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Singapore charges Goods and Services Tax at 9%. IRAS, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, says a GST-registered business must charge and account for it on all sales of goods and services in Singapore, unless the sale can be zero-rated or exempted. The rate has been 9% since . Checked on .
What is the GST rate in Singapore today?
The standard rate is 9%. It applies to most local sales: a TV in a retail shop, a spa treatment, a consulting invoice. IRAS also puts imported services and imported low-value goods at 9%.
GST is a tax on consumption. The final customer pays it, and registered businesses collect it for IRAS. Only a business that is registered can charge GST, and only from its effective date of registration. A business below the threshold may still be registered by choice. See GST registration for the S$1 million test.
How has the GST rate changed over the years?
IRAS publishes this history. GST started on .
| Period | Rate |
|---|---|
| to | 3% |
| to | 4% |
| to | 5% |
| to | 7% |
| to | 8% |
| to present | 9% |
Some websites carry headings about a rate change in the current year. The IRAS table shows no later change than the move to 9%. If you keep old invoice templates, check that nothing still shows 7% or 8%. IRAS publishes FAQs for businesses on the earlier rate changes, and they cover sales that straddle a change.
Which sales are charged at 0%?
Zero-rated supplies are taxable at 0%. The seller still counts them in taxable turnover and can claim input tax on its costs. IRAS gives two main examples:
- Export of goods. A laptop sold to an overseas customer and shipped to an overseas address.
- International services. An air ticket from Singapore to Thailand is an international transportation service.
Zero-rating is different from exemption. Mixing them up is the most common error on invoices, because the invoice may look the same.
Which sales are exempt or out of scope?
Neither type is charged GST. IRAS lists these as exempt:
- Sale and rental of unfurnished residential property.
- Importation and local supply of investment precious metals.
- Financial services, for example the issue of a debt security.
- Digital payment tokens, for example exchanging Bitcoin for fiat currency, from .
Out-of-scope supplies include goods delivered from overseas to another place overseas, and private transactions. The practical difference: a seller of exempt supplies generally cannot claim the GST on its related costs, while a seller of zero-rated supplies can. Read the IRAS pages on partial exemption if you make both kinds of sales.
How does GST work along the supply chain?
GST is charged on value added at each stage. IRAS gives a worked example. A manufacturer imports leather for S$100 and pays S$9 GST at import. It sells bags to a retailer for S$200 plus S$18 GST. The retailer sells to customers for S$300 plus S$27 GST.
- The manufacturer collected S$18 and paid S$9, so it pays IRAS S$9.
- The retailer collected S$27 and paid S$18, so it pays IRAS S$9.
- The government receives S$18 in total, on S$200 of value added.
Output tax minus input tax gives the net GST. You pay the collected GST to IRAS within a month from the end of the accounting period. The filing steps are on the GST filing page.
What if you are not GST-registered?
You cannot charge GST to customers and you cannot claim it back on purchases. The GST you pay becomes part of your business cost. If you charged GST without being registered, IRAS says you must remit it. That is a common slip for a new online seller who copies the 9% line from a template invoice.
What about overseas sellers and imports?
A business abroad that sells digital services or low-value goods to Singapore consumers may have to register and charge 9% on those sales. The rules are on the overseas vendor registration page. A Singapore business that buys services from abroad may owe GST under the reverse charge if it cannot claim full input tax.
How do you work out GST on a price?
Multiply the price before GST by 9% to get the GST. Add the two to get the invoice total. For a price that already includes GST, divide by 1.09 to find the pre-GST amount, then take the difference as GST. IRAS prices in its examples are shown before GST, so check which basis a supplier's price list uses.
Keep the maths on your invoices simple and consistent. A zero-rated export should show 0% clearly, so nobody mistakes it for an exempt sale or an unregistered seller's invoice.
Independent guide
SingaporeCompanySetupGuide.com is an independent guide, not IRAS, and we do not file GST for anyone. If you want an accountant to register you, set your invoices up and file returns, send the quote form. We pass the request to suitable providers and they answer with their own terms.
Sources
- IRAS, Current GST rates, https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/goods-services-tax-(gst)/basics-of-gst/current-gst-rates (9% on sales unless zero-rated or exempt)
- IRAS, Prevailing rate of 9%, https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/goods-services-tax-(gst)/charging-gst-(output-tax)/when-to-charge-goods-and-services-tax-(gst)/prevailing-rate-of-9 (rate history table)
- IRAS, Goods and Services Tax (GST): what it is and how it works, https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/goods-services-tax-(gst)/basics-of-gst/goods-and-services-tax-(gst)-what-it-is-and-how-it-works (zero-rated, exempt, out-of-scope, worked example)
