Purpose and effective period
The third edition published 30 January 2026 explains section 14V deductions for basis periods of YA2014 onwards. Ordinary section 14(1) requires expenditure wholly and exclusively producing income: wholly concerns amount, exclusively purpose, with a nexus to income. Some audit/tax-return fees arise after income and compliance-system work may be capital; prior concessions/remissions addressed some cases. Section14V introduces specific certainty for qualifying costs, not a blanket deduction for every compliance label.
Business and income connection
Costs must be incurred for the taxpayer’s business and production of Singapore-accruing/derived income or foreign income received in Singapore, and directly related to compliance. Business uses ordinary meaning of activity for which the entity is established under its constituent documents; it includes passive-income activity, not only active trade. GST ACAP is the voluntary risk-based review of a robust GST control framework.
Five qualifying purposes
Qualifying purposes are complying with Singapore/foreign written law; complying with government/public-authority or securities-exchange codes, standards, rules or requirements; studying proposed laws/documents not yet enacted/issued; preventing/detecting non-compliance; and voluntary compliance even where the taxpayer is exempt. Direct connection must be established for the applicable purpose.
Annex examples and distinctions
The annex includes tax computations, replies to Comptroller queries, objections to assessments, Companies Act audits and rectification of non-compliance. It includes MAS/Accounting Standards Council or foreign-equivalent directives, annual listing and SGX manual compliance, studies of proposed measures such as early FATCA, independent GST ACAP reviews, and voluntary audits of audit-exempt companies. Initial/additional share-listing capital expenses remain excluded. An objection to a tax assessment differs from an excluded court or review-board appeal.
Excluded costs and no duplicate deduction
No section 14V deduction for capital costs, fines/penalties/offence composition sums, defending non-compliance charges, or court/quasi-judicial appeals such as the Income Tax Board of Review. If another ITA provision already allows the expense, claim under that provision instead, not again under 14V. The source’s historical ACAP-remission discussion does not override the express capital exclusion.
Evidence and publication history
Do not routinely submit supporting documents with the return, but prepare records of the category, legal/regulatory requirement and how it applies, expense nature and direct compliance link. Retain at least five years from the relevant YA and provide on request. Corporate enquiries1800 3568622, individual1800 3568300. Prior editions are12 September 2014 and 31 March 2023; the update table records2023 statutory renumbering and Act citations.
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 ↗