Scope and the 2025 definition change
The Fifth Edition, published 30 January 2026, explains the Hotel Order as amended in 2024. From 1 January 2025 the relevant premises are those approved by the competent authority or authorised by the Minister for National Development for hotel use under the Planning Act 1998. Hotels within a Casino Control Act designated site remain excluded. Previously the definition depended on registration under the Hotels Act. The original Hotel Order dates from 1 July 1986.
Three valuation bases and the tax rate
Room annual value is 25% of the previous year’s gross room receipts. F&B outlets and function rooms use 10% of their previous-year gross receipts. Other assessable hotel areas use estimated market rent, determined through methods such as rental comparison or profits valuation. Property tax is then 10% of the hotel’s total annual value. These assessment percentages and the final tax rate are separate stages; IRAS reviews assessment rates against prevailing market rent.
What belongs in gross room receipts
Room receipts include rooms, suites and bed rental. For periods shorter than a year, use the annual equivalent. Exclude telephone/fax/cable/internet charges, laundry, secretarial or concierge charges, room service and minibar sales, complimentary guest meals, the 10% service charge in lieu of tips, and GST. For gazetted hotels subject to Formula 1 cess, also exclude the actual F1 cess declared in the return and paid to Singapore Tourism Board, rather than an estimated amount.
Available rooms, unavailable rooms and room nights
Available rooms include both occupied and vacant rooms offered to guests. Staff-use rooms, complimentary rooms and those closed for renovation or upgrading are unavailable for sale, but remain assessable. Their annual value uses the per-room rate derived from available rooms, because property tax concerns property rental potential rather than net profit or actual receipts. Room nights equal room count multiplied by nights: 100 rooms for 365 days gives 36,500. Hourly-use hotels must estimate equivalent rooms available for sale, or alternatively report unavailable rooms.
F&B and function-room receipts
F&B receipts include complimentary guest meals, room service and minibar sales; exclude GST and the 10% service charge. Function receipts include banquet sales and space rental, again excluding GST and the service charge. Short operating periods are annualised. Both owner-operated and tenant-operated outlets use the 10% assessment rate. The guide explains that over 90% of function-room receipts arise from banquets, supporting the same basis as F&B.
Vacant outlets and missing tenant data
Tenants can report their receipts directly to IRAS. If receipts are not provided by the annual 31 March deadline, comparable F&B rents determine value. An outlet vacant for part of the preceding year generally uses 10% of annualised receipts. If vacant throughout both preceding and current years, the gross-receipts method does not apply and comparable market rents are used instead.
Other hotel areas and the complimentary exception
Assessable areas include car parks, spas and fitness centres, offices, retail, business centres, gyms, tour desks, ATMs, vehicle-rental kiosks, other kiosks, advertising spaces, telecom stations and pushcarts, plus rentable areas or areas used for guests or operations. Market rental value considers comparable vicinity rentals, size, condition and other factors regardless of vacancy or owner occupation. A business centre or gym used exclusively by hotel guests free of charge receives no separate annual value under the stated exception.
Annual statement and non-application of the formula
Hotel owners or operators must submit the Statement for Hotel Premises to the Chief Assessor by 31 March every year. It reports previous-year room, F&B and function receipts, current floor areas and current tenancies of other let areas. The Hotel Order may not apply where the Chief Assessor considers receipts unrepresentative of a comparable hotel, or the statement is not furnished on time. The source identifies these as common circumstances, not an exhaustive list.
Annex A: room-value calculation
The example has 200 rooms: 150 available for sale and 50 unavailable. Previous-year room receipts of S$7.5 million yield S$1.875 million at 25%. Spread across the 150 available rooms, the annual rate is S$12,500 per room. Applying that rate to 50 unavailable rooms adds S$625,000, so room annual value totals S$2.5 million. The S$12,500 figure follows the available-room count, not division by all 200 rooms.
Annex A: total value and tax
F&B receipts of S$1 million give annual value S$100,000; function receipts of S$500,000 give S$50,000. A 500-square-foot retail outlet at S$15 per square foot per month gives S$90,000 annually. Adding S$2.5 million, S$100,000, S$50,000 and S$90,000 produces total annual value S$2.74 million. At 10% tax, the example bill is S$274,000. Questions can be addressed to the IRAS Property Tax Division through the official Contact Us route.
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 ↗