 | 2% |
| 30,001 – 40,000 | 3.5% |
| 40,001 – 80,000 | 7% |
| 80,001 – 120,000 | 11.5% |
| 120,001 – 160,000 | 15% |
| 160,001 – 200,000 | 18% |
| 200,001 – 240,000 | 19% |
| 240,001 – 280,000 | 19.5% |
| 280,001 – 320,000 | 20% |
| Above 320,000 | **24%** |

- **Non-resident rates — employment income** — 15% or progressive resident rates, whichever is higher
- **Non-resident rates — director fees** — 24%
- **Non-resident rates — other income (interest, royalties)** — 24%

## Section 5 — Key Employment Passes

**Key Employment Passes**

| Pass | Who for | Tax residency impact |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Employment Pass (EP) | Foreign professionals, salary ≥ SGD 5,000/month | Resident if 183+ days |
| S Pass | Mid-level skills, salary ≥ SGD 3,150 | Resident if 183+ days |
| Personalised Employment Pass | High earners (fixed 3 years) | Resident if 183+ days |
| EntrePass | Entrepreneurs | Resident if 183+ days |
| Permanent Resident | Indefinite | Resident once PR established |

## Section 6 — Sources

- Income Tax Act 1947, Sections 2, 10, 13 (exemptions)
- IRAS: iras.gov.sg/taxes/individual-income-tax/basics-of-individual-income-tax/tax-residency-and-tax-rates

> **Working paper only.** Have a qualified Singapore tax adviser review.

## Today's figures and who stands behind this skill

This file is an AI skill (tax rules your AI follows) from OpenAccountants, copied on 2026-07-13. Rates, thresholds and deadlines change. For the current version of this skill, its official sources and the named accountant (if any) who stands behind it, call `get_skill` with slug `sg-tax-residency` on the OpenAccountants connector (https://www.openaccountants.com/connect), or read https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/sg-tax-residency. If neither is available, confirm every figure against the official source pages cited above before relying on it.