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Understand the types of allowable employment expenses that may be deducted against your employment income to reduce the amount of tax payable, and how to claim allowable employment expenses.
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Employment expenses

Employment expenses are expenses that are 'wholly and exclusively' incurred in the production of your employment income in Singapore. Allowable employment expenses may be deducted from your employment income.

    Allowable expenses

    Allowable employment expenses must satisfy all the following conditions:

    1. Incurred for the purpose of carrying out your official duties;
    2. Not reimbursed by your employer; and
    3. Not capital or private in nature.

    If your employment expense claims are incorrect or not supported by proper records, you are required to adjust or withdraw your claims through the following channels:

    You are responsible for ensuring that your tax declarations are accurate. False, incorrect, and unsupported claims may result in additional tax and penalties of up to three times the tax undercharged. Individuals charged in court may also face a fine of up to $10,000 , imprisonment of up to three years, or both. 

    Type of expenses Allowable expenses Non-allowable expenses
    Entertainment
    • Meals paid for clients for business meetings over lunch/dinner/tea, excluding your share.
    • Meals with family members/ colleagues.
    • Your own meals, including for working overtime.
    • Your own share of meals when meeting clients.
    • Expenses incurred for social purposes, meeting potential clients, and building or maintaining goodwill.
    Transport/ travelling
    • Public transport (bus, taxi, MRT) when travelling between your office and client’s office.
    • Your air tickets and hotel accommodation for travelling overseas to meet clients.
    • Public transport (bus, taxi, MRT) when travelling between your office and your home.
    • All private car expenses (i.e. car plate starting with "S") even if you use it for business meetings.
    • Air tickets and hotel accommodation for family members who accompanied you when you travelled overseas to meet clients.
    Referral fees/commission/ discounts given to customers
    • Referral fees/ commission given to individuals for introducing clients to you.
    • Discounts given to customers to secure business deals.
    • Referral fees/ commission given to your family member that is above the market rate for a similar job done.
    Telecommunication
    • Subscription fees for your phone/ internet for work purpose (e.g. maintaining a separate phone/ internet account for work).
    • Purchase of mobile phone/ computer/ electronics for your work purposes.
    • Installation of phone line/ internet for personal use.
    • Subscription fees and bills for your phone/ internet for private usage.
    • Fees for cloud storage for personal use.
    Other expenses
    • Subscriptions paid to professional bodies or societies.
    • Mosque building fund, zakat fitrah or any other religious dues authorised by law.
    • Subscription fees to hobby clubs which are not related to your employment.
    • Expenses that also contain private element (e.g. housing rent, personal grooming or wellbeing, gifts).
    • Payment in lieu of notice paid to employers for failing to serve sufficient notice period before leaving a job.

    Working from home expenses

    If you are required by your employer to work from home and the resulting home office expenses such as electricity charges and telecommunication charges are not reimbursed by your employer, you may claim these expenses that are incurred for work purposes as a deduction against your employment income for the year. As it may be difficult to calculate the exact amount of the running expenses that you have incurred as a result of working from home, IRAS is prepared to accept the following proxies:

    • Electricity and telecommunication charges: You may compare the bills before and after working from home. For example, if the electricity charges before and after working from home is $50 and $60 respectively, the difference of $10 can be claimed as deduction, being expenses incurred for work purposes.
    • WiFi expenses: The monthly subscription fee may be claimed as a deduction only if the WiFi was set up to enable you to work from home. No deduction can be claimed if the WiFi was set up prior to working from home. One-time charges, such as installation or connection fees, also cannot be claimed as they are capital in nature.
    • If there are more than one person working from home in the same household, IRAS is prepared to accept an equal apportionment basis for computing the amount of shared expenses applicable to each person.

    Refer to the FAQs on working from home expenses (DOCX, 64KB) for more information.

    Ms A was required to work from home from 1 Apr 2025 till 30 Jun 2025 and was the only person in the household working from home. The electricity charges for Mar 2025 to Jun 2025 based on actual usage, are as follows:

    Mar: $170 (base month)

    Apr: $210

    May: $220

    Jun: $250

    The electricity charges that may be claimed as deductible expenses against Ms A’s employment income for the Year of Assessment 2026 is $170:

    MonthAmount allowable ($)
    Apr40 (210 - 170)
    May50 (220 - 170)
    Jun80 (250 - 170)
    Total allowable expenses170

    Besides Ms A, Mr B, who is Ms A’s husband, also worked from home from 1 Apr 2025 to 30 Jun 2025. The amount of electricity charges incurred were the same as that in Example 1.

    In this example, the amount of electricity charges Ms A and Mr B may claim as deduction against their employment income for the Year of Assessment 2026 is $85 ($170/ 2 persons) each.

    Ms A was required to work from home from 1 Apr 2025 till 30 Jun 2025 and was the only person in the household working from home. A U-Save rebate was granted by the government to offset the utility bill for the month of May 2025. The electricity charges for Mar 2025 to Jun 2025 are as follows:

    Mar: $170 (base month)

    Apr: $210

    May: $110 (after deducting proportionate U-Save rebate*)

    Jun: $250

    *U-Save rebate has to be apportioned across electricity, water and gas charges.

    The electricity charges that may be claimed as deductible expenses against Ms A’s employment income for the Year of Assessment 2026 is $120:

    MonthAmount allowable ($)
    Apr40 (210 - 170)
    MayNil (110 - 170)
    Jun80 (250 - 170)
    Total allowable expenses120

    Claiming allowable employment expenses

    You should enter your employment expenses claim under the “1. Employment Income and Expenses” section in your Income Tax Return and select “Add New” > ”Employment Expenses”.

    Keep proper records

    You have to keep complete and proper records of all expenses incurred for 5 years. For example, expenses incurred in 2025 for Year of Assessment 2026 must be kept and retained until 31 Dec 2030.

    These records and accounts must be supported with invoices, receipts, vouchers and other relevant documents. You are only required to submit the supporting documents upon IRAS’ request.

    Please note that estimates and improper records are not acceptable for tax declaration.

    Use the employment expenses schedule

    Download the Employment Expenses Schedule (XLSX, 29KB) to track and record the details of your employment expenses claims. Remember to keep all invoices, receipts, vouchers, etc.

    FAQs

    Employment income and payback to the company for breach of employment contract are 2 separate types of payment.

    The employment income you received was for your services rendered to the company and is therefore taxable.

    The amount paid back to your company was compensation for breaching your employment contract. This payment is a personal expense that does not qualify for tax deduction.

    You may claim the support fees as an employment expense if you were on the E2C programme prior to your employment and were employed by this employer through the programme.

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