Who can claim
If you are a self-employed person and have made compulsory Medisave / voluntary CPF contributions in the preceding year, you may claim relief for the contributions you have made. The amount of Medisave to be contributed will be subject to the Medisave contribution rates.
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How much you can claim
Please see the following two examples that illustrates the amount of tax relief allowed.
Example 1:
You are a self-employed person who have made Medisave and voluntary CPF contributions in the year 2010. For YA2011, you will be allowed tax relief for your Medisave and voluntary CPF contributions of up to 35% of your net trade income assessed, or the CPF relief cap of $26,775 or the actual amount contributed by you, whichever is lower.
No CPF relief will be allowed in respect of your compulsory Medisave or voluntary CPF contributions made in 2010 if you have no assessable net trade income for the Year of Assessment 2011.
Example 2:
You are an employee as well as a self-employed person and have made the following contributions in the same year:
a. Compulsory CPF contributions as an employee;
b. Compulsory Medisave contributions as a self-employed person; and
c. Voluntary CPF contributions.
There are two scenarios:
Scenario 1
Your combined compulsory CPF contribution as an employee and your compulsory Medisave contribution as a self-employed person is less than the CPF relief cap for self-employed persons.
You will be allowed tax relief for voluntary CPF contributions that you have made. The amount allowed will be capped at the prevailing CPF contribution rate for the year.
Please see Table 1 for the CPF relief caps for the different YAs.
Scenario 2
Your combined compulsory CPF contribution as an employee and compulsory Medisave contribution as a self-employed person is more than the CPF relief cap for self-employed persons.
As the total compulsory CPF contributions as a employee and compulsory Medisave contributions as a self-employed has exceeded the CPF releif cap, you will not be allowed tax relief for the voluntary CPF contributions.
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CPF Relief Cap
Table 1: CPF Relief Cap for Self-Employed Persons
Year of Assessment
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008 to 2010
|
2011
|
2012
|
Net Trade Income Ceiling
|
$72,000
|
$66,000
|
$85,000
|
$76,500
|
$76,500
|
$76,500
($4,500 x 17mths)
|
$79,333
($4500 x 17mths x 8/12) + ($5,000 x 17mths x 4/12)
|
CPF contribution rate
|
36%
(1.1.03 to 30.9.03)
33%
(1.10.03 to 31.12.03)
|
33%
|
33%
|
33%
|
34.5%
|
34.5%
(1.1.10 to 31.8.10)
35%
(1.9.10 to 31.12.10)
|
35%
(1.1.11 to 28.2.11)
35.5%
(1.3.11 to 31.8.11)
36%
(1.9.11 to 31.12.11)
|
CPF Relief Cap
|
$25,380
|
$21,780
|
$28,050
|
$25,245
|
$26,393
|
$26,775
(35% x $4,500 x 17mths)
|
$30,600
(36% x $5,000 x 17mths)
|
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When is the relief allowed
CPF relief is allowed based on the date of payment. For example, to claim for the CPF relief in the Year of Assessment 2011, you must have made the contribution by 31 Dec 2010.
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How to claim
If you have made Medisave / voluntary CPF contributions during the year, IRAS will allow the relief automatically in the following year. For the relief to be included automatically, please ensure that you are making the Medisave / voluntary CPF contributions as a self-employed person. For example, if you are both a self-employed person and employer, you have to make Medisave contributions separately from your employees by using the form "CPF/Medisave Contribution Form for Self-Employed". For more information on how to make Medisave / voluntary CPF contributions, please visit CPF website.
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Relief for Voluntary Contribution to Medisave Account (VC-MA)
With effect from Year of Assessment 2009, if you are a Singaporean or Singapore Permanent Resident and derived any income (e.g. rental income, director’s fees, etc), you may claim your voluntary cash contribution within the annual CPF contribution cap and the Medisave contribution ceiling ($39,500 from 1 Jul 2010), that is specifically instructed by you to be paid to your Medisave Account. Please note that such voluntary contribution must not have been claimed by you as a self-employed person. Please refer to examples in Q2 below.
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Illustrations and FAQs
Q1. Can you give a specific example to illustrate how much relief is allowed for an employee who is also a self-employed person?
Mr T is 30 years old. He is a salaried employee as well as a self-employed person. His employment income and net trade income for the year 2010 are as follows:
Employment Income From Jan 2010 to Aug 2010 = $30,000
Employment Income From Sep 2010 to Dec 2010 = $10,000
Net Trade Income = $20,000
In the year 2010, he contributed CPF as an employee and as a self-employed person as follows:
| |
|
Compulsory CPF contributions by his employer
|
= $5,850
(i.e. 14.5% x $30,000 + 15% x $10,000)
|
His compulsory CPF contributions on employment income
|
= $8,000
(i.e. 20% x $40,000)
|
His compulsory Medisave contributions on net trade income
(For his age group, he must contribute 6.67% of his net trade income i.e. $20,000 x 6.67%)
|
= $1,334
|
His voluntary contributions as self-employed individual
|
= $11,591
(i.e. $26,775-$5,850-$8,000-$1,334)
|
His total CPF contributions
|
= $20,925
|
However, the allowable CPF relief will be capped at $15,000 as follows:
(a) Compulsory CPF contributions as an employee
|
= $8,000
|
(b) Compulsory Medisave contribution as a self-employed
|
= $1,334
|
(c) Voluntary CPF contribution as a self-employed
|
= $5,666*
|
Total Allowable CPF Relief
|
= $15,000
|
The allowable CPF contribution for Mr T’s net trade income is capped at $7,000 ($20,000 x 35%) or $26,775 whichever is lower.
* $5,666 = $7,000 - $1,334.
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Q2. With voluntary contribution to Medisave account, can you give examples to illustrate how much relief is allowed for an employee who is also a self-employed person?
Scenario 1
Mr X is 30 years old. He is a salaried employee as well as a self-employed person. His employment income, net trade income and CPF contributions for 2010 are as follows:
Employment Income From Jan 2010 to Aug 2010 = $30,000
Employment Income From Sep 2010 to Dec 2010 = $10,000
Net Trade income = $20,000
Compulsory CPF contributions by his employer
|
= $5,850 (i.e. 14.5% x $30,000+ 15% x $10,000)
|
His compulsory CPF contributions on employment income
|
= $8,000 (i.e. 20% x $40,000)
|
His compulsory Medisave contributions on net trade income
(For his age group, he must contribute 6.67% of his net trade income i.e. $20,000 x 6.67%)
|
= $1,334
|
His voluntary contributions as self-employed individual
He has specifically directed an amount of $2,000 from his voluntary contributions to be paid to his Medisave Account.
|
= $11,591
(i.e. $26,775-$5,850-$8,000-$1,334)
|
His total CPF contributions
|
= $20,925
(i.e $$8,000+$1,334+$11,591)
|
With the new tax treatment for VC-MA, the total allowable CPF relief for Year of Assessment 2011 will be capped at $17,000 as follows:
(a) Compulsory CPF contributions as an employee
|
= $8,000
|
(b) Allowable CPF contributions as a self-employed ($20,000 x 35% or $26,775, whichever is lower)#
|
= $7,000
|
(c) New tax relief for VC-MA*
|
= $2,000
|
Total Allowable CPF Relief
|
=$17,000
|
Scenario 2
Mr X’s employment income, net trade income and CPF contributions for 2010 are same as Scenario 1 except that the amount of voluntary contribution that he has specifically directed to be paid to his Medisave Account is $5,925.
With the new tax treatment for VC-MA, the total allowable CPF relief for Year of Assessment 2011 will be capped at $20,925 as follows:
(a) Compulsory CPF contributions as an employee
|
= $8,000
|
(b) Allowable CPF contributions as a self-employed ($20,000 x 35% or $26,775, whichever is lower)#
|
= $7,000
|
(c) New tax relief for VC-MA*
|
= $5,925
|
Total Allowable CPF Relief
|
=$20,925
|
In both scenarios:
#The allowable CPF contributions as a self-employed person is inclusive of his compulsory Medisave contributions of $1,334.
*The voluntary cash contribution to Medisave Account is within the annual CPF contribution cap of $26,775 and within the Medisave contribution ceiling and it is not claimed under (b).
Q3. I am an employee as well as self-employed. As an employee I am already making CPF contributions. Do I still have to contribute to Medisave as a self-employed person?
Yes, even if you are already making CPF contributions as an employee, you are still required to make Medisave contributions as a self-employed person if your net trade income is more than $6,000 a year.
Q4. Can I pay my Medisave in instalments?
You may contact the CPF Board at 1800-227 1188 to arrange for the payment of your Medisave.
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