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If you are GST-registered and have incurred GST on your purchases or imports, you may be able to claim it as input tax. You must meet all the conditions below before making a claim.

You should only claim input tax in the accounting period that matches the date on your tax invoice or import permit.

Conditions you must meet

You can claim input tax only if all eight of the following conditions are met:

  1. You are GST-registered.
  2. The goods or services are supplied to you or imported by you.
  3. The goods or services are used or will be used for the purpose of your business.

Goods and services are considered used "for the purpose of business" when they can be attributed to business activities mainly concerned with making supplies for a consideration (for example, payment in money or in kind).

The following are examples of non-business activities:

  • Activities with non-business objects in philanthropic, religious, political, patriotic or public domain
  • Free activities provided without commercial reasons
  • Activities that are purely private or personal

If you have both business and non-business activities, you can only claim input tax attributable to business activities relating to taxable supplies.

For guidance on determining your business and non-business activities and how to apportion your input tax claims, refer to GST on Non-Business Receipts (PDF, 183KB).

Example: Corporate social initiatives

If your company organises events for the direct benefit of third-party beneficiaries (for example, visits to places of interest or sponsored courses for beneficiaries), the expenses are not regarded as incurred for the purpose of your business. You cannot claim the GST incurred on such corporate social initiatives.

4. Local purchases are supported by valid tax invoices addressed to you, or simplified tax invoices, at the time of claiming of the input tax.

Some common examples of invalid tax invoices are shown below.

Item

Common Examples

Missing details

The supplier's name, address or GST registration number is not shown.

For purchases above $1,000: the words "tax invoice", the customer's name or the GST amount is not shown.

For purchases of $1,000 or below: the GST amount or a statement such as "price payable includes GST" is not shown.

For purchases in foreign currency: the Singapore dollar equivalent amounts are not shown.

Supplier is not GST registered

Your supplier does not have a GST registration number, or the number shown has expired or is not valid.

You can check on your supplier's GST registration status, period of registration and GST registration number using the GST Registered Business Search.

If you have been wrongly charged GST by a non-GST registered business, you may report to us using the Reporting Wrong GST Practices of Businesses form.

Supplier is an overseas vendor registered under the Overseas Vendor Registration (OVR) regime

If you are GST-registered, you should not be charged GST on remote services or low-value goods from an OVR-registered vendor.

Check whether the vendor is registered under OVR via the GST Registered Business Search. If the "Remarks" column shows "Currently registered under Simplified Pay-only Regime", the vendor is OVR-registered.

If you are incorrectly charged GST, contact the overseas vendor for a refund. Do not claim it as input tax. For more information, refer to Purchasing remote services or low-value goods from GST-registered overseas vendors.

If your supplier’s invoice contains errors or missing details, ask your supplier to re-issue a valid tax invoice before you make the input tax claim. You do not need IRAS' approval to make this request.

  1. Imports are supported by import permits showing you as the importer of the goods, along with supporting documents such as supplier invoices and transport documents.
  2. The input tax is directly attributable to taxable supplies (i.e. standard-rated supplies and zero-rated supplies), or out-of-scope supplies (e.g. third country sale of goods), that would be taxable supplies if made in Singapore
  3. The input tax claims are not disallowed under Regulations 26 and 27 of the GST (General) Regulations.

Regulations 26 and 27 of the GST (General) Regulations do not allow you to claim input tax on the following expenses:

  • Benefits provided to the family members or relatives of your staff;
  • Costs and running expenses incurred on motor cars that are either:
    • registered under the business' or individual's name, or
    • hired for business or private use, except where the car is excluded from the definition of a 'motor car' in Regulation 25(1) of the GST (General) Regulations.
  • Club subscription fees (including transfer fees) charged by sports and recreation clubs;
  • Medical expenses incurred for your staff unless
    1. the expenses are obligatory under the Work Injury Compensation Act or under any collective agreement within the meaning of the Industrial Relations Act; or
    2. the medical treatment in respect of expenses incurred on or after 1 Oct 2021 is provided in connection with any health risk or requirement arising on account of the nature of the work required of your staff or his work environment; and
      1. the medical expenses are incurred pursuant to any written law of Singapore concerning the medical treatment or the provision of a medical facility or medical practitioner; or
      2. the medical treatment is related to COVID-19 and the staff undergoes such medical treatment pursuant to any written advisory (including industry circular) issued by, or posted on the website of, the Government or a public authority of Singapore.
  • Medical and accident insurance premiums incurred for your staff unless the insurance or payment of compensation is obligatory under the Work Injury Compensation Act or under any collective agreement within the meaning of the Industrial Relations Act; and
  • Any transaction involving betting, sweepstakes, lotteries, fruit machines or games of chance.

8. You have taken reasonable steps to ascertain and concluded that the goods or services were not part of a Missing Trader Fraud arrangement and the conclusion is one that a reasonable person would have made.

Input tax claims on common items

Refer to Common scenarios - Do I claim GST for the common business scenarios, including:

Other expenses and scenarios

The following scenarios provide guidance on other situations that businesses commonly ask about when determining whether GST can be claimed.

  • Goods given away for free

    You may claim input tax on goods given away for free if you meet the conditions for claiming input tax. However, if you have claimed input tax, you may also need to account for output tax on the open market value of the gifts. For more information, refer to Gifts and samples.

  • Entertainment expenses

    You can claim input tax on entertainment expenses if the conditions for claiming input tax are met and you hold a valid tax invoice addressed to you, or a simplified tax invoice for purchases of $1,000 or below (including GST).

    As an administrative concession, a receipt containing all the information required in a simplified tax invoice may be used to claim input tax on entertainment expenses exceeding $1,000 (including GST). You must also keep alternative documentary payment evidence and details of the entertainment (for example, names of persons entertained, purpose of entertainment, and the person who incurred the expenses).

    This concession applies only to food and drink expenses. If the expense includes items other than food and drinks (for example, rental of a yacht), a proper tax invoice is required to support the full claim.

    If you provide meals to your team members, these are treated as employee benefits rather than entertainment expenses. You may claim input tax on these meals if they have a close nexus to your business activities and you meet the general conditions for claiming input tax.

    The administrative concession for entertainment expenses does not apply to meals provided to team members. To support your claim for meals provided to team members, you must have a valid tax invoice addressed to your business or a simplified tax invoice for purchases not exceeding S$1,000 (including GST).

  • Expenses which receive grants, donations or sponsorships

    You can claim input tax on expenses for which you have received grants, donations or sponsorships, if the conditions for claiming input tax are met. Examples of qualifying grants include the Productivity Solutions Grant, SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit and Progressive Wage Credit Scheme.

    However, the following businesses may not be able to claim input tax in full:

    1. Businesses that provide free or subsidised goods and services and receive non-business receipts. These businesses are treated as carrying on both business and non-business activities and can only claim input tax attributable to business activities.
    2. Partially exempt businesses, which make both taxable supplies and exempt supplies, that are required to perform input tax apportionment.
  • Invoices addressed to Company A care of (c/o) Company B

    An invoice is regarded as addressed to Company A if the customer's name is stated as "Company A c/o Company B" or "Company A payable by Company B." Company A may claim the GST incurred if all other input tax claiming conditions are met.

How to declare input tax in your GST return (F5)

Once you have confirmed that all conditions for claiming input tax are met, declare your input tax in your GST return (F5) via myTax Portal.

Box 5: Total value of taxable purchases: Report the value of all your imports, standard-rated and zero-rated purchases, and expenses (excluding GST) made in the course or furtherance of your business.

Box 7: Input tax and refunds claimed: Report the input tax claimable on your imports, standard-rated purchases, and expenses made in the course or furtherance of your business.

If you receive both an import permit and a supplier invoice

Declare the GST shown on the import permit issued by Singapore Customs in Box 7. Do not make a duplicate claim on the same purchase or import.

For Box 5, you may declare either the value shown on the import permit or the value shown on your invoice. If the 2 values differ, you must be able to reconcile them.

If your supplier bills you in foreign currency

Your supplier must state the GST payable in Singapore dollars on the tax invoice, using an exchange rate determined by them. You should claim GST based on the Singapore dollar amount stated on the tax invoice, even if you have recorded the transaction in your accounting records using a different exchange rate.

For more information, refer to Foreign currency transactions.

Avoid common input tax errors

Every year, IRAS selects around 3,000 GST-registered businesses for audit. The most common mistakes found are incorrect input tax claims.

The 4 most common input tax errors are:

  • Claims without valid supporting documents
  • Claims requiring apportionment
  • Claims disallowed under the law
  • Claims filed in the wrong accounting period

Watch the video below to learn how to avoid these errors.

 

If you have made an incorrect input tax claim

If you have filed a GST return with an incorrect input tax claim, you should correct the error as soon as you discover it.

For more information, refer to Correcting errors made in GST return (filing GST F7).

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