Tax
What is Tax Residency (183-day rule)?
Whether you are taxed as a Singapore tax resident. You are a resident for a year if you stay or work here for at least 183 days — taxed at the progressive 0%–24% rates with access to reliefs. Below 183 days you are a non-resident, taxed at a flat 15% on employment income (or resident rates if higher) with no reliefs.
How you qualify as a resident
You’re a Singapore tax resident for a year if you are a citizen or PR who normally lives here, or a foreigner who stays or works in Singapore for at least 183 days in the calendar year. Residents are taxed at the progressive 0%–24% rates and can claim personal reliefs. (Special concessions can extend residency across two or three years for some work arrangements.)
How non-residents are taxed
If you’re here for fewer than 183 days, your employment income is taxed at a flat 15% or the resident rates, whichever produces more tax, and other income such as director’s fees is taxed at 24% — with no access to personal reliefs. Because the 183-day line is a cliff edge, straddling it (for example, starting work late in the year) can change your tax bill substantially.