Singapore Budget 2026

 The Singapore government announced its Budget 2026 (the Budget) on 12 February 2026. 

Quoting Singapore Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Mr. Lawrence Wong, who delivered the Budget, he said: 

“In this Budget, we will: 

1. Advance our refreshed economic strategy; 

2. Harness Artificial Intelligence as a strategic advantage; 

3. Build a resilient and skilled workforce; 

4. Give families more support and greater assurance; 

5. Protect our security and sustainability; 

6. Renew and strengthen our Singapore spirit.” 

Some of the measures and changes announced in the Budget include those describe briefly in the table below as extracted from the Ministry of Finance website. 

You can access the details of the Budget at the following link: https://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/budget-speech/budget-statement

		Existing Treatment	New Treatment
1	Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Rebate for the Year of Assessment (YA) 2026, with a minimum benefit of S$1,500 for eligible active companies	Not applicable.	A CIT Rebate of 40% of tax payable will be granted for YA 2026.   Active companies that employed at least one local employee in 2025 (referred to as “local employee condition”) will receive a minimum benefit of S$1,500 in the form of a CIT Rebate Cash Grant.   The maximum total benefits of CIT Rebate and CIT Rebate Cash Grant that a company may receive is S$30,000. Eligible companies will automatically receive the benefits from 2Q 2026 onwards.   A company is considered to have met the local employee condition if it has made CPF contributions to at least one local (i.e., Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident) employee, excluding shareholders who are also directors of the company, in the calendar year 2025.
2	Enhance the Double Tax Deduction for Internationalisation (“DTDi”) scheme	Under the DTDi scheme, businesses are allowed a 200% tax deduction on eligible expenses incurred on 16 qualifying market expansion and investment development activities.   Businesses can automatically claim 200% tax deduction on the first S$150,000 of eligible expenses for nine activities per YA without prior approval.   Prior approval is required from Enterprise Singapore or Singapore Tourism Board for expenses exceeding S$150,000 on these nine activities or expenses incurred on the remaining seven qualifying activities.   Prior approval is also required for certain expenses incurred on overseas market development trips and overseas investment study trips.	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.   The scope of claims which 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:   a) Investment feasibility/due diligence studies;   b) Master licensing and franchising;   c) Market surveys/feasibility studies;   d) Overseas business development; and   e) Production of corporate brochures for overseas distribution.   Businesses can continue to apply to Enterprise Singapore or Singapore Tourism Board for expenses exceeding S$400,000 per YA or expenses incurred on overseas trade office and e-commerce campaigns.   The changes will apply to expenses incurred from YA 2027. Enterprise Singapore will provide more details by 2Q 2026.
3	Enhance the Enterprise Innovation Scheme (“EIS”)	Under the EIS, qualifying businesses can claim 400% tax deductions/allowances on qualifying expenditure incurred on the following five qualifying activities: a) Qualifying Research and Development activities undertaken in Singapore;   b) Registration of Intellectual Property (“IP”);   c) Acquisition and licensing of IP rights;  d) Training courses that are eligible for SkillsFuture Singapore funding and aligned with the Skills Framework; and   e) Innovation projects carried out with polytechnics, the Institute of Technical Education, or other qualified partners (collectively known as partner institutions).   The qualifying expenditure cap under each of activities (a) to (d) is S$400,000 for each YA. The qualifying expenditure cap under (e) is S$50,000 for each YA.   Businesses have the option to convert up to S$100,000 of total qualifying expenditure into a 20% non-taxable cash payout, in lieu of tax deductions/allowances.	To support businesses in adopting AI, the EIS will be enhanced for YA 2027 and YA 2028:   a) The list of partner institutions will be expanded to include the Sectoral AI Centre of Excellence for Manufacturing.   b) An additional qualifying activity will be introduced for qualifying AI expenditures. Businesses can claim tax deductions/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 provide more details by mid-2026.
4	Extend the Not-for-Profit Organisation Tax Incentive (“NPOTI”)	The NPOTI provides tax exemption on the income derived by an approved NPO.   The tax incentive is scheduled to lapse after 31 December 2027.	To ensure that Singapore remains an attractive location for NPOs, the NPOTI will be extended till 31 December 2032.
5	Extend the 250% tax deduction for qualifying donations to Institutions of a Public Character (“IPCs”) and eligible institutions	Donors are eligible for a 250% tax deduction for qualifying donations made to IPCs and eligible institutions.   The tax deduction is scheduled to lapse for donations made after 31 December 2026.	To encourage giving, the tax deduction will be extended to qualifying local donations made from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2029.
6	Extend the Corporate Volunteer Scheme (“CVS”)	All businesses carrying on a trade or business in Singapore can claim 250% tax deductions on qualifying expenditure (such as wages) incurred in respect of: a) Sending their qualifying employees to volunteer at or to provide services to IPCs; or   b) Seconding their qualifying employees to IPCs.   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 current year.   The tax deduction is scheduled to lapse for expenditure incurred after 31 December 2026.	To support corporate volunteering, the tax deduction under the CVS will be extended to qualifying expenditure incurred from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2029.