Expense rules in Singapore.
All IRAS rules: GST 9%, travel allowances and VAT recovery rules in Singapore.
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1Expense rules & reclaimable VAT
| Category | VAT | Reclaim | Cap / Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business meals | 9% | 100% reclaimable | If legitimate business |
| Travel meals | 9% | 100% reclaimable | Employee allowance |
| Accommodation | 9% | 100% reclaimable | Tax invoice required |
| Fuel | 9% | 100% reclaimable | Business mileage records |
| MRT / bus / flight | 0% | N/A | Zero-rated transport |
| Taxi / Grab | 9% | 100% reclaimable | E-receipt accepted |
| Client gifts | 9% | Limited | Reasonable IRAS cap |
| Parking | 9% | 100% reclaimable | Tax invoice |
GST 2024
1pt increase vs 8% in 2023.
Tax invoice
Simplified tax invoice OK < $1,000.
Retention
IRAS records: 5 years.
2Mileage allowance
| Mode | Allowance | Cap | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal car | SGD $0,45/km | By company | MNC standard practice |
| Motorcycle | SGD $0,30/km | By company | Reduced rate |
No federal standard
Singapore has no federal rate.
MNC practice
Common MNC rate.
Records
Date, destination, km, business purpose.
3Per diem and travel allowances
| Destination | Meal | Lodging / night | Daily rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore — national | SGD $80 | SGD $300 | SGD $380 |
| Senior executive | SGD $100 | SGD $500 | SGD $600 |
| Foreign — KL / Bangkok | SGD $80 | SGD $200 | SGD $280 |
| Foreign — London | SGD $150 | SGD $400 | SGD $550 |
| Foreign — New York | SGD $180 | SGD $450 | SGD $630 |
Standard MNC
MNC M&IE per diem.
Hotel separate
Lodging refunded on invoice.
No statutory rate
No mandatory IRAS cap.
4Foreign VAT recovery
| Zone | Mechanism | Deadline | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore → EU | 13th Directive | Variable | Direct filing per EU country |
| France | Reciprocity | 30 Sept. N+1 | Via impots.gouv.fr |
| United Kingdom | Reciprocity | 31 Dec. N+1 | HMRC VAT65A |
| Switzerland | Reciprocity | 30 June N+1 | FTA Form 1222 |
| USA | No recovery | — | Sales tax not recoverable |
| SG GST for foreign | Tourist Refund Scheme | Airport | Electronic eTRS |
eTRS
Tourist Refund Scheme at airport.
No B2B refund
No general B2B procedure.
Outbound recovery
SG company recovers EU VAT via 13th Directive.
Industrialize your Singapore expenses with Illizeo.
GST 9% (since 2024), MNC per diem, multi-currency SGD↔USD↔EUR↔CHF: all the IRAS rules above are natively integrated into Illizeo.
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