Singapore’s Budget 2024 was delivered on 16 February 2024. For businesses, its main aims were to ease cost pressures, support wage increases for lower-wage workers and attract high-value investment. This article sets out the measures most relevant to SMEs, with Years of Assessment (YA) and effective dates where these were announced.
Corporate income tax rebate and cash grant (YA 2024)
Companies received a 50% rebate on corporate income tax payable for YA 2024. The rebate came in two parts:
- CIT Rebate Cash Grant: a minimum of $2,000 for companies that made CPF contributions for at least one local (Singapore Citizen or PR) employee in calendar year 2023. Shareholders who are also directors do not count towards this. IRAS paid the grant automatically by 3Q 2024.
- Remaining rebate: 50% of tax payable, less any cash grant received. This was applied when the YA 2024 assessment was raised after the company filed Form C-S, C-S (Lite) or C.
- Cap: the cash grant and the rebate together are limited to $40,000 per company.
For example, a company with $30,000 of tax payable receives a $2,000 cash grant and a $13,000 rebate, which is $15,000 in total.
Refundable Investment Credit (RIC)
The RIC is a new incentive for substantial investments, such as new productive capacity, headquarters activities, R&D and commodity trading. It can fund up to 50% of qualifying expenditure. The credit is first set off against corporate income tax payable. Any unused amount is refunded in cash within four years of the company meeting the qualifying conditions. EDB and Enterprise Singapore award the RIC on an approval basis. The Government added $2 billion to the National Productivity Fund to pay for it.
Other tax changes for businesses
- Renovation and refurbishment (R&R) deduction, from YA 2025: designer and professional fees will qualify. The expenditure cap will be measured over fixed three-year periods, with the first running from YA 2025 to YA 2027. Companies may also choose to claim the deduction in a single YA, subject to the cap.
- Global minimum tax (Pillar Two): the Income Inclusion Rule and a Domestic Top-up Tax apply from financial years starting on or after 1 January 2025. Together they set a 15% minimum effective tax rate. They affect only multinational groups with annual revenue of €750 million or more, so most SMEs are outside scope. A local subsidiary of a large group may be caught, however.
- Concessionary tax rate tiers: from 17 February 2024, a 10% tier was added to some incentives and a 15% tier to others, including the Development and Expansion Incentive and the Global Trader Programme.
Enterprise support
- Enterprise Financing Scheme (EFS): the maximum EFS-SME Working Capital Loan was raised permanently from $300,000 to $500,000. Other parts of the scheme, including green and fixed-asset financing, were also enhanced.
- Energy Efficiency Grant (EEG): first launched in 2022 for food services, food manufacturing and retail, it was widened to cover manufacturing, construction, maritime and data centres, with higher support levels. The usual conditions are at least 30% local shareholding, at least one local employee and group annual sales of no more than $500 million.
- SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit (SFEC): eligible companies received a one-off $10,000 credit, covering up to 90% of out-of-pocket costs for qualifying workforce and enterprise transformation programmes. It was available until 30 June 2025.
Employment and CPF measures
- Progressive Wage Credit Scheme (PWCS): co-funding for qualifying wage increases given in 2024 was raised:
- employees earning up to $2,500 a month: from 30% to 50%;
- employees earning above $2,500 and up to $3,000: from 15% to 30%.
For qualifying years 2025 and 2026, the gross monthly wage ceiling rises from $2,500 to $3,000. From 2024, no co-funding is given if the employee’s average monthly wage after the increase is above $4,000.
- CPF for senior workers: from 1 January 2025, the total CPF contribution rate for employees aged above 55 to 65 rose by 1.5 percentage points, with the employer’s share up by 0.5 percentage points.
- CPF Transition Offset: for one year, the Government paid employers half of the 2025 increase in employer CPF contributions for these workers.
- Local Qualifying Salary: raised to at least $1,600 a month for full-time staff and $10.50 an hour for part-time staff from 1 July 2024. This affects how local employees are counted for foreign worker quotas.
GST and stamp duty
Budget 2024 did not change the GST rate. On stamp duty, from 16 February 2024:
- housing developers can get a lower Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) remission clawback rate in some cases;
- single Singapore Citizens aged 55 and above can claim an ABSD refund when they buy a lower-value replacement private home, subject to conditions.
Household measures relevant to employers
The qualifying wage cap for the Workfare Income Supplement rose from $2,500 to $3,000 for work done from 1 January 2025. More lower-wage staff may therefore receive payouts, so employers should make sure their CPF submissions are complete and correct.
What this means for your financial statements
When preparing your financial statements, consider how to account for and disclose:
- CIT rebates and cash grants;
- PWCS payouts and CPF Transition Offset receipts, which are generally government grants;
- any RIC awarded.
Timing matters as well, because some payouts are received in a later period than the one they relate to.
How we can help
If you have questions about how these Budget 2024 measures affect your company’s audit or financial statements, please contact K.S. NG & Co at enquiries@ksng.com.sg.
Information in this article is correct as at October 2026.