CPF Relief is given to encourage individuals to save for their retirement. Employees who are Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents may claim CPF Relief.
On this page:
Contributions that qualify for relief
- Compulsory employee CPF contributions under the CPF Act or contributions to an approved pension or provident fund;
- Voluntary Contributions to your MediSave Account.
Please note that a personal income tax relief cap of $80,000 applies to the total amount of all tax reliefs claimed (including relief on compulsory/voluntary CPF contributions) for each Year of Assessment.
There will be no refund for accepted voluntary CPF contributions. Please evaluate whether you would benefit from tax relief on your voluntary CPF contributions and make an informed decision.
There will be no refund for accepted voluntary CPF contributions. Please evaluate whether you would benefit from tax relief on your voluntary CPF contributions and make an informed decision.
Contributions not eligible for relief
- Voluntary contributions made in excess of the compulsory contributions under the CPF Act;
- CPF contributions on additional wages that exceed the CPF cap on wages from related employers (employed concurrently by 2 or more related employers in a year); and
- CPF contributions made in respect of your overseas employment (i.e. while you are seconded or posted overseas for work).
Amount of relief
CPF Relief is capped by the amount of compulsory employee CPF contributions made on Ordinary Wages and Additional Wages under the CPF Act.
The amount of CPF Relief is capped to ensure that CPF is not used as a tax shelter.
Ordinary Wages and Additional Wages
Ordinary wages are wages due or granted for employment. They include allowances (e.g. food allowance and overtime payments) earned by an employee in the month. Ordinary wages must be paid before the due date for payment of CPF contributions for that month.
Additional wages are wage supplements which are not granted wholly and exclusively for the month. These include your annual bonus and leave pay.
You may claim CPF Relief for making employee CPF contributions on wages that have not exceeded the Ordinary Wage ceiling and Additional Wage ceiling.
As announced in Budget 2023, the CPF monthly salary ceiling will be increased to $8,000 in four phases starting from 1 September 2023.
Ordinary Wage (OW) ceiling
| Period | CPF monthly salary ceiling |
|---|---|
| 1 January 2023 to 31 August 2023 | $6,000 |
| 1 September 2023 to 31 December 2023 | $6,300 |
| 1 January to 31 December 2024 | $6,800 |
| 1 January to 31 December 2025 | $7,400 |
| On or after 1 January 2026 | $8,000 |
Notwithstanding the increases to the CPF monthly salary ceiling starting from 1 September 2023, the CPF annual salary ceiling will remain at $102,000.
Additional Wage (AW) ceiling
| 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023 | $102,000 less Total OW subject to CPF ($102,000 = 17 months x $6,000 |
|---|
The additional wage ceiling will remain at $102,000 less total ordinary wages subject to CPF for the relevant year.
For more information on OW ceiling and AW ceiling, please refer to CPF Board's website.
Examples on computations of CPF Relief
Example 1: Additional Wages exceed the ceiling
Mr Lim is 40 years old. His compulsory employee CPF contribution rate is 20%. He received the following income in 2023:
| Employment period: 1 Jan 2023 to 31 Dec 2023 | Ordinary Wage (OW) | Additional Wage (AW) |
|---|---|---|
Total wages for 2023 | $5,500 x 12 months = $66,000 | $40,000 |
OW & AW ceiling | ($6,000 x 8 months) + ($6,300 x 4 months) = $73,200 | $102,000 – (A) |
Wages subject to compulsory CPF contributions | $66,000 (A) | $36,000 |
Mr Lim's CPF Relief for the Year of Assessment (YA) 2024 is computed as follows:
| CPF Relief on | Amount |
|---|---|
OW | $66,000 x 20% = $13,200 |
AW | $36,000 x 20% = $7,200 |
Total CPF Relief allowed for YA 2024 | = $20,400 ($13,200 + $7,200) |
Example 2: Ordinary Wages exceed the ceiling
Mr Heng is 35 years old. His compulsory employee CPF contribution rate is 20%. He received the following income in 2023:
| Employment period: 1 Jan 2023 to 31 Dec 2023 | Ordinary Wage(OW) | Additional Wage (AW) |
|---|---|---|
Total wages for 2023 | $6,500 x 12 months = $78,000 | $25,000 |
OW & AW ceiling | ($6,000 x 8 months) + ($6,300 x 4 months) = $73,200 | $102,000 – (A) |
Wages subject to compulsory CPF contributions | $73,200 (A) | $25,000 The AW ($25,000) is subject to compulsory CPF contributions as the AW has not exceeded the AW ceiling ($28,800). |
Mr Heng's CPF Relief for YA 2024 is computed as follows:
| CPF Relief on | Amount |
|---|---|
OW | $73,200 x 20% = $14,640 |
AW | $25,000 x 20% = $5,000 |
Total CPF Relief allowed for YA 2024 | = $19,640 ($14,640 + $5,000) |
Example 3: Total wages exceed the ceiling
Ms Cheong is 29 years old. Her compulsory employee CPF contribution rate is 20%. Her last date of employment was 30 Nov 2023. She received the following income in 2023:
Employment period: 1 Jan 2023 to 30 Nov 2023 | Ordinary Wage (OW)
| Additional Wage (AW)
|
|---|---|---|
Total wages for 2023 | $7,000 x 11 months = $77,000 | $45,000 |
OW & AW ceiling | Jan to Nov 2023 = ($6,000 x 8 months) + ($6,300 x 3 months) = $66,900 | $102,000 - (A) |
Wages subject to compulsory CPF contributions | $66,900 (A) | $36,000 |
Ms Cheong's CPF Relief for YA 2024 is computed as follows:
| CPF Relief on | Amount |
|---|---|
OW | $66,900 x 20% = $13,380 |
AW | $35,100 x 20% = $7,020 |
| Total CPF Relief allowed for YA 2024 | = $20,400 ($13,380 + $7,020) |
Example 4: Claiming CPF Relief when employment has ceased
Mr Tan is 35 years old. His compulsory employee CPF contribution rate is 20%. His last date of employment was 30 Sep 2023. He received the following income in 2023:
Employment period: 1 Jan 2023 to 30 Sep 2023 | Ordinary Wage (OW)
| Additional Wage (AW)
|
|---|---|---|
Total wages for the year 2023 | $7,000 x 9 months = $63,000 | $19,000 |
OW & AW ceiling | Jan to Sep 2023 = ($6,000 x 8 months) + ($6,300 x 1 months) = $54,300
| $102,000 - (A) = $102,000 - $54,300 = $47,700 |
Wages subject to compulsory CPF contributions | $54,300 (A) The OW ($63,000) has exceeded the OW ceiling ($54,300). The OW subject to compulsory CPF contribution is capped at $54,300. | $19,000 The AW ($19,000) is subject to compulsory CPF contributions as it has not exceeded the AW ceiling ($47,700). |
Mr Tan's CPF Relief for YA 2024 is computed as follows:
| CPF Relief on | Amount |
|---|---|
OW | $54,300 x 20% = $10,860 |
AW | $19,000 x 20% = $3,800 |
Total CPF Relief allowed for YA 2024 | = $14,660 ($10,860 + $3,800) |
Example 5: Employee makes voluntary contribution to MediSave Account* (Up to YA 2022)
Andrew is 30 years old. He made voluntary contributions to his MediSave Account in 2021. His CPF Relief for the Year of Assessment (YA) 2022 is computed as follows:
| Andrew is an employee who is 30 years old | YA 2022 |
|---|---|
| Total wages (OW + AW) | $80,000 |
Compulsory CPF contributions made by Andrew's employer | 17% x $80,000 = $13,600 |
Compulsory CPF contributions by Andrew as an employee | 20% x $80,000 = $16,000 |
Total CPF contributions by Andrew and his employer | $13,600 + $16,000 = $29,600 |
Annual CPF contribution cap | $37,740* |
Voluntary cash contribution directed by Andrew to his MediSave Account | $9,000 |
Maximum tax relief allowed on voluntary contribution made by Andrew to his MediSave Account | $8,140 ($37,740 - $29,600) |
Total CPF Relief allowable to Andrew | $24,140 ($16,000 + $8,140) |
*The above tax treatment ceased for voluntary contributions made from 1 Jan 2022 to an individual’s own MediSave Account (“MA”). To make it simpler for employees to make voluntary contributions to their MA, from 1 Jan 2022 onwards, the contributions limit for voluntary contributions made by individuals to their MA will only be subject to the Basic Healthcare Sum and not the annual CPF contribution cap. The voluntary contributions made to the MA will be allowed under CPF Cash Top-up Relief
How to claim
e-Filing
Is your employer participating in the Auto-Inclusion Scheme?
| No | Yes |
|---|---|
| If your employer is one of the participants of the Auto-Inclusion Scheme for Employment Income, you do not need to claim this relief. We will automatically grant you this relief based on the information sent to us by your employer. |
Paper filing
Is your employer participating in the Auto-Inclusion Scheme?
| No | Yes |
|---|---|
Form B1 & B Complete the item on “CPF Relief”. | Form B1 & B If your employer is one of the participants of the Auto-Inclusion Scheme for Employment Income, you do not need to claim this relief. We will automatically grant you this relief based on the information sent to us by your employer. |
FAQs
I have filed my Income Tax Return. What should I do if I have forgotten to claim the CPF Relief?
1. If your employer is not participating in the Auto-Inclusion Scheme for Employment Income
If you e-Filed your Income Tax Return, please re-file within 7 days of your previous submission or by 18 Apr, whichever is earlier. You will only be able to re-file once. When you re-file, you must include all your income details, expenses, donations and relief claims, where applicable. Once you have re-filed successfully, your new submission will override the previous submission.
If you filed a paper Income Tax Return or are unable to re-file online, please email us:
a. your request to claim or revise the relief; and
b. the Form IR8A (Return of Employee's Remuneration) or Form IR8S (Details of employer's/employee's contributions to CPF), where applicable, from your employer.
2. If your employer is participating in the Auto-Inclusion Scheme for Employment Income
IRAS will automatically grant you this relief based on the information sent to us by your employer.
I have received my tax bill for the current Year of Assessment. I realise that I had submitted the amount of CPF Relief incorrectly. What should I do?
Please file an amendment using the “Object to Assessment” digital service at myTaxPortal within 30 days from the date of your tax bill.
If you are unable to use the digital service, you may email us:
- your request to revise the relief; and
- the Form IR8A (Return of Employee's Remuneration) or Form IR8S (Details of employer's / employee's contributions to CPF), where applicable, from your employer.
Can I obtain a refund of the voluntary CPF contributions I made in the previous year, if for the current Year of Assessment, the total amount of personal reliefs that I can claim is more than $80,000, even without any tax relief on voluntary CPF contributions I made?
There will be no refund for accepted voluntary CPF contributions. As such, taxpayers who make voluntary CPF contributions on or after 1 Jan 2017 should note that the overall personal income tax relief cap of $80,000 applies from Year of Assessment 2018. Hence, you should evaluate whether you would benefit from tax relief on your voluntary CPF contributions and make an informed decision accordingly.