Eligible cash top-ups and assessment year
The infographic covers cash top-ups made in the preceding year to the Special Account (SA) or Retirement Account (RA) under the Retirement Sum Topping-Up Scheme (RSTU), and to the MediSave Account (MA). The relief is enjoyed in the following year if CPF receives the application by 31 December. It is a cash-top-up relief; the presence of “CPF transfers” in an online service name does not turn every transfer into a qualifying cash top-up. The document was updated on 21 February 2025.
Who can receive a top-up
Qualifying recipients include yourself; parents, step-parents, adoptive parents and parents-in-law; grandparents, step-grandparents, adoptive grandparents and grandparents-in-law; your spouse; and siblings, step-siblings and adoptive siblings. A self-employed person making a top-up must be up to date with MediSave payable. For relief on a spouse or sibling top-up, the infographic states an annual-income condition of no more than S$4,000 for YA 2024 and earlier, or S$8,000 from YA 2025, in the year preceding the year of top-up. The income condition does not apply to a spouse or sibling with disability. That timing wording is reproduced as the source states it, rather than silently moved to another year.
Separate self and family caps
From YA 2023, the maximum is S$8,000 for cash top-ups for yourself and a separate S$8,000 for family members, giving an overall S$16,000 maximum. The family limit is one combined category, not S$8,000 for each relative. These maximums remain subject to the qualifying balance limits and the overall S$80,000 annual personal income tax relief cap across all reliefs.
Account-balance limits
For someone below 55, the qualifying SA/RA amount is limited by the current Full Retirement Sum (FRS), minus SA savings and net SA savings withdrawn under CPFIS for investments not completely disposed of. For someone aged 55 or above, the table uses current FRS minus RA savings. The MA limit for either age group is the applicable Basic Healthcare Sum (BHS) minus the MA balance before the top-up. These are limits on amounts considered for tax relief, not a promise that every cash payment up to the annual S$8,000 cap qualifies. The infographic links CPF for the actual FRS and account procedures.
Matched-scheme exclusions
Cash top-ups attracting the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme (MRSS) do not qualify for Cash Top-Up Relief from YA 2026. Cash top-ups attracting the Matched MediSave Scheme (MMSS) do not qualify from YA 2027. The infographic identifies the top-ups attracting the respective matching scheme; it does not say that every other top-up by that person is excluded. Keep the two assessment-year commencement dates distinct.
Top-up channels and automatic relief
For SA/RA under RSTU, the source lists myCPF mobile app, the online cash-top-up and CPF-transfer form using PayNow QR, and GIRO with CPF. In the app, log in using Singpass and follow the menu to Services, Cash Top-Up and CPF Transfers, Continue, then Cash Top-Up. For MA it lists the online MediSave top-up form using PayNow QR. No separate relief claim is required: IRAS grants relief automatically to eligible taxpayers using CPF Board records. Completing a top-up still requires satisfying the eligibility and amount conditions above.
Official source
This article independently explains the substantive contents of the official PDF, including the relevant conditions, procedures and annexes. The linked document remains the authoritative source for its original wording, and later changes should be checked separately.
Read the official PDF ↗