Tax Deduction Scheme for Grantmakers

Tax Deduction for Donors

Donors who donate to Qualifying Grantmaking Philanthropic Organisations ("Grantmakers") would qualify for 300% tax deduction for donations made from 1 Jan 2015 to 31 Dec 2015 and 250% tax deduction for donations made from 1 Jan 2016 to 31 Dec 2023.

Qualifying as Grantmaker

To qualify as grantmaker, the organisation must: 

1. Either be a registered charity under the Charities Act or a grantmaker approved under the NPO tax incentive scheme administered by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB);
   
2. Channel the donation intended for the IPC to a segregated account/fund ("designated IPC fund") that is designated for donations to IPCs only;
   
3. Be responsible for issuing the tax-deduction receipt to the donor, and it must distribute the donations to IPCs within five years of receipt of the donations from the donors;
   
4. Be liable to pay to IRAS a financial penalty of the amount ascertained by the formula 0.4x the total value of the donations for:
   
   1. Any amount of tax deduction that has been incorrectly granted or that is not properly due to a donor; and
      
   2. Any amount of tax deduction granted on donations that are not disbursed within the five-year timeframe.
      
5. Distribute any remaining funds/assets to IPCs within one month upon dissolution of the designated IPC fund;
   
6. Put in place proper procedures to ensure that the donations are in fact channeled to IPCs;
   
7. Keep proper records such as the identity of each donor, date of donation, amount of donation received from each donor and the amount of tax deduction receipts that was issued to each donor for at least seven years;
   
8. Submit details of cash donation received and disbursed in the  format prescribed by IRAS on an annual basis; and
   
9. Subject the designated IPC fund to an annual external audit and submit the annual audited accounts to IRAS within one month of the date of the audit report.

Registering as Grantmaker

To register as a grantmaker under the tax deduction scheme, the organization must:

1. Submit a Letter of Undertaking (PDF, 113KB) to IRAS; and
   
2. Satisfy all the qualifying conditions listed above.

List of Registered Grantmakers