Tax treatment of interest-free loans, subsidised interest loans, waivers on the principal sum, etc. given to employees.
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Tax Treatment of Benefits Relating to Loans (Summary Table)
| Nature | Taxable/Not taxable | |
|---|---|---|
1 | Interest benefits arising from interest-free or subsidised interest loans, e.g. housing loans, vehicle loans, computer loans and personal loans. |
|
| Not taxable if the scheme is available to all employees. Employees must not have substantial shareholdings, or control or influence over the company by virtue of their shareholdings or otherwise. See Computing Interest Benefits (below). | |
| Taxable | |
2 | Interest benefits on loans to company directors | Taxable |
3 | Waiver of principal sum | Amount waived is taxable |
Loans to Company Directors
Benefits directors derive from loans are taxable. The Income Tax Act regards company directors as employees, the benefits from interest-free / subsidised loans are taxable as employment benefits.
Computing Interest Benefits
The value of interest benefits is computed based on prime interest rate.
For simplicity, IRAS may accept computation based on the amount of loan outstanding as at 31 December of each year multiplied by the average prime lending rate for that year.
If the loan were taken for less than one calendar year, the interest benefits would be computed according to the number of months in that year for which the loans remain outstanding.
Example 1: Interest Benefit Based on Prime Lending Rate
A company director has been provided with an interest-free loan of $100,000 from January 2020 to October 2022, the amount of interest benefit for each Year of Assessment (YA) would be as follows:
| Year of Assessment (YA) | Outstanding Loan | Average Prime Lending Rate (%) | Amount of Interest Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $100,000 | 5.25 | $100,000 x 5.25% = $5,250 |
2022 | $100,000 | 5.25 | $100,000 x 5.25% = $5,250 |
2023 | $100,000 | 5.25 | $100,000 x 5.25% x 10/12 = $4,375 |
Average Prime Lending Rate
| Year | Average Prime Lending Rate (%) |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 5.33 |
| 2019 | 5.25 |
| 2020 | 5.25 |
| 2021 | 5.25 |
| 2022 | 5.25 |