GST Voucher (GSTV) Scheme: How This Permanent Scheme Supports Singaporeans As GST Rates Increases

For Singaporeans receiving GST Vouchers (GSTV), it is a welcome support to counter rising cost-of-living expenses. However, the GSTV is not a new thing for Singaporeans. In fact, the GST Voucher Scheme is a permanent scheme introduced since Budget 2012, more than 10 years ago.

Read Also: From Babies to Retirees: How Budget 2025 Will Support Singaporeans At Every Stage Of Life​

GST Voucher Scheme Was Implemented To Offset GST

Singapore’s tax system is generally progressive. This means the lower-income earners receive more benefits compared to the taxes they pay, and higher-income earners pay more taxes. According to the Budget 2012 speech, the top 20% of households pay 80% of income tax collected in Singapore.

However, Good & Services Tax (GST) is a tax on domestic consumption. While we can expect wealthier individuals to spend more, and thus pay more GST, it can also be seen as a regressive tax – as it is a flat tax and impacts all buyers equally.

To offset the effects of GST on the lower income group, the Singapore Government implemented a series of temporary offsets to support Singaporeans through the transition when GST rate was raised from 5% to 7% in 2007. In 2012, the GST Voucher scheme was introduced as a permanent scheme to carry on the transitional offsets and provide assurance that GST will not hurt the poor. It is one of the permanent transfer schemes that help lower-income Singaporeans benefit from our tax system.

The GST Voucher (GSTV) Scheme comprises four components that provide support for various household needs: Cash for immediate needs; MediSave for seniors to support their medical needs; U-Save to offset utilities bills; and S&CC Rebate to offset S&CC bills.

Read Also: 6 Things Every Singaporean Should Know About The GST

#1 GSTV-Cash For The Immediate Needs Of Lower-Income Singaporeans

The most obvious form of support is cash and GSTV-Cash is the government’s way of supporting lower-income Singaporeans for their immediate needs. The cash payout is paid out every August, and mainly paid via PayNow-NRIC.

To qualify for GSTV-Cash in 2025, you will need to:

1. be a Singapore citizen, residing in Singapore;
2. aged 21 or above;
3. have an Income Earned in 2023 as assessed by IRAS (Assessable Income (AI) for the Year of Assessment (YA) 2024) not exceeding $34,000;
4. have the Annual Value (AV) of your home (as indicated on your NRIC) as at 31 December 2024 not exceeding $31,000; and
5. not own more than one property

From 1 January 2025, the government raised the Annual Value (AV) threshold for the second tier of GSTV-Cash coverage from [$21,000 – $25,000] to [$21,000 – $31,000]. This means eligible Singaporeans living in homes with AV of less than $21,000 will continue to receive the enhanced GSTV-Cash of $850, while those living in homes with AV of more than $21,000 to $31,000 will be eligible to receive $450.

Source: MOF

Read Also: Annual Value (AV) Of Your Residential Property: Here’s How Its Calculated And Why It Matters

#2 GSTV-MediSave For The Medical Needs Of Seniors

For seniors, medical care is one of the areas that requires more support and GSTV-MediSave addresses this with MediSave top-ups for eligible seniors. The top-ups will be credited directly into CPF MediSave account in August.

To qualify, you need to:

1. be a Singapore citizen, residing in Singapore;
2. be aged 65 or above in 2025;
3. have the Annual Value (AV) of your home (as indicated on your NRIC) as at 31 December 2024 not exceeding $31,000; and
4. not own more than one property

The MediSave top-ups are between $150 to $450, depending on the age and annual value of your home. Note that income is not a factor for GSTV-MediSave and eligible seniors will continue to receive their GSTV-Cash if they qualify.

Read Also: 9 Ways You Can Use Your MediSave To Pay For Your Healthcare Expenses

#3 GSTV-U-Save Reduces HDB Households’ Utilities Expenses

Utility expense is something that every household incurs and is one of the basic expenditures that may disproportionately affect lower-income groups.

To offset the effect of higher GST rate on our utility bills, GSTV-U-Save rebates is given out to HDB households. This is a quarterly rebate on our utilities bills and is paid out in January, April, July and October each year.

Only HDB households are eligible for the GST Voucher-U-Save. To receive the GST Voucher-U-Save, your household has to fulfil the following conditions:

• If your HDB flat is not rented out, there must be at least one Singapore citizen owner or occupier in the flat; or
• If you rent an entire flat, there must be at least one Singapore citizen tenant;

And

• If your HDB flat is not rented out, all owners and essential occupiers must not own or have any interest in more than one property; or
• If you rent an entire flat, all tenants must not own or have any interest in more than one property.

Source: MOF

The U-Save rebates will be credited directly into the household’s utilities account managed by SP Services and any unused U-Save rebates will be rolled over to help offset subsequent month’s utilities bills.

In addition to the regular U-Save rebates, eligible households will receive one-off B2025 Cost-Of-Living (COL) U-Save rebates in April and October this year.

Read Also: Understanding Your Water Bill In Singapore: What Water Tariff, Conservation Tax And Waterborne Fees Mean

#4 GSTV-S&CC Rebate To Offset HDB Household Expenses

Similar to utilities, Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC) are one of the base expenditures that every HDB household incurs. To offset these charges, the eligible HDB households will receive GSTV-S&CC Rebates. This is a quarterly rebate and is paid out in January, April, July and October.

Initially given out as a temporary support measure, the S&CC rebates were rolled into the permanent GSTV scheme since FY2022.

Only Singaporean households living in HDB flats are eligible for the GST Voucher (GSTV) – S&CC Rebate. To receive the GSTV – S&CC Rebate in 2025, you must fulfil the following criteria:

• There must be at least one Singapore citizen flat owner or occupier in the flat;
• The flat owner(s) and essential occupier(s) of the flat do not own or have any interest in a private property; and
• The flat owner(s) have not rented out the whole flat.

In general, eligible HDB households will receive between 1.5 to 3.5 months of rebates. As announced in Budget 2024, eligible HDB households received a one-off 0.5-month of S&CC Rebate in January 2025.

Source: MOF

Read Also: How Much Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC) Do You Pay Each Month (And Rebates You Receive)?