Scope, reviewer and financial statements
These are specifically YA 2026 field notes, not a replacement for every referenced eligibility guide. General Info asks about an SCTP Income Tax Advisor, Practitioner or Provisional Practitioner reviewer; obtain name and membership number, naming any one of multiple reviewers. Agent tax manager reviewing before director endorsement is the reviewer; an in-house director who reviews is another example. Profiling information does not replace company responsibility. Dormant companies and qualifying small companies may be audit-exempt: a private company with at most fifty members satisfies two of revenue ≤ S$10 million, assets ≤ S$10 million, employees ≤ 50 for the immediate past two periods. A grouped company also needs a small group meeting two thresholds consolidated for two consecutive periods. Unaudited statements still require notes and Statement by Directors.
Start-up and partial exemptions
SUTE requires Singapore incorporation, Singapore tax residence in the claim YA, and direct beneficial ownership throughout the basis period by no more than twenty shareholders: all individuals, or at least one individual with ≥ 10% ordinary shares. A guarantee company instead needs all individual members, or an individual responsible for ≥ 10% total winding-up contributions throughout. Investment holding and property development for sale/investment are excluded. First three consecutive YAs exempt 75% of first S$100,000 and 50% of next S$100,000 normal chargeable income. PTE instead exempts 75% of first S$10,000 and 50% of next S$190,000. These reliefs are not Item 15 exempt income.
Basis periods and long first accounts
Ordinary tax uses the preceding financial year: 31 March year-end means YA 2026 covers 1 April 2024–31 March 2025. Correct pre-filled dates. Insurers use MAS statutory returns from YA 2024 for December year-ends, or YA 2025 for others, following FRS 117 guidance. An incorporation on 15 April 2024 with accounts to 30 June 2025 has YA 2025 first basis 15 April–30 June 2024 and YA 2026 second basis 1 July 2024–30 June 2025. File YA 2026 Form C with both YA computations and full accounts; no separate YA 2025 Form C request. YA 2027 third basis is 1 July 2025–30 June 2026.
Assessment 1: trade, property and foreign income
Items 1–11 exclude exempt income/loss, reported in 15. Items 1 b–1 f use net deductible-expense amounts, floored at zero. Item 1 a is adjusted trade profit/loss after non-taxable/separate-source/disallowed items and M&A allowances. Item 1 d is property rent before IBA/LIA: gross 180,000 less 200,000 expenses gives zero here, while 30,000 IBA enters Item 1 a as −30,000; the entire 50,000 rental deficit is not deductible. Item 2 uses foreign income gross of foreign tax less deductible expenses when claiming set-offs; otherwise, or with nil chargeable income, use receipts net of foreign tax less expenses. Six-row limit: five largest, then consolidate the remainder with representative nature and country Others.
Donation fields and order
Item 4 a is YA 2025 carried-forward donations less expired YA 2020 amounts, amendable to company records. Item 4 c uses IPC/local records in View Donations; receipt timing and missing UEN can explain differences. Correct with the institution for IRAS reassessment. Item 4 d covers OHAS and/or PTIS overseas deductions, capped together at 40% statutory income. Apply 100% PTIS first, 100% OHAS second, 250% qualifying local donations third. Unused PTIS/OHAS neither carries forward nor transfers under group relief.
Group relief, carry-back and investment allowance
Items 5/9 transfer current unused capital allowances, trade losses including 14N, and donations between Singapore-incorporated group companies with matching year-ends. Items 6 a–c allow up to S$100,000 current allowances/losses against the immediately prior YA, subject to shareholder continuity; allowances additionally need unchanged principal activity. Changed activity alone does not prevent trade-loss carry-back. Common shareholdings must be ≥ 50% at the first day of the allowance YA or loss year and last day of the prior deduction YA. Carry back only net amounts after group transfers. Item 7 a investment allowance is pre-filled but amendable; 7 c is the lower of 7 a+7 b and Item 3 less brought-forward/current approved donations. Item 8 is chargeable income after donations before PTE/SUTE.
Incentives, set-offs and exempt income
Item 11 selects incentive income after group relief. From YA 2024 qualifying 13A/13E/13P shipping entities making an irrevocable net-tonnage election report deemed income under Net Tonnage Basis – S34K. Items 12 a–e foreign credits are the lower of Singapore tax on net income or foreign tax, per income type/country; declare foreign income in 2 without double-counting in 1 a. Elective FTC pooling compares pooled foreign tax with total Singapore tax on included income. 13 a is Singapore tax deducted from loan-stock interest/REIT distributions; 13 b other gross-income withholding at corporate rate. 14 is tax remission under 92(1)/(2), excluding CIT rebate. 15 is adjusted exempt income/loss after current allowances, excludes PTE/SUTE and concessionary-rate income, and requires FSIE details in Additional Info D.
Assessment 2: continuity and waivers
Items 16 a/b check activity and ultimate shareholdings. Carried-forward allowances, losses, M&A allowances and donations need common shareholding ≥ 50% at the last day of their allowance YA or loss/donation year and first day of utilisation YA; allowances also need unchanged principal activity. Investment-holding companies cannot claim current allowances or carry forward their current allowances/losses. Item 17 applies when shareholder change exists and a waiver under 23(5), 37(16), 37D(15), 37O(22) is granted/requested. IRAS considers merits and whether the change is tax-motivated; a waiver limits use to same-business profits, including carry-back.
Allowance balances and non-taxable receipts
Items 18/20 include IBA, LIA and M&A balances; M&A includes double transaction-cost deduction on qualifying acquisitions 17 February 2012–31 December 2030, expenditure cap S$100,000 per YA. 19 includes balancing allowance/charge, EIS, hire-purchase enhancements, IBA/LIA. 21 losses brought forward and 18 allowance figures are pre-filled but amendable. 25 b excludes one-tier exempt dividends, Jobs Support Scheme and 13W share gains, the latter reported in Additional Info F. 26 non-income-producing expenses—vacant property, non-dividend securities, interest-free loans funded by borrowing—are not deductible. 27 asks the nature/reason for claiming paid but not yet incurred deferred costs, such as advance rent. 28 b LIA needs prior EDB/BCA approval and retained evidence.
Section 14N renovations: cap, timing and first example
Item 29 qualifying business-premises R&R generally excludes structural changes requiring Building Control approval and requires continuing the relevant business. S$300,000 cap per relevant three-year period; ordinary deduction is one-third over three consecutive YAs from first incurrence, and omitted first-YA costs cannot be recovered in later YAs. From YA 2025 cap periods are fixed, first 2025–2027. The table’s incurred costs for 2021–2026 are 180,000/150,000/20,000/0/400,000/90,000; admitted costs 180,000/120,000/0/0/300,000/0; annual deductions 60,000/100,000/100,000/40,000/100,000/100,000. YA 2024 starts another old cap cycle; YA 2025 starts the new fixed cycle. Irrevocable one-year write-off is available for qualifying costs in YAs 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025 onwards. Retain evidence; 14N deductions may transfer under group relief.
Withholding, related parties, assets and revenue
Item 30 includes non-resident debt interest/fees/commission, royalties and movable-property rights/rent, scientific/technical/industrial/commercial know-how assistance, management fees and non-resident property-trader purchases; rates depend on payee/payment. 31 aggregates P&L amounts paid/payable and received/receivable with related parties, excluding key-management compensation/dividends, plus year-end loans and non-trade balances; insurers also use financial statements. 32 asks about stock appropriated permanently to non-trade use or capital/non-trade assets converted to stock: submit AC Reporting Form through Submit Document. 34 revenue is main-source income, excluding separate-source interest; for investment holding it includes investment income.
Section 10L foreign-asset gains: all reporting routes
From 1 January 2024 covered-entity foreign disposal gains received in Singapore may fall under 10(1)(g) if not otherwise taxable or otherwise exempt, unless 10L(8) exclusions apply; non-IPRs depend on adequate substance, foreign IPR gains have their own route. 33 applies to covered entities even for excluded gains. IPR-only: 33a Not Applicable, 33b gains derived, 33c remitted. Non-IPR-only: 33a Yes/No if disposals occurred, otherwise Not Applicable; excluded entities may leave 33b zero, but enter 33c receipts. Mixed IPR/non-IPR: 33a No, enter 33b/c and computation details. Taxable receipts also enter 2 and relevant 12/Additional C 17; non-taxable receipts 25. Non-covered entities use Not Applicable and zeros 33b/c.
Additional Info A: medical, remuneration and internationalisation
Deductible medical costs including cash alternatives/insurance cap at 1% employee remuneration, or 2% with qualifying PMBS/TMIS/Shield or ad-hoc Medisave contributions capped S$2,730 per employee annually and scheme conditions. Beyond 1% excludes Shield riders covering deductible/co-payment; declare 14(6A–C) compliance. Remuneration includes salaries, allowances, bonuses, leave, gratuity, CPF; excludes directors’ fees, benefits, medical/cash alternatives. Automatic DTDi permits first S$150,000 expenses per YA through 31 December 2030 without prior EnterpriseSG/STB approval: overseas business/investment trips, overseas fairs, approved local/virtual fairs, product/service certification, overseas advertising/promotion, overseas packaging design and approved local-trade-publication advertising. Last five qualify from 17 February 2021. Items 3/4 report eligible cost within cap and retain purpose/expense proof.
Additional Info A/B: second renovation example and allowance types
Item 8 reports total annual R&R deduction: costs 180,000 in YA 2024,120,000 in 2025, 90,000 in 2026, without accelerated choice, give YA 2026 deduction 130,000=60,000 old cycle+40,000+30,000 new cycle. IBA total is IA+AA+BA−BC, also used in 13–16 including any relevant historical PIC enhancements. 19 prescribed-life plant; 19A(1) three years; 19A(2–4)100% for computers/automation/robots; 19A(10) website; 19A(10A) plant items ≤ S$5,000 each; 19B IPR writing-down.
Foreign-tax and foreign-income exemption details
Additional C records foreign tax whether FTC claimed or not: six rows with five largest and consolidated remainder. Exempt foreign dividends, branch profits and service income go in D: six largest only, no consolidation of extras required. Headline rate is highest general/special-legislation corporate rate, not actual income rate. Amount is net foreign tax paid/payable, including relevant 13(12), REIT/offshore-infrastructure scenarios. Subject-to-tax includes dividend payer’s underlying income tax; a substantive-business incentive exemption can meet the condition, with evidence retained.
R&D fields and two numerical illustrations
Additional E 19 is section 14C expense net government/statutory-board grants: Singapore R&D whether trade-related or not, overseas / mixed R&D if trade-related, and CSA in Singapore / overseas whether trade-related or not. 20 isolates qualifying Singapore expense. 21 is staff/consumables beyond EIS’s S$400,000 cap, before multiplying by 150%: S$600,000 qualifying costs means enter 200,000. The full example has Singapore 800,000 including staff/consumables 500,000, plus trade-related overseas 200,000: fields 19=S$1,000,000, 20=800,000, 21=100,000. First 400,000 eligible EIS costs get 400% total; excess 100,000 gets additional 150%. Additional F 22 reports qualifying 13W ordinary-share disposal gains, with retained evidence.
EIS common rules and all five activity groups
EIS YAs 2024–2028 requires active Singapore operations and qualifying costs. Fields 25–29 report net grant/cash-converted qualifying costs and additional 300% enhancement, not total 400%. Partial cash conversion is allowed for Singapore R&D, IPR licensing, training and partner innovation, but not IP registration/IPR acquisition; do not split one IPR’s cost between cash and enhancements. Training: additional 300% on first 400,000 fees for SSG-fundable Skills Framework courses paid/reimbursed to SSG-registered providers, on top of 100%. Partner innovation: direct collaboration/company beneficiary, 400% on first 50,000 for R&D, engineering/design/creative, IP or software/database activities with five polytechnics, ITE or A*STAR SIMTech’s Precision Engineering Centre of Innovation.
EIS intellectual property and R&D
Acquisition/licensing requires annual revenue below S$500 million; additional 300% on combined first 400,000, atop 100% WDA/deduction. Registration requires business use and both legal/economic ownership with IPR held at least one year or claw-back; additional 300% on first 400,000 atop 14A 100%. Singapore R&D staff/consumables: additional 300% first 400,000 atop 14C 100%; above cap additional 150%. The original’s historical PIC references elsewhere do not revive that scheme.
Group-relief forms and RPT definitions
GR A/B ordinary holding must remain ≥ 75% for the continuous period ending at basis-period end; test both ordinary shares and distributable profits/assets. GR A reports transferor’s unconverted loss: 10,000 at 10% stays 10,000 even though claimant at 17% gets 10,000×10/17=5,882. RPT total is Part 2 transactions plus Part 5 closing balances. IPR covers patents, copyright, trademarks, designs, geographical indications, integrated-circuit layouts, trade secrets/commercial information and plant varieties. A holding company that is immediate and ultimate is labelled Ultimate; Other includes disclosable group companies/joint ventures.
Annex: complete PTE tax computation
Adjusted trade profit 578,820−allowances brought 1,000−current 8,000−losses 3,000=566,820 Item 1 a. Add rent 50,000=616,820 Item 3; less old donations 2,000 and current 4,800 (actual 1,920×2.5) yields 610,020 Item 8. PTE 102,500 leaves 507,520; 17%=86,278.40. No section 92 remission. Assuming no local-employee condition/no 2,000 cash grant, 50% rebate 43,139.20 capped 40,000 leaves 46,278.40. Prior ECI tax 37,240 gives additional 9,038.40. These rebate values belong to this YA 2026 example.
Annex: complete SUTE tax computation
Trade loss 10,000 plus old/current allowances 1,000/8,000 and old losses 3,000 means Item 1 a −22,000. Rent 150,000 less those 12,000 balances gives 138,000, then trade loss leaves 128,000 Item 3. Old donations 2,000 and current 4,800 leave 121,200. SUTE 75,000+10,600=85,600 leaves 35,600; 17%=6,052. Assuming local-employee condition met and 2,000 cash grant received, remaining rebate 50%×6,052−2,000=1,026; payable 5,026. Prior ECI 7,500 means 2,474 discharged. Do not apply the cash-grant assumption from this example to the first example.
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.
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