WMCR is given to:

  • Encourage married women to remain in the workforce after having children
  • Encourage parents to take up Singapore Citizenship for their children
  • Reward families with children who are Singapore Citizens
  • Single or male taxpayers are not eligible for WMCR.

    Qualifying for relief

    To claim WMCR for the Year of Assessment 2024, you must satisfy all these conditions in 2023:

    1. You are a working mother who is married, divorced or widowed;
    2. You have taxable earned income from employment or through pensions, trade or business, or through a profession or vocation. (Your taxable earned income is your total earned income less allowable expenses.);
    3. You have maintained a child who is a Singapore Citizen as at 31 Dec 2023* and has satisfied all conditions under the Qualifying Child Relief (QCR)/Handicapped Child Relief (HCR).

     

    * You may claim WMCR in your tax filing for Year of Assessment 2024 even if your child has passed away in 2023.

    Determining child order

    The amount of relief varies for each child based on the child order in the family unit. The order of your child is based on:

    For a child born to you and your spouse/ex-spouse

    Date of birth shown in your child's birth certificate

    For a child born to you and your spouse/ex-spouse before you are married to your spouse/ex-spouse

    Date of marriage

    For a step-child

    Date of birth shown in your child's birth certificate

    For a legally adopted child

    Date of legal adoption as shown in the adoption papers

    A deceased / *stillborn child is counted in determining the order of children. 

    * Applicable from Year of Assessment 2022 onwards for WMCR claims, where the married woman, divorcee or widow claiming the deduction is the natural mother of the stillborn child.

    Amount of relief

    The amount of WMCR that you may claim for each child is based on the child order. This is then matched to a percentage of your earned income. WMCR percentages are added together if you claim for more than one child and the total is capped at 100% of the mother's earned income.

    The table below explains how the WMCR amount is calculated (For Singaporean children born or adopted before 1 Jan 2024):

    Child order

    WMCR amount

    1st

    15% of mother's earned income

    2nd

    20% of mother's earned income

    3rd and beyond

    25% of mother's earned income


    New! As part of the review of the Government’s support for Marriage and Parenthood, (PDF, 352KB) with effect from Year of Assessment 2025, the WMCR will be changed from a percentage of an eligible working mother’s annual earned income to a fixed dollar tax relief.
    Please note that a personal income tax relief cap of $80,000 applies to the total amount of all tax reliefs claimed for each Year of Assessment.

    Example 1: Claiming WMCR on 2 children

    Mrs Heng had an earned income of $100,000 in 2023. Her first child started working in 2023 and received an annual income exceeding $4,000. Mrs Heng’s second child was below 16 and studying full-time in 2023. The amount of WMCR that Mrs Heng may claim for Year of Assessment 2024 is:

    Child orderWMCR amount based on Mrs Heng's earned income of $100,000WMCR allowable ($)Cumulative WMCR allowable ($)
    1st 15,000
    (15% x $100,000)
    Nil Nil
    No WMCR is allowed on her first child as the child had income exceeding $4,000 in 2023
    2nd 20,000
    (20% x $100,000)
    20,000 20,000
    (20% of her earned income)

    Claiming other reliefs on the same child

    You may claim WMCR even if you and/or your husband or ex-husband has already claimed Qualifying Child Relief (QCR)/Handicapped Child Relief (HCR) on the same child. However, you must satisfy the following conditions:

    1. QCR/HCR claims will be allowed first (it does not matter whether the claim is made by you or your spouse);
    2. The total cap (i.e. QCR/HCR plus WMCR) is $50,000 per child; and
    3. The WMCR is limited to the remaining balance after the QCR/HCR claim is allowed.

    Example 2: Claiming WMCR on children for whom your spouse has claimed other child reliefs

    Mr and Mrs Lim have 2 children. Their first child is physically handicapped. Mr Lim has claimed Handicapped Child Relief (HCR) for the first child and Qualifying Child Relief (QCR) for the second child. Mrs Lim earned an income of $250,000 in 2023.

    Apart from Earned Income Relief of $1,000 and WMCR, Mrs Lim is not claiming any other personal reliefs for the Year of Assessment 2024.

    Mrs Lim’s WMCR claim:

    Child orderWMCR amount based on Mrs Lim's earned income of $250,000QCR/HCR claimed by Mr Lim ($)WMCR claimed by Mrs Lim ($)Cumulative WMCR claimed by Mrs Lim ($)
    1st 37,500
    (15% x $250,000)
    7,500
    (HCR)
    37,500 37,500
    2nd 50,000
    (20% x $250,000)
    4,000
    (QCR)
    46,000* 37,500 + 46,000 = 83,500

    Total personal reliefs claimed by Mrs Lim = $80,000 (i.e. Personal income tax relief cap of $80,000 applies)

    * QCR/HCR + WMCR is subject to a cap of $50,000 per child.

    Example 3: Claiming Parenthood Tax Rebate (PTR) and WMCR

    Mr and Mrs Chen's first child was born in 2023. Mrs Chen was working and had an earned income of $80,000 for that year.

    They decided that Mrs Chen would claim the full amount of QCR of $4,000.

    Mr and Mrs Chen are Singapore tax residents for Year of Assessment 2024 and also entitled to PTR of $5,000 for their first child. They have agreed to share the amount of PTR equally (i.e. $2,500 each).

    Mrs Chen's tax computation for Year of Assessment 2024 is as follows:

    Employment Income of Mrs Chen

    $80,000

    Less: Personal Reliefs

     

    - Earned Income Relief

    $1,000

    - QCR

    $4,000

    - WMCR

    $12,000 (15% x $80,000)

    - CPF Relief

    $16,000

    Chargeable Income

    $47,000 ($80,000 - $33,000)

    Computation of Mrs Chen's tax payable for Year of Assessment 2024

    Chargeable Income for Mrs Chen

    $47,000

    First $40,000

    $550

    (Based on the income tax rates for Singapore tax resident for Year of Assessment 2023)

    Next $7,000 @ 7%

    $490

    Tax Payable on Chargeable Income

    $1,040

    Less: Personal Income Tax Rebate (50% capped at $200)$200
    Tax Payable after Personal Income Tax Rebate$840

    Less: Parenthood Tax Rebate

    $840

    [Mr and Mrs Chen are sharing the PTR of $5,000 for their first child born in 2023 (i.e. $2,500 per person). Any unutilised amount of PTR will be carried forward to offset against the income tax payable for subsequent years until the rebate has been fully utilised.]

    Net Tax Payable

    $0

    How to claim

    e-Filing

    Is this the first time you are claiming the relief?

    YesNo
    1. Log in with your Singpass or Singpass Foreign user Account (SFA) at myTax Portal.
    2. Go to “Individuals” > “File Income Tax Return”.
    3. Select “Edit My Tax Form”.
    4. Go to “4. Deductions, Reliefs and Parenthood Tax Rebate”.
    5. Go to “Child”.
    6. Click “Update” and enter your claim.

    If the relief has been allowed to you last year, the amount will be pre-filled and granted to you automatically this year.

    Follow the steps on the left if you need to make any changes to your relief.

     

    Paper filing

    Is this the first time you are claiming the relief?

    YesNo

    Form B1 & B

    1. Complete the item on “Child Relief”. Under the “Claim for WMCR” column, indicate Y.
    2. Complete the particulars of your child in Appendix 2.

    Form B1 & B

    Complete the item on “Child Relief”.

    You need not enter the WMCR amount as we will automatically compute the allowable WMCR amount based on your eligibility, when we process your Income Tax Return.

    FAQs

    I have filed my Income Tax Return. What should I do if I have forgotten to claim, or need to amend my claim for WMCR?

    1. If you e-Filed your Income Tax Return

    Please re-file within 7 days of your previous submission or by 18 Apr, whichever is earlier. You will only be able to re-file once. When you re-file, you must include all your income details, expenses, donations and relief claims, where applicable. Once you have re-filed successfully, your new submission will override the previous submission.

    2. If you filed a paper Income Tax Return or are unable to re-file online

    Please email us:

    a. your request to claim or revise the relief;

    b. the name and identification number of your child;

    c. the child order for the purposes of claiming WMCR;

    d. your confirmation that you have met the qualifying conditions and forward the certificate of Singapore Citizenship for your child who was not a Singapore Citizen at the time of birth.

    I have received my tax bill for the current Year of Assessment. What should I do if I need to amend my claim for WMCR?

    Please file an amendment using the “Object to Assessment” digital service at myTax Portal within 30 days from the date of your tax bill.

    If you are unable to use the digital service, you may email us:

    1. your request to claim or revise the relief;
    2. the name and identification number of your child;
    3. the child order for the purposes of claiming WMCR;
    4. your confirmation that you have met the qualifying conditions and forward the certificate of Singapore Citizenship for your child who was not a Singapore Citizen at the time of birth.