There are two constants in life: death and taxes. For Singaporeans, we have a third: death, taxes and CPF. While we can’t avoid death, we can thankfully use our CPF contributions to offset our taxes.
One thing we should note is that regardless of the maximum tax relief we can obtain from CPF contributions, the personal income tax relief cap of $80,000 still applies to the total amount of all tax reliefs an individual can claim for each Year of Assessment (YA). So, we should crunch our numbers before making any CPF contributions, especially since this is irreversible.
Here’s how much we can enjoy in tax relief from our CPF contributions each year.
Read Also: What’s The Maximum Amount You Can Contribute To Your CPF Accounts Each Year?
Mandatory Employee CPF Contributions Automatically Qualify For Tax Relief
Most Singaporeans make CPF contributions as employees. This qualifies for tax relief under the CPF Relief and is claimable by employees who are Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents.
The CPF relief applies to mandatory employee CPF contributions and voluntary MediSave contributions. The amount of CPF relief is capped at the maximum amount of mandatory employee CPF contributions. This amount is currently $6,000 per month for Ordinary Wage (OW) contributions (or up to $72,000 a year) and $102,000 minus the total OW subject to CPF for Additional Wage (AW) contributions (or $30,000, if the OW is $72,000).
Mandatory MediSave Contributions For Self-Employed Persons Qualify For Tax Relief
For self-employed, the tax relief applies to mandatory MediSave contributions as well as voluntary CPF contributions. The cap on CPF Relief is capped at the lower of:
- 37% of net trade income assessed;
- CPF relief cap of $37,740; or
- the actual amount contributed.
Additionally, if we did not have assessable net trade income for the year (e.g. Year of Assessment 2022), we would not qualify for CPF relief for self-employed for either our compulsory Medisave or voluntary CPF contributions (e.g. made in 2021).
If we are an employee as well as self-employed, we can receive tax relief for:
- Mandatory CPF contributions as an employee;
- Mandatory MediSave contributions as a self-employed person
- Voluntary CPF contributions
If our total compulsory CPF contributions as an employee (a) and compulsory Medisave contributions as a self-employed person (b) is more than the CPF relief cap for self-employed persons ($37,740), no tax relief will be allowed for our voluntary CPF contributions (c), as the total compulsory CPF contributions as an employee and compulsory Medisave contributions as a self-employed person has exceeded the CPF relief cap.
Topping Up Our CPF With Cash Qualifies For Tax Relief
Singaporeans can also top up our CPF accounts with cash for the tax relief benefits under the CPF Cash Top-up Relief. This is separate from the abovementioned CPF Relief and applies to cash top-ups under either the 1) CPF Retirement Sum Topping-Up Scheme (RSTU) or 2) MediSave top-ups.
Under the RSTU, the top-up cap is the prevailing Full Retirement Sum (FRS) – which is $192,000 in 2022. When doing RSTU top-ups, we can either our own accounts (Special Account if we are under 55 years old or Retirement Account if we are 55 and above) or to our family members (parents/parents-in-law, grandparents/grandparents-in-law, handicapped spouse or handicapped siblings). We can also make a cash top-up to our spouse or sibling if they have an annual income of $4,000 or lesser.
Under the MediSave top-ups, we can make cash top-ups to our own MediSave Account (MA) up to the current Basic Healthcare Sum (BHS) – which is $66,000 in 2022. However, we will only get tax relief on up to $8,000 of cash top-ups each year.
Additionally, from 2022, tax relief for cash top-ups to our own Special Account and Retirement Account (under the RSTU) and to our MediSave Account (under MediSave top-ups) will be capped at $8,000 a year. Also from 2022, MediSave top-ups made to self and family members’ MA will be applied to the giver, instead of the recipient of MediSave top-ups.
Read Also: 7 Changes To CPF Policies And When They Will Be Implemented
For YA2023 (meant for contributions done in 2022), the maximum tax relief for making cash top-ups to our CPF accounts is $16,000 ($8,000 for either RSTU or MediSave top-ups to self, and another $8,000 for top-ups to family members). For the top-ups to family members, we can top up a single or multiple family members but the maximum amount of relief is capped at $8,000
There Is A Limit For CPF Cash Top-Ups
Aside from the tax relief limit, there is also a limit on the maximum amount of cash top-ups we can make to CPF. This applies to top-ups to both self and family members’ accounts.
For recipients under 55 years old, the maximum we can top up to Special Account is:
Current Full Retirement Sum (FRS) – Special Account (SA) savings – Amount withdrawn from SA for investments
Note: Amount withdrawn from SA for investments refers to net SA savings withdrawn under CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS) for investments that have not been completely disposed of.
For recipient aged 55 and older, the maximum we can top up to Retirement Account is:
Full Retirement Sum (FRS) – Retirement Account (RA) savings
Note: The FRS is fixed as of the prevailing FRS on their 55th birthday. RA savings refers to the cash set aside in the RA (excluding amounts such as interest earned, any government grants received) plus amounts withdrawn.
The maximum we can top up to MediSave Account (MA) is capped at the Basic Healthcare Sum:
Current Basic Healthcare Sum – MA balance before the top-up
Note: If the recipient is a self-employed person (SEP) with outstanding MediSave liabilities, CPF would not allow the MediSave top-up.
Read Also: What Happens To Your CPF Contributions After You Hit Full Retirement Sum (FRS)?
While we cannot determine our mandatory CPF contributions (and subsequent tax relief we enjoy) as employees, we can benefit from the tax relief given for voluntary top-ups to CPF (RSTU and MediSave top-ups). So, take that step to top-up our CPF accounts if we have the excess funds.
Read Also: Why You Should Top Up Your CPF Special and MediSave Accounts Rather Than Pay Down Your Home Loan?
This article was first published on 21 March 2022 and updated with more information.
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