What is the JSS?
Under the JSS, the Government co-funds between 25% to 75% of the
first $4,600 of gross monthly wages1 paid to each local employee in
a 10-month period (up to Aug 2020) and 10% to 50% of the same in the subsequent
7-month period (Sep 2020 to Mar 2021)Updated.
Employers will receive five Updated main JSS payouts in Apr
2020, Jul 2020, Oct 2020, Mar 2021, and Jun 2021, with an additional special payout in May 2020. The level and duration
of support each employer receives depends on the sector in which the employer
operates. Please refer to ‘How is each payout computed’ for more details.
While the subsidies are
based on a percentage of employees' monthly wages, employers have the
flexibility to allocate the subsidies for their businesses as necessary to keep
the business running and to help them continue to retain their employees.
Who qualifies for the JSS?
All employers who have made mandatory CPF contributions for their local employees (Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents) will qualify for the payout. Employers in the employer exclusion list are not eligible for the JSS.
a. Local Government Agencies including Organs of State, Ministries and Departments, Statutory Boards
b. Government and Government-Aided Schools
c. PA Services and Grassroot Units
d. High Commissions, Embassies, Trade Offices, Consulate
e. Unregistered Local/Foreign Entities
f. Foreign Military Units
g. Representative offices of:
I. Foreign companies
II. Foreign Government Agencies
III. Foreign Trade Associations/ Foreign Chambers/ Foreign Non-profit Organisations
IV. Foreign Law Practices
h. Bank Representative Offices/Insurance Representative Officers/Other Financial Representative Offices (registered with MAS)
i. News Bureaus (which are representative offices)
j. International Organisations
k. Entities which pay CPF but are not registered in Singapore
Wages paid to business owners1 or employers trading in their own personal capacity2 will not be eligible for the JSS payout. They will continue to receive the JSS payout for wages paid to their local employees.
Shareholder-directors
As announced on 21 Apr 2020, the Government will extend the JSS to cover wages of employees in a company who are also shareholders and directors of the company (shareholder-directors)3. This applies only to wages paid that attract mandatory CPF contributions.
Shareholder-directors receiving wages in other forms e.g. Directors’ fees, will not receive support for those wages. Such shareholder-directors can revise their remuneration structure and pay mandatory CPF contributions on their wages going forward to receive JSS support for them.
Wage support for shareholder-directors will only apply to companies registered on or before 20 Apr 2020, and for shareholder-directors with Assessable Income of $100,000 or less for the Year of Assessment 2019.
The May 2020 and subsequent JSS payouts will include the wage support for qualifying shareholder-directors. The May 2020 payout will also include back-payment for companies with qualifying shareholder-directors whose wages were excluded from the first JSS payout in Apr 2020.
Shareholder-directors who missed the qualifying assessable income criterion for Year of Assessment 2019 but whose circumstances have changed since can submit an
appeal.
To ensure all employers get cashflow support fast, please note that appeals will only be processed after payouts have been disbursed.
How do I apply for or decline the JSS?
Employers do not need to apply for the JSS. IRAS will notify
eligible employers by post of the tier of support and the amount of JSS payout
payable to them.
Declining JSS payouts
If you do not require wage support and wish to be excluded from all future JSS payouts, please sign up using the Decline JSS form.
Applications to be excluded from the Oct payout are now closed. To
return a JSS payout that you have received, please refer to the following steps
below.
- Enter IRAS' bank account details as follow:
Payee: Commissioner of Inland Revenue
Account Type: DBS Current Account
Account No.: 0010468669
DBS Swift Code: DBSSSGSG - Under the “Beneficiary Reference / Purpose of Payment / Remittance Information / Payment Details” field, indicate your business name and purpose (e.g. ABC Pte. Ltd. Decline JSS). This is to facilitate the processing of your return.
- Submit a screenshot of the transaction using the Decline JSS form (if you would like to decline future JSS payouts as well) or Payout form (if you are only declining the
current payout).
When will I receive my JSS payout?
Employers will receive five main JSS payouts (in Apr 2020, Jul 2020, Oct
2020, Mar 2021, and Jun 2021) and a special payout in May 2020, based on wages
paid in the months shown in the table below.
JSS Payout | Month of
Payout | Payout
computed based on wages paid in: | Wages
derived based on mandatory CPF contributions paid on or before: |
---|
Payout 1
|
Apr 2020
|
Oct – Dec
2019
|
14 Feb 2020
|
Advance Payment
from Payout 2 Due to Circuit Breaker, support
for all sectors topped up to 75% for one month, computed based on Oct 2019
wages. |
Special
Payout
|
May 2020
| Advance
Payment from Payout 3 Due to Circuit Breaker
extension, one full month of 75% support provided for all sectors in advance,
computed based on Nov 2019 wages. | 14 Feb 2020 |
Payout 2
|
Jul 2020
|
Feb – Mar
2020
|
31 May 2020
|
Apr 2020 The amount paid in advance
in Apr 2020 will be deducted from this payout. |
Payout 3
|
Oct 2020
| May 2020 The amount paid in advance
in May 2020 will be deducted from this payout. |
14 Sep 2020
|
Jun – Aug
2020
|
Payout 4
|
Mar 2021
|
Sep – Dec
2020
|
14 Jan 2021
|
Payout 51 |
Jun 2021
|
Jan – Mar
2021
|
14 Apr 2021
|
How is each payout computed?
Under the JSS, the Government co-funds 25% to 75% of the first $4,600 of gross monthly wages1 paid to each local employee in a 10-month period (up to Aug 2020) and 10% to 50% of the same in the subsequent 7-month period (Sep 2020 to Mar 2021). The base tier of support each employer will receive depends on the sector in which the employer operates. Please refer to the
Specific Industries in Tiers and SSIC Codes on details for the list of sectors included in the respective tiers.
JSS Tier | Existing JSS | Extended JSS |
---|
(Oct 2019 to Aug 2020 wages) | (Sep to Dec 2020 wages) | (Jan to Mar 2021 wages) |
---|
Tier 11,2 | 75% | 50% |
Tier 2 | 50% | 30% |
Tier 33 | Tier 3A | 25% | 10% |
Tier 3B | 10% | 0% |
On top of the base tier of support, the following additional support had been introduced:
1. Top-up of support to 75%
for all firms in May 2020 during circuit breaker
To support firms during the circuit breaker period, wage support for the months of Apr and May 2020 were topped-up to 75% for all firms, regardless of sector.
2. JSS support for phased
reopening post-circuit breaker
As circuit breaker measures are gradually eased, employers whose firms are not listed in the
List of Permitted Services and therefore not yet allowed to resume operations will continue to receive 75% wage support. This will continue throughout the period for which they are not allowed to resume operations, or until Aug 2020, whichever is earlier. Thereafter, employers whose
firms continue to not be allowed to resume operations will receive 50% wage support throughout the period that they are not allowed to resume operations, or until Mar 2021, whichever is earlier.
Employers allowed to resume operations will revert to receiving their base tier of support. Pro-ration will be applied if operations resume in the middle of the month, i.e., an employer that resumes operations on 5 Jul 2020 will continue to receive 75% wage support for the first 4 days of Jul, and its base tier of
support thereafter.
The additional JSS support during this period is determined by the List of Permitted Services, which includes firms in specific SSIC codes. Individual firms can also check their status at
https://www.gobusiness.gov.sg/exemptions/login. Firms that have submitted appeals to MTI will be notified of their status via email. More information can be found in the
FAQ section.
Further details of how each payout is calculated are given in the illustration below. Worked examples are in the FAQs.
Illustration 1 - For Employers in Tier 3A (i.e. eligible for 25% co-funding from Oct 2019 to Aug 2020, and 10% from Sep 2020 to Mar 2021)
The scenario below shows the amount a Tier 3A employer will receive in
each payout for a local employee earning $4,600 a month. In this scenario, we
assume that the employee’s monthly wages remain the same at $4,600 from Oct
2019 to Mar 2021.

The Government will
subsidise 25% of the first $4,600 of each local employee’s gross monthly wages
for a period of 10 months, and 10% of the first $4,600 for of each local
employee’s gross monthly wages for a period of 7 months. In addition, the
employer can expect the following adjustments:
1. To provide cashflow
support for firms during the circuit breaker period, the Government has
provided an additional support of 50% of the first $4,600 of Apr
2020 wages. To ensure speedy disbursement, this additional support was first
computed based on Oct 2019 mandatory CPF contribution data.
2. Similarly, to support
firms during the extended circuit breaker period, the Government has provided additional
support of 75% of the first $4,600 of May 2020 wages. To ensure speedy
disbursement, this payment is first computed based on Nov 2019 mandatory CPF
contribution data.
3. As the additional support
for the circuit breaker period were first computed using past
mandatory CPF contribution data, adjustments will have to be made to
account for differences in actual wages paid by employers. 50% of Oct 2019
wages is subtracted from Payout 2 to adjust for differences between Oct 2019
and actual Apr 2020 wages paid.
4. Similarly, the Government
will subtract 75% of Nov 2019 wages from Payout 3 to adjust for
differences between Nov 2019 and May 2020 wages.
5. If the firm is not
allowed to resume operations post-circuit breaker in Jun 2020, the level of
wage support for the month will remain at 75%, until operations can be resumed
or until Aug 2020, whichever is earlier. If the firm is not allowed to resume
operations after Aug 2020, the wage support for the firm will remain at 50%
until operations can be resumed or until Mar 2021, whichever is earlier.
6. From Sep 2020, the level
of wage support will be revised to 10%, assuming the firm has been allowed to
resume operations.
Employers who have
terminated or put some of their employees on no-pay leave will see their subsequent
Payouts adjusted down, based on the actual wages that they pay from Feb 2020
onwards.
Illustration 2 - For Employers with More than 1 Employee
The table below shows a worked example of how the JSS payout is computed for an employer with 3 local employees earning different wages.
Payouts 1, 2 and 3:
Local Employee | Gross monthly wages paid in Month X | Qualifying wage in Month X (first $4,600) | JSS payout to employer for Month X4, if employer is
in... |
---|
Tier 1
(75%)
| Tier 2
(50%)
| Tier 3
(25%)
|
---|
Employee #1 | $4,000 | $4,000 | $3,000 | $2,000 | $1,000 |
Employee #2 | $4,500 | $4,500 | $3,375 | $2,250 | $1,125 |
Employee #3 | $5,000 | $4,600 | $3,450 | $2,300 | $1,150 |
Total | $9,825 | $6,550 | $3,275 |
Payouts 4 and 5:
Local Employee | Gross monthly wages paid in Month X | Qualifying wage in Month X (first $4,600) | JSS payout to employer for Month X, if employer is in...
|
---|
Tier 1
(50%)
| Tier 2
(30%)
| Tier 35
(10%)
|
---|
Employee #1
|
$4,000
|
$4,000
|
$2,000
|
$1,200
|
$400
|
Employee #2
|
$4,500
|
$4,500
|
$2,250
|
$1,350
|
$450
|
Employee #3
|
$5,000
|
$4,600
|
$2,300
|
$1,380
|
$460
|
Total | $6,550 | $3,930 | $1,310 |
Can I appeal to qualify for Tier 1 and Tier 2 level of support?
Abuse of JSS
Measures to Curb JSS Abuse
IRAS takes a serious view on any attempt to abuse the scheme. Offenders may have their JSS payouts denied and can be charged under Section 420 of the Penal Code, where they may face up to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine
Examples of JSS Abuse
When ascertaining whether an arrangement is abusive, IRAS will consider all relevant facts and circumstances and conduct in-depth verifications where necessary. Some unacceptable practices include but are not limited to:
- Making purported mandatory CPF contributions for non-genuine employees
This is a fraudulent arrangement. Employers should not make any mandatory CPF contributions to individuals who are not their genuine employees. Individuals are reminded that providing their personal information to facilitate such schemes may make them accomplices to the fraud, resulting in criminal liability for the individuals. Individuals should not give out their personal information such as NRIC, SingPass or bank account details in exchange for CPF contributions and/or money.
- Continuing purported mandatory CPF contributions for employees who have been retrenched or put on no-pay leave
Employers should stop making mandatory CPF contributions for employees who have been retrenched or are on no-pay leave. However, employers can continue to make voluntary CPF contributions to the CPF accounts of employees on no-pay leave by applying for a separate CPF submission number with CPF Board. (For more details on making voluntary CPF contributions for employees, please find out more at the CPF Board website). - Maintaining purported mandatory CPF contribution amounts based on past wages for employees who have suffered wage cuts
CPF mandatory contributions are based on employees’ wages, age and citizenship. A wage cut on the employees’ part should see a corresponding decrease in the mandatory CPF contributions. However, employers can continue to make voluntary CPF contributions to the CPF accounts of employees whose wages have been cut by applying for a separate CPF submission number with CPF Board.(For more details on making voluntary CPF contributions for employees, please find out more at the CPF Board website).
- Increasing purported mandatory CPF contributions for employees without any actual wage increase
CPF mandatory contributions are based on employees’
wages, age and citizenship. The prevailing CPF contribution rates can be
found on the CPF website. - Inflating purported mandatory CPF contributions and deducting these excess contributions from employees’ wages in cash
This is a fraudulent arrangement. Employers should
only make the correct amount of mandatory CPF contributions based on the actual
wages paid to their employees. - Artificially splitting the wages of employees across multiple related business entities
Employers should only make mandatory CPF contributions
to employees for the business entities they are working for, instead of
artificially splitting the wages of its employees across related business entities
to circumvent the $4,600 salary ceiling.
- Making purported mandatory CPF contributions for purported wages paid without expectation of any work to be done (e.g. solely to fulfill regulatory requirements or quotas, or family members who are not involved in the business)
Employers should only make mandatory CPF contributions to employees for wages paid for work performed as part of a contract of service. - Making purported mandatory CPF contributions for wages that are not commensurate with the volume or nature of work of the employees
Employers should only make mandatory CPF contributions to employees for wages paid that are commensurate with the volume or nature of work of the employees, instead of making purported mandatory CPF contributions based on inflated wages to increase the amount of JSS subsidy.
Businesses or individuals who wish to report to IRAS any malpractices or potential abuses of the JSS may do so via email to jssreport@iras.gov.sg or online at
go.gov.sg/jssreport. IRAS will ensure that the identities of informants are kept strictly confidential.
Contacting IRAS
For employers
For enquiries on:
Eligibility for Tier 1 or Tier 2 status
If you are not eligible for Tier 1 or Tier 2 of the JSS, but believe that you should be, you can submit an appeal using the relevant form under the
Eligibility for 50% and 75% co-funding.
Please note that appeals will only be processed after payouts have been disbursed.
- Tier 3B status
If you are classified as Tier 3B, but believe that you have been either incorrectly
classified or have been significantly affected by COVID-19 despite being in Tier 3B, you can appeal for Tier 3A support through the
JSS appeals form. - Receiving your JSS payout
The following payouts have been completed
If your company had an existing GIRO arrangement with IRAS or was registered for PayNow Corporate before the disbursements, you would have received a payout titled “Jobs Support Scheme” (GIRO) or “GOVT” (PayNow Corporate).
All other companies would receive their payouts by cheques mailed to their registered business address.
If your company has yet to receive the Apr or Jul payout, please enquire via go.gov.sg/payout.
Oct 2020 PayoutIf your company has an existing GIRO arrangement with IRAS or is registered for PayNow Corporate as at 25 Oct 2020, you will receive a payout titled “Jobs Support Scheme” (GIRO) or “GOVT” (PayNow Corporate) in your bank account from 29 Oct 2020.
Other employers will receive their cheques from 4 Nov 2020 mailed to their registered business address.
Employers who are not allowed to reopen after the Circuit Breaker will automatically be granted 75% subsidy (tier 1) for Payout 3 in Oct 2020 for the period that they were not allowed to resume on-site operations after the Circuit Breaker. However, the
notification letter will only show their base tier for the JSS, based on the sector that the firm belongs to. Employers can use the JSS calculator (
here) to compute the amount of subsidy that should be granted for businesses that are not allowed to reopen under the respective tiers, or obtain a breakdown of the JSS payout using the e-services at this link:
https://mytax.iras.gov.sg/ESVWeb/default.aspx?target=JSSEmployerBreakdownRequest
As part of the checks for JSS eligibility, a small number of employers will receive letters from IRAS asking them to conduct a self-review of their CPF contributions and to provide declarations or documents to substantiate their eligibility for JSS payouts. Their Oct 2020 payouts will be withheld pending the
self-review and verifications by IRAS. The payout will only be disbursed after the completion of the review. If your company has been selected for self-review, please refer to
Self-review for Eligibility of JSS for more information.
For employees
For enquiries on:
- Qualifying for the JSS
The JSS is aimed at providing support to employers and help them retain their local employees. JSS payouts are therefore disbursed to eligible employers. Employees who require financial assistance can visit the
MSF website for more information on the various support schemes for individuals. - Allocation of JSS subsidies by employer
While the JSS subsidies are based on a percentage of employees’ monthly wages, employers have the flexibility to allocate the subsidies for their businesses as necessary to keep the business running and continue to retain their employees.
While the government is subsidising part of your wages, businesses still have other costs to bear and hence pay cuts may be unavoidable. Both employees and employers are encouraged to take a longer-term view and mutually agree on work and salary adjustments, taking reference from the
Tripartite Advisory on Salary and Leave. Workers should accept wage sacrifices to keep businesses going, and employers should make every effort to keep their workers, and help them through this difficult period.
However, if you feel that your employer was irresponsible or unfair in implementing cost-saving measures, you can file a complaint to MOM at
www.mom.gov.sg/lsa for MOM to investigate. Employers found to have been irresponsible in implementing cost-saving measures will be disqualified from Government support and may have their work pass privileges curtailed.
For other enquiries, please enquire via
go.gov.sg/payout or call 1800 352 4728 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. from Mon to Fri (peak hours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.). As we are currently experiencing a high volume of enquiries, we seek your understanding that the waiting time may be longer than usual.