IRAS | Small Business Recovery Grant

The Small Business Recovery Grant (SBRG) provides one-off cash support to SMEs that have been most affected by COVID-19 restrictions over the past year, like those in the F&B, Retail, Tourism and Hospitality sectors.

On this page:

Eligibility

To be eligible:

Firm must be a ‘live’ business entity that is physically present in Singapore and registered¹ no later than 31 December 2021;
Firm must have an annual operating revenue that is less than S$100 million filed with IRAS in the Year of Assessment 2021 by 31 December 2021 or employ fewer than 200 employees as of 31 December 2021; and
Firm must be in one of the sectors listed in Table 1.

^₁_{Only Sole Proprietorships, Partnerships, Limited Liability Partnerships, and Companies that have a ‘live’ business status with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) as at the point of payout are eligible. Operators and stallholders in markets, hawker centres, coffeeshops, food courts, and canteens are eligible if they have valid Singapore Food Agency (SFA) licences as of 31 December 2021 and also continue to hold an active licence at the point of payout. Societies registered under Section 4 or 4A of the Societies Act in the following sectors are also eligible: Performing Arts and Arts Education; Museums, Art Galleries and Historical Sites; and Sports.}

Details of Payout

Eligible firms will receive S$1,000 for each local employee² with mandatory CPF contributions in the period from 1 November 2021 to 31 December 2021³, up to a cap of S$10,000 per firm.

Sole proprietorships and partnerships that are run by at least one local business owner⁴ but do not hire any local employees will receive a flat payout of S$1,000, if the local business owner is earning a net trade income of no more than S$100,000 filed with IRAS in the Year of Assessment 2021 by 31 December 2021.

IRAS will notify eligible firms starting from June 2022.

^₂_{Employees who are Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents. This includes employees in a company who are also shareholders and directors of the company (shareholder-directors) who are receiving CPF contributions in respect of
salaries paid under a contract of service with annual assessable income less than or equal to S$100,000. Other types of business owners (i.e. sole proprietors and partners in a partnership) are not considered employees.}

_{³Mandatory CPF contributions must be made by the stipulated contribution deadline.}

_{⁴Registered business owner who is a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident.}

Table 1: Sectors eligible for Small Business Recovery Grant

Sector	Qualifying Criteria⁵
Food and Beverage	Entities must have valid Singapore Food Agency (SFA) licenses and be classified under SSICs 56 or 68104.
Hawker Centres, Markets, Coffeeshops, Food Courts, and Canteens	For SFA-licensed operators and stallholders in markets, hawker centres, coffeeshops, food courts, and canteens that are registered as individuals: A licensee with local employees receiving mandatory CPF contributions will receive S$1,000 per local employee, subject to a cap of S$10,000 per licensee; or A licensee with no local employees will receive a flat payout of S$1,000 if the licensee is a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident.
Retail	A qualifying retail firm must: Have a physical storefront; and Be classified under SSICs 47103, 47109, 474, 475, 476, 4771, 47721, 4773, 4774, 47752, 47759, 47761, 47769, 4777, 47802.
Performing Arts and Arts Education	Entities must: Meet at least one of the conditions of being a/an: (i) Participant in a project, activity, programme, or festival supported by the National Arts Council (NAC) or National Heritage Board (NHB) between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2021; or (ii) Museum Roundtable member before 31 March 2021; or (iii) Accredited Arts Education Programme (AEP) provider listed in the 2019-2022 NAC-AEP Directory; or (iv) Entity with more than two-thirds of its business in arts/heritage-related activities (as defined as one of the six qualifying SSICs; and Be classified under SSICs 85408, 90001, 90002, 90003, 90009, 91021, or 91029.
Sports	Gyms, fitness studios, and other sports facilities must: Operate sports- and/or fitness-related programmes that are (i) conducted indoors without masks on prior to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) (P2(HA)); or (ii) for those 18 years and under prior to P2(HA); and Be classified under SSIC 93111, 93119, 93120, or 85407.
Cinema Operators	Entities must: Hold a valid Film Exhibition licence from IMDA; and Be classified under SSIC 5914.
Museums, Art Galleries, and Historical Sites	Entities must: Meet at least one of the conditions of being a/an: (i) Participant in a project, activity, programme, or festival supported by the National Arts Council (NAC) or National Heritage Board (NHB) between 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2021; or (ii) Museum Roundtable member before 31 March 2021; or (iii) Accredited Arts Education Programme (AEP) provider listed in the 2019-2022 NAC-AEP Directory; or (iv) Entity with more than two-thirds of its business in arts/heritage related activities (as defined as one of the three qualifying SSICs); and Be classified under SSICs 91021, 91022, or 91029.
Indoor Playgrounds and other Family Entertainment Centres	Entities must: Derive more than two-thirds of their revenue from operating family entertainment centres or family attractions-related businesses; and Be classified under SSICs 93201 or 93209.
Tourism, Hospitality, Conventions, and Exhibitions	Qualifying licensed hotels must be a licensed hotel classified under SSIC 551. Qualifying licensed travel agents must have more than two-thirds of their revenue from their travel agency business, based on the Annual Business Profile Returns submitted to the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in 2018. Qualifying gated tourist attractions must: Have had more than 30% visitorship from tourists in 2019, and Be classified under SSICs 93201, 93209, 91021, 91029, or 91030. Cruise line or cruise terminal operators are eligible. Meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions venue operators (MICE) must be purpose-built MICE venue operators. MICE and tourism event organisers must: Be impacted by the deferment/cancellation/loss of sales of at least one MICE/leisure event with at least 20% foreign attendees (residing outside Singapore) originally scheduled in Singapore between 1 Feb 2020 and 31 Dec 2020; and Derive more than two-thirds of their revenue from MICE/leisure events with at least 20% foreign attendees (residing outside Singapore) in 2018 or 2019; and Be classified under SSICs 82301, 82302, or 82303. Regional ferry operators must: Be licensed by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) as a Regional Ferry Services Operator; and Be classified under SSIC 50013.

^₅_{The sectors that qualify for the Small Business Recovery Grant are the same sectors that were eligible for Jobs Support Scheme payouts in November 2021 – December 2021. SSIC definitions listed are based on the classification structure of SSIC 2020.}

Contacting IRAS

If there are queries that have not been addressed on this site, please send us an enquiry via go.gov.sg/asksbrg. You can also call us at 6351 3390 between 8 am and 5 pm from Monday to Friday.

FAQs for Small Business Recovery Grant

1. How is the payout for the Small Business Recovery Grant computed?

Eligible firms will receive S$1,000 for each local employee⁶ with mandatory CPF contributions in the period of 1 November 2021 – 31 December 2021⁷, up to a cap of S$10,000 per firm.

Sole proprietorships and partnerships that are run by at least one local business owner⁸ but do not hire any local employees will receive a flat payout of S$1,000, if the local business owner is earning a net trade income of no more than S$100,000 filed with IRAS in the Year of Assessment 2021 by 31 December 2021.

^₆_{Employees who are Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents. This includes employees in a company who are also shareholders and directors of the company (shareholder-directors) who are receiving CPF contributions in respect of salaries paid under a contract of service with annual assessable income less than or equal to S$100,000. Other types of business owners (i.e. sole proprietors and partners in a partnership) are not considered employees.}

_{⁷Mandatory CPF contributions must be made by the stipulated contribution deadline.}

_{⁸Registered business owner who is a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident.}

2. Why was November-December 2021 chosen as the basis period for CPF contributions?

As the objective of the Small Business Recovery Grant is to support small businesses in sectors that were most affected by COVID-19 Safe Management Measures, the eligibility period is aligned to the last tranche of payouts for the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) for November 2021 – December 2021.

3. Why do sole proprietorships and partnerships that are run by at least one local business owner but do not hire any local employees receive a flat payout of S$1,000?

The Government recognises that there are some sole proprietorships and partnerships run only by the business owners. We are therefore providing a flat payout of S$1,000 for such firms that are run by at least one local business owner or partner but do not hire any local employees, as long as the local business owner or at least one local partner has earned a net trade income of no more than S$100,000 filed with IRAS in the Year of Assessment 2021 by 31 December 2021. This is because sole proprietors and partners in a partnership are not considered employees.

4. Do I get taxed on the Small Business Recovery Grant?

The Small Business Recovery Grant will be exempt from income tax in the hands of employers.

5. I did not receive the Small Business Recovery Grant. Can I appeal?

Firms that fulfil the eligibility criteria of the Small Business Recovery Grant but are not notified by IRAS in the period of June 2022 – October 2022 can submit an enquiry via the IRAS website. More details will be available at a later date.