Royalty is the income received for the rights to use:

  • Copyrights
  • Patents
  • Trademarks
On this page:

Royalty is earned in Singapore if it is:

  1. paid directly or indirectly by a person resident in Singapore or by a permanent establishment in Singapore; or
  2. deductible against any income earned in or derived from Singapore.

Qualifying for tax concession

To qualify for the tax concession, the royalties must be received for:

  1. any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work; or
  2. approved intellectual property or approved innovation.


If you qualify, you will be taxed on the lower of:

  1. amount of royalties after allowable deductions; or
  2. 10% of the gross royalties.


The tax concession does not apply to royalties received for any work published in:

  1. any newspaper;
  2. periodical;
  3. approved intellectual property or innovation (from Year of Assessment 2017).

Example 1: Qualify for tax concession

David received royalty of $3,000 from publishing his book in 2022. He claimed allowable expenses of $2,800 against the gross royalty income of $3,000.

Net royalty after expenses = $200

10% of gross royalty = $300


As the net royalty after claiming allowable expenses is lower, David will be taxed $200 in the Year of Assessment 2023.

Reporting royalties

Royalty is taxable in the year it is due and payable.

You must declare the full amount of gross royalties received under 'Other Income' in your Income Tax Return and provide details (including a statement of expenses incurred, if any) of the royalties.

If you qualify for the tax concession, you should also email us the supporting documents on the sources of your royalties.

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