Government Cash Payout (2021 Rental Support Scheme)

SMEs are defined as the following types of entities:

• A specified person; or
• Any of the following (including when acting as a trustee of a trust) that is not a specified person:
  • Corporation registered under section 19 or 368 of the Companies Act
  • Sole proprietorship
  • Partnership
  • Limited partnership
  • Limited liability partnership
  • Co-operative society

NPOs are defined as the following types of entities: 

• Registered or exempt charities (as provided in the Charities Act); 
• Members of the National Council of Social Service; 
• National sports associations; 
• National disability sports associations; 
• Specified arts and culture societies; or 
• Specified trade associations 

Please refer to the table below for the list of qualifying commercial uses.

_{^* Qualifying tenants in Integrated Resorts (i.e. Marina Bay Sands, Resorts World Sentosa), and Jewel (excluding premises within Changi Airport) will qualify.
^{^} Prescribed properties exclude the following:} 

_{1. Premises used or intended to be used, whether wholly or partly, for an excluded purpose such as:}

_{a. For any residential purpose; or}

_{b. As a facility for exclusive use of residents of residential premises such as gym, function and meeting space and club lounge, whether with or without their guests}

_{2. The part of a carpark in the same building or development as the premises mentioned in paragraph (a) that corresponds to those premises; and}

_{3. Any other premises in the same building or development as the premises mentioned in paragraph (a), that are used or intended to be used for or in connection with the enjoyment of those premises such as space for base station and vending machine in a residential condominium.}

_{4. Vacant land or land under redevelopment}

_{5. Any property that is exempt from payment of property tax under section 6(6), (6A) or (7) of the Property Tax Act.}

These three dates were the dates when Phase 2 (Heightened Alert)/Stabilisation Phase were announced to minimise further spread of COVID-19 community cases by the Multi-Ministry Taskforce. Tightened measures such as the cessation of dining-in or reduced group size were announced.

Tenants who enter into rental agreements after the announcement should have been aware of the risks and potential impact of the latest round of tightening measures and could have made the necessary arrangements.

The rental support is intended for those who are more affected by the tightening of safe management measures (“SMMs”) under Phase 2A (Heightened Alert)/Stabilisation Phase.

Commercial businesses, in particular SMEs, are affected by lower footfall during this period, even though they are still allowed to open. In contrast, industrial tenants are generally less affected by the tightening of SMMs, while most office tenants can continue operations with their staff working from home.

Industrial and office tenants on Government-owned properties who need additional cashflow support can reach out to their respective Government agency landlord, who will assess requests individually, taking into account the company’s circumstances.

The rental support is meant to help SME and NPO tenants and owner-occupiers in commercial properties by easing tight cashflow that businesses may face due to lower footfall during Phase 2 (Heightened Alert)/Stabilisation Phase.

Leases which were not stamped by the respective deadlines will not qualify for the cash payout.

Please refer to the eligibility criteria under the “Eligibility” section above. There is also an eligibility checker within the same section.

If you have other questions that are not addressed here, you may call the general IRAS helpline at 1800 3568300 or email us at [email protected].

No, you do not need to submit another application. You will automatically be given the second cash payout if you are eligible.

No, you do not need to submit another application unless your application for the second payout was rejected, or you did not receive the second payout. You will automatically be given the third payout if you qualified for the second payout.

The gross contracted rent is what is agreed on under the lease agreement and will include gross turnover rent, maintenance fee and service charges. The cash payout given will be based on the total gross contracted rent that had been duly stamped by the respective deadlines.

Computation of cash payout for tenants is based on the contracted gross rent as it is most reflective of the actual rental expenses that businesses incur.

In the absence of a rental contract for an owner-occupied property, computation of cash payout is based on Annual Value as it is the best available proxy of deriving the rental value of a property.

The Government is providing a 0.5-month rental cash payout to eligible tenant-occupiers in private properties to partially support them with rental costs during this period. Private landlords are encouraged to extend help to tenant-occupiers for their rental costs through rental waivers or rebates.

In the case of Government-owned property, the Government is also the landlord, and hence the Government will take the lead to provide a full 1-month rental waiver to defray the entire rental cost during the P2(HA) periods.

The impact of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) and Stabilisation Phase in 2021 is less severe as compared to the Circuit Breaker period in 2020, given that the extent of closure of economic activities is less extensive.

The Government also expects most businesses to have adapted to the COVID-19 situation by digitalising or adopting different business models after the Circuit Breaker in 2020 and hence should be in better circumstances than before.

The first and second cash payouts are based on the contracted gross rent as indicated in the stamped lease agreement. There will be no revisions to the cash payout amount even if there are subsequent changes to the rent during the qualifying period.

For the third payout, tenants and owner-occupiers who received the second cash payout will receive a payout equivalent to twice the second cash payout, while those who did not qualify for the second payout but were successful in their application for the third payout will receive a payout equivalent to 1-month’s contracted gross rent as indicated in the stamped lease agreement for the period 27 Sep 2021 to 21 Nov 2021. There will be no revisions to the cash payout amount even if the actual rental differs from the stamped rent.

Businesses that are eligible for the second RSS payout are entitled to retain the third RSS payout. However, if you would like to return the third cash payout, please follow the instructions below.

1) Please submit the following forms:

a) Declaration form

b) Supporting document – Only for those with more than 3 properties

If you have 3 or more properties for which you wish to return the rental cash payout, please provide the details of the properties in the Eligibility Declaration Form, and submit this form to [email protected].

a) Fund transfer

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, please indicate:

• For owners: <Tax Reference Number> <Property Tax Reference Number> <RSS_Number>

  E.g. “190001234A, 1234567A, RSS1”

• For tenants: <Tax Reference Number> <Postal Code and Unit number> <RSS_Number>. 

  E.g. if the tax reference number is 190001234A, property address is 55 Newton Rd #01-01 S(123456), please indicate “190001234A,123456-0101, RSS1”

If the above exceeds the character limit, please write in to [email protected] with your fund transfer value date, amount and the details above.

b) Cheque

Please issue cheque to “Commissioner of Inland Revenue” and mail the cheque to 55 Newton Road, Revenue House, S(307987)

Behind the cheque, please indicate:

• For owners: <Tax Reference Number> <Property Tax Reference Number> <RSS_Number>

   

  E.g. “190001234A, 1234567A, RSS1”

   

• For tenants: <Tax Reference Number> <Postal Code and Unit number> <RSS_Number>.
  
  E.g. if the tax reference number is 190001234A, property address is 55 Newton Rd #01-01 S(123456), please indicate “190001234A,123456-0101, RSS1”

No, it is not taxable as it is given to eligible owner-occupiers and tenants to help them tide through the restrictions during the Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) periods.

Under the Ministry of Law’s 2021 Rental Waiver Framework (RWF), tenants of private commercial properties will receive two weeks’ waiver of gross rent from their landlords, provided that they fulfil the eligibility conditions. Please refer to the Ministry of Law's website for more details.

The cash payout is intended for tenants regardless of whether landlords have previously granted rental waivers. Landlords and tenants are encouraged to work out mutually agreeable arrangements to best address their specific circumstances.

No, vacant properties will not qualify for the first, second and third cash payouts which are meant to help businesses due to lower footfall during the Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) and Stabilisation Phase periods.

Owners/tenants of properties which were vacant during the qualifying period are to return the cash payout to IRAS based on the instructions below.

1. Please submit the following forms:
   1. Declaration form

      	RSS 1	RSS 2	RSS 3
      Singpass	Declaration Form	Declaration Form	Declaration Form
      Corppass	Declaration Form	Declaration Form	Declaration Form

       

   2. Supporting document – Only for those with more than 3 ineligible properties
      
      

      If you have 3 or more properties which are ineligible for the rental cash payout, please provide the details of the ineligible properties in the Eligibility Declaration Form and submit to [email protected].

2. Return the cash payout to IRAS
   1. Fund transfer
      
      

      Enter IRAS' bank account details as follows:

      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, please indicate:

      • For owners: <Tax Reference Number> <Property Tax Reference Number> <RSS_Number>
        
        

        E.g. “190001234A, 1234567A, RSS1”

      • For tenants: <Tax Reference Number> <Postal Code and Unit number> <RSS_Number>
        
        

        E.g. if the tax reference number is 190001234A, property address is 55 Newton Rd #01-01 S(123456), please indicate “190001234A,123456-0101, RSS1”

If the above exceeds the character limit, please write in to [email protected] with your fund transfer value date, amount and the details above.

b. Cheque

Please issue cheque to “Commissioner of Inland Revenue” and mail the cheque to 55 Newton Road, Revenue House, S(307987)

Behind the cheque, please indicate:

• For owners: <Tax Reference Number> <Property Tax Reference Number> <RSS_Number>
  
  

  E.g. “190001234A, 1234567A, RSS1”

• For tenants: <Tax Reference Number> <Postal Code and Unit number> <RSS_Number>
  
  

  E.g. if the tax reference number is 190001234A, property address is 55 Newton Rd #01-01 S(123456), please indicate “190001234A,123456-0101, RSS1”

Intermediary landlords/master tenants will only be eligible for the cash payout if they are a qualifying SME/NPO and occupies part of the premises for trade or business.

If you fulfil the above conditions, please submit an application:

First payout
Applications closed on 15 Oct 2021

Second payout
Applications closed on 12 Nov 2021

Third payout

Applications closed on 21 Jan 2022

Yes, tenants are still allowed to keep the cash payout from the Rental Support Scheme even if their landlords have provided a rental waiver. Landlords are encouraged to match the Government’s rental relief and work out mutually agreeable arrangements to best address the landlords and tenants’ specific circumstances.

Under the Ministry of Law’s 2021 Rental Waiver Framework (RWF), tenants of private commercial properties will receive two weeks’ waiver of gross rent from their landlords, provided they fulfil the eligibility conditions. Please refer to the Ministry of Law's website for more details.

Yes, eligible SMEs that rent properties in non-qualifying commercial properties (e.g. office or industrial properties) and operate it for qualifying commercial use with approval from the relevant authority during the qualifying period will be eligible for the cash payout. This includes canteens and gyms.

Eligible SMEs should apply manually for the cash payout:

First payout
Applications closed on 15 Oct 2021

Second payout
Applications closed on 12 Nov 2021

Third payout

Applications closed on 21 Jan 2022