When a foreigner or Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) withdraws from his SRS account, the withdrawal is subject to withholding tax. There is no withholding tax on SRS withdrawals made by Singaporean account holders.
Withdrawal on or after prescribed retirement age
(withdrawal can be spread over 10 years from the date of first penalty-free withdrawal)
50% of withdrawal sum
Withdrawal on medical ground
(e.g. physical/mental incapacity and partial withdrawal on grounds of terminal illness)
No
Withdrawal in full on terminal illness
50% of full withdrawal sum less exemption*
Withdrawal in one lump sum by a foreigner (excluding PR)
He/She must have maintained the SRS account for at least 10 years from the date of first contribution and have been a non-Singaporean for a continuous period of 10 years before date of withdrawal.
50% of lump sum
*From Year of Assessment 2016, a specified amount of SRS funds withdrawn in full on the grounds of terminal illness would be exempt from tax.
For more details, please refer to the Tax on SRS withdrawal.
When a foreigner or Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) withdraws from his SRS account, the withdrawal is subject to withholding tax.
The SRS operator will:
1. The prevailing withholding tax rate is 22%. The amount of withholding tax is 22% of the amount of the withdrawal subject to tax. (Prior to 1 Jan 2016, the withholding tax rate was 20%.)
If a foreigner or SPR has $300,000 in his SRS account by the retirement age of 62 and decides to withdraw the whole amount, he will be taxed on half of the amount withdrawn.
Amount withdrawn
= $300,000
Amount subject to tax
= $50% x $300,000 = $150,000
Withholding tax at 22%
= 22% x $150,000 = $33,000
Net amount received from SRS operator
= $300,000 - $33,000 = $267,000
Effective 1 Jul 2014, the concessionary withholding tax rate of 15% will apply if the following conditions are met:
To enjoy this concession, the SRS account holder must declare that he fulfills the two conditions above using the Form IR37B(1).
A foreigner or SPR has $100,000 in his SRS account by the retirement age of 62. He does not have any other income in that year and decides to withdraw the whole amount. He will be taxed on half of the amount withdrawn under the 50% tax concession rule.
= $100,000
= $50% x $100,000 = $50,000
Concessionary Withholding tax at 15%
= 15% x $50,000 = $7,500
= $100,000 - $7,500 = $92,500
If the foreigner or SPR is a Singapore tax resident, the actual tax payable on the SRS withdrawal will be based on the progressive resident rates.
For a non-resident, the actual tax payable on the SRS withdrawal will be 15% or the progressive resident rates, whichever is higher.
Tax withheld on the withdrawal is a tax credit that will be used to offset your actual tax liability. Any unused tax credit will be refunded to you.
In example 1, assuming the actual tax rate applicable for the SRS withdrawal is finally determined to be 15% and you have no other tax liability, the refund you will receive is calculated as follows:
SRS withdrawn
= 50% x $300,000 = $150,000
Actual tax rate applicable: 15%
= 15% x $150,000 = $22,500
Amount to be refunded
= $33,000 - $22,500 = $10,500
Please email your request for a tax return to fc@iras.gov.sg and provide details of your name, Tax Reference No. and forwarding address.
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