On 12 February 2026, Singapore Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Lawrence Wong delivered the Budget Statement for Financial Year 2026, focusing on advancing Singapore’s refreshed economic strategy, harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) as a strategic advantage, building a resilient and skilled workforce.
This article provides an overview of the key tax changes that were announced and other changes impacting businesses:
- Corporate income tax rebate and cash grant
- Accelerate AI Adoption
- Enhancing support schemes for internationalisation
- Tax changes
- Employment-related measures
As announced in Budget 2026, to support companies in managing cost pressures, a CIT Rebate of 40% of the corporate tax payable will be granted to all taxpaying companies (regardless of tax residency) for YA 2026.
Active companies that meet the local employee condition in 2025 will receive a minimum benefit of $1,500 in the form of a CIT Rebate Cash Grant.
The total maximum benefits of the CIT Rebate and CIT Rebate Cash Grant is $30,000.
To further support companies in managing cash flow needs amid the energy crisis, the CIT Rebate and CIT Rebate Cash Grant have been enhanced as follows:
- CIT Rebate increased from 40% to 50% of the corporate tax payable
- CIT Rebate Cash Grant increased from $1,500 to $2,000
The total maximum combined benefits have also been increased from $30,000 to $40,000.
All other parameters remain unchanged.
Rebate percentages & Caps for YA 2026:
| Budget 2026 | Enhanced | |
| CIT Rebate | 40% of corporate tax payable | 50% of corporate tax payable |
| CIT Rebate Cash Grant | $1,500 | $2,000 |
| Maximum Combined Benefit | $30,000 | $40,000 |
This Budget signals a strong push to make AI accessible and actionable for businesses of all sizes.
Companies are encouraged to take proactive steps to leverage the support measures announced by Adopting AI, upskilling their workforce and tapping available schemes to enhance productivity, so as to remain competitive and successful in an increasing AI-enabled business environment.
Under the EIS, qualifying businesses can claim 400% tax deductions or allowances on qualifying expenditure incurred on five prescribed qualifying activities.
To support businesses in adopting AI, the EIS will be enhanced for YA 2027 and YA 2028.
The list of partner institutions will be expanded to include the Sectoral AI Centre of Excellence for Manufacturing.
An additional qualifying activity will be introduced for qualifying AI expenditures. Businesses can claim tax deduction or allowances of 400% on up to S$50,000 of qualifying AI expenditures incurred for each YA. The option to convert qualifying expenditure into a cash payout will not be available for this new qualifying activity.
IRAS will release more details on these enhancements by mid-2026
To support businesses in AI adoption, a wider range of AI-enabled solutions will be made available for businesses under the PSG.
The PSG provides support for businesses to adopt pre-approved IT solutions and equipment to improve their productivity and automate existing processes. The Ministry of Digital Development and Information (“MDDI”) will provide more details at Committee of Supply 2026 (“COS 2026”).
Budget 2026 reinforces the Government’s continuous support for SMEs in their overseas expansion efforts through schemes such as the DTDi and MRA Grant.
As companies expand into new markets, they will inevitably face a range of cross-border tax and regulatory considerations, including corporate income tax, withholding tax, transfer pricing, and permanent establishment risks. Companies are encouraged to seek proper advice and put in place appropriate operating and tax structures early to support sustainable growth and avoid unintended tax exposures.
The enhanced DTDi and MRA Grant will help alleviate the costs and risks associated with entering and operating in foreign markets.
The Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) grant helps enterprises to expand overseas by defraying the costs of overseas market promotion, business development and market set-up. The MRA grant is available to local small and medium enterprises (SMEs), at a support level of up to 50% of eligible costs, capped at S$100,000 per company per new market. The enhanced $$100,000 cap is scheduled to lapse after 31 March 2026.
From 1 April 2026, the MRA grant will be enhanced, as follows:
- Local SMEs will receive support of up to 70% of eligible costs. The higher support level is applicable until 31 March 2029.
- The enhanced grant cap of S$100,000 will be extended. Local SMEs will continue to receive grant support of up to S$100,000 per company per new market
From 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029, grant supports for other internationalisation schemes will be enhanced. Local SMEs and local non-SMEs will receive support of up to 70% to 50% of the eligible costs respectively. This will apply to the grants set out below.
| Grant scheme | Description |
| Business Adaptation Grant (until 6 October 2027) | To help local enterprise impacted by tariffs to adapt their business operations and strengthen supply chain resilience through advisory and reconfiguration support |
| Global Innovation Alliance schemes | To support Singapore-based startups to expand overseas, through participating in market access programmes and connecting with in-market experts, with a focus on technology and innovation. |
To further support businesses in their internationalisation efforts, the expenditure cap for claims that may be filed without prior approval will be raised from S$150,000 to S$400,000 per YA, from YA 2027. Businesses can continue to apply to the Enterprise Singapore and the Singapore Tourism Board for expenses exceeding S$400,000 per YA or expenses incurred on overseas trade office and e-commerce campaigns.
The scope of claims that do not require prior approval will also be expanded to cover all eligible expenses incurred on overseas market development trips and overseas investment study trips, and the following qualifying activities:
- Investment feasibility and due diligence studies
- Master licensing and franchising
- Market surveys and feasibility studies
- Overseas business development
- Production of corporate brochures for overseas distribution
The EFS enables qualifying Singapore enterprises to access financing more readily across all stages of growth. From 1 April 2026, the maximum loan quantum under the Enterprise Financing scheme (EFS) – SME fixed assets loan and EFS – trade loan facilities will be enhanced, as follows:
- The borrower and borrower group caps for each loan facility will be lifted.
- The overall loan quantum will be limited to S$50mn per borrower group across all EFS facilities.
The following tax changes were introduced in the Budget Statement.
A range of WHT exemptions is available to financial institutions (FIs) for payments made under specific types of financial transactions.
The WHT exemptions for the following payments made to non-resident persons (excluding permanent establishments in Singapore) that are scheduled to lapse after 31 December 2026 will be extended until 31 December 2031:
- All section 12(6) payments made by specified entities for the purpose of their trade or business
- Payments on structured products offered by FIs in Singapore
- Payments on over-the-counter financial derivatives made by qualifying FIs
- Payments made under cross currency swap transactions by Singapore swap counterparties to issuers of Singapore dollar debt securities
- Interest payments on margin deposits made under all derivatives contracts by approved exchanges, approved clearing houses, members of approved exchanges and members of approved clearing houses
- Specified payments made under securities lending or repurchase agreements by specified institutions
- Payments made under interest rate or currency swap transactions by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
Under the FTC incentive, approved FTCs are eligible for a concessionary tax rate of 8% or 10% on qualifying income. Approved FTCs are also eligible for WHT exemption on interest payments on loans used for qualifying activities or services. The incentive is scheduled to lapse after 31 December 2026.
The FTC incentive will be extended until 31 December 2031.
The scope of the WHT exemption for approved FTCs will be expanded to include interest-like borrowing costs that are subject to WHT, for loans used for qualifying activities or services. This applies to payments made on or after 13 February 2026.
Approved global trading companies are eligible for a concessionary tax rate of 5%, 10% or 15% on income from qualifying transactions in qualifying commodities. The scheme is scheduled to lapse after 31 December 2026.
The scheme will be extended until 31 December 2031.
The list of qualifying commodities will be expanded to include Environmental Attribute Certificates from 13 February 2026.
The NPOTI provides tax exemption on the income derived by an approved Not-for-Profit Organisation. The NPOTI is scheduled to lapse after 31 December 2027.
The NPOTI will be extended until 31 December 2032.
Donors are eligible for a 250% tax deduction for qualifying donations made to IPCs and eligible institutions. This is scheduled to lapse for donations made after 31 December 2026.
The tax deduction will be extended to qualifying local donations made from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2029
All businesses carrying on a trade or business in Singapore can claim 250% tax deduction on qualifying expenditure incurred to undertake volunteer work by their employees. From 1 January 2024, the qualifying expenditure is subject to an annual cap of S$250,000 per business per YA and S$100,000 per IPC per CY. The tax deduction is scheduled to lapse for expenditure incurred after 31 December 2026.
The tax deduction will be extended to qualifying expenditure from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2029
The PWCS co-funding support by the Government will be increased from 20% to 30% for wage increases given in qualifying year 2026. The enhanced co-funding will also apply to wage increases given in qualifying year 2025 that are sustained in 2026. In addition, the PWCS will be extended to cover wage increases in qualifying years 2027 and 2028, at co-funding rates of 30% and 20% respectively.
The Senior Employment Credit will be extended until 31 December 2027 to continue providing wage offsets to employers that hire senior workers aged 60 and above, who earn less than S$4,000.
From 1 January 2027, CPF contribution rates for workers aged above 55 to 60 will rise by a total of 1.5 percentage points, with employer contributions increasing by 0.5 percentage points.
For workers aged above 60 to 65, the overall CPF contribution rate will increase by 1.0 percentage points, with employer contributions also rising by 0.5 percentage points. The Government will continue to provide employers with a one-year CPF transition offset equivalent to half of the 2027 increase in employer CPF contribution rates for these workers
The minimum qualifying salary for Employment Pass (EP) will be raised from S$5,600 to S$6,000. For the financial services sector, this will be raised from S$6,200 to S$6,600. The changes will apply to new EP applications from 1 January 2027, and renewal applications from 1 January 2028.
The minimum qualifying salary for S Pass will be raised from S$3,300 to S$3,600. For the financial services sector, this will be raised from S$3,800 to S$4,000. The changes will apply to new S Pass applications from 1 January 2027, and renewal applications from 1 January 2028.
The monthly levy rate for basic-skilled (R2) work permit holders (WPHs) in the marine shipyard sector will be raised by S$100, from S$500 to S$600.
For the process sector, the monthly levy for R2 WPHs from Malaysia, North Asian sources and People’s Republic of China (PRC) will be raised by S$150, from S$450 to S$600.
For R2 WPHs from non-traditional sources, the monthly levy rate will also be raised by S$150, from S$650 to S$800.