Not Ordinarily Resident (NOR) Scheme

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Not Ordinarily Resident (NOR) scheme?
Do I qualify for the NOR scheme?
How long is the NOR period?
What are the tax concessions available under the NOR scheme?
Time apportionment of Singapore employment income
Tax exemption of employer’s contribution to non-mandatory overseas pension fund or social security scheme
How do I apply for the NOR status and tax concessions?

What is the Not Ordinarily Resident (NOR) scheme?

The NOR scheme extends favourable tax treatment to qualifying individuals for a period of five years.

Do I qualify for the NOR scheme?

You can use the NOR status calculator (92KB) to check your eligibility.

You can qualify for the NOR scheme from any Year of Assessment (YA) if you meet the following criteria:

• You are a tax resident for that YA; and
• You are a non-resident for three consecutive YAs immediately before that.
  Example:
  
  

  If you commenced employment in Singapore on	You are non-resident for three years prior to your arrival	Tax residence in the year of arrival	You can qualify for NOR status from	You can enjoy NOR concessions from
  01 Jan 2012 (> 183 days)	Yes	Resident (under the 183-day resident rule)	YA 2013 to 2017	YA 2013 to 2017
  01 Aug 2012 (< 183 days)	Yes	Non-Resident (under the 183-day resident rule)	YA 2014 to 2018 (If you have been assessed as a resident in the year of arrival, your assessment will be revised to assess you as a non-resident and additional tax will be payable)	YA 2014 to 2018
  01 Aug 2012 (< 183 days)	Yes	If you opt to be treated as Resident under the three-year resident concession	YA 2013 to 2017	YA 2014 to 2017 (You can enjoy the NOR concession only from YA 2014)

How long is the NOR period?

If your application is successful, you will be given the NOR status for five consecutive YAs, starting from the YA in which you first meet the criteria.

What are the tax concessions available under the NOR scheme?

You can use the NOR status calculator (92KB) to check your eligibility.

If you are given the NOR status, you can enjoy one or more of the following tax concessions during the NOR period as long as you are a tax resident in the respective YA:

• Time apportionment of Singapore employment income
  Under this concession, you will not be taxed on the portion of your Singapore employment income that corresponds to the number of days you have spent outside Singapore for business reasons, as a resident Singapore employee.
  

  Qualifying Criteria
  • You must have spent at least 90 days outside Singapore for business reasons; and
  • Your total Singapore employment income must be at least $160,000.  If the tax on the apportioned income is less than 10% of your total employment income, you will still be subject to a tax of 10% of your total employment income.
  Income Not Apportionable
  • Director's fees; and
  • Any amount of income tax payable in Singapore that is borne, directly or indirectly, by your employer.

  
  

  Q1. How to compute the number of days outside Singapore?

  Your presence in Singapore for any part of a day shall be counted as one day in Singapore.  Alternatively, as an administrative concession, you may choose to count only the day of arrival in Singapore as a day in Singapore (i.e., the day of departure from Singapore will be counted as a day outside Singapore.  However, if you have left Singapore and returned on the same day, this will be considered as a day in Singapore).

  Example:

  You left Singapore on 23 May and returned on 26 May.  23 May is not counted as a day in Singapore.  The number of days outside Singapore is three days (23 May to 25 May).

  Just enter your travel days in the NOR Travel Calculator (36KB).  The NOR travel calculator will compute the number of days outside Singapore for you.

  
  

• Tax exemption of employer’s contribution to non-mandatory overseas pension fund or social security scheme 
  Under this concession, if you are a resident Singapore employee, tax exemption will be given to you on contribution made by your employer to any non-mandatory overseas contribution scheme.  The amount of exemption is subject to a cap.
  
  

  Qualifying Criteria
  • You are not a Singapore citizen or Permanent Resident; and
  • Your Singapore employment income must be at least $160,000; and
  • Your employer should only claim deduction on contributions made to non-mandatory overseas pension or provident funds and social security schemes in excess of the NOR cap.

How do I apply for the NOR status and tax concessions? 

Submit the Application for Not Ordinarily Resident (NOR Scheme) (246KB), Appendices and Form IR8A/Appendix 8A/8B with your annual tax return by 15 Apr of the YA in which you have qualified for the scheme and/or tax concessions. If you e-File your tax return, please fax or send the application form to IRAS by 18 Apr of that YA. You can use the NOR status calculator (92KB) to check your eligibility.

If your application is successful and you are given the NOR status, you are required to submit the Application for Not Ordinarily Resident (NOR Scheme) (246KB) by 15 Apr (18 Apr if you e-File your tax return) each year during the NOR status period in which you will be claiming the tax concessions. If the application form is not submitted by the due date, no tax concession would be allowed to you.

Example (if you are submitting paper tax return):