How to Calculate Rental Income Tax in Singapore: A Step-by-Step Guide

Rental income in Singapore is taxed as part of your personal income. There is no separate "rental tax" — it gets added to your employment income (if any) and taxed at progressive rates. Here is how to calculate exactly what you owe, step by step.

The Formula

Net Rental Income = Gross Rent − Allowable Expenses

Your net rental income is then added to your other income (salary, dividends, etc.) to determine your total taxable income. Singapore's progressive tax rates are then applied to the total.

Step 1: Calculate Your Gross Rental Income

Gross rent includes everything your tenant pays you:

Monthly rent for the calendar year (January to December)
Advance rental received during the year
Forfeited security deposits
Maintenance fees charged to the tenant
Furniture and fittings charges

Example: You rent out your condo at $5,000/month for the full year.

Gross rental income = $5,000 × 12 = $60,000

If your tenant paid 2 months of advance rent in December for the following year, that advance rental is taxable in the year you received it.

Step 2: Choose Your Expense Method

You have two options:

Option A: 15% Deemed Expenses + Mortgage Interest

Deemed expenses = 15% × $60,000 = $9,000

Plus mortgage interest (say $18,000/year) = $18,000

Total deduction = $9,000 + $18,000 = $27,000

Option B: Actual Expenses

Add up all your actual deductible costs for the year:

| Expense | Amount | |---------|--------| | Property tax | $3,600 | | Mortgage interest | $18,000 | | Maintenance & repairs | $2,400 | | Agent commission | $2,500 | | Fire insurance | $350 | | Condo management fees | $3,600 | | Total | $30,450 |

Compare and Choose

| Method | Total Deduction | |--------|----------------| | Deemed (15% + interest) | $27,000 | | Actual | $30,450 |

In this example, actual expenses give you a higher deduction by $3,450. But you need receipts for everything.

If your actual operating expenses (excluding mortgage interest) had been lower — say $6,000 total instead of $12,450 — then the deemed method ($9,000 + $18,000 = $27,000) would beat actual ($6,000 + $18,000 = $24,000).

Step 3: Calculate Net Rental Income

Using the actual expense method from our example:

Net rental income = $60,000 − $30,450 = $29,550

Step 4: Add to Your Other Income

Rental income is added to all your other taxable income for the year. Suppose you have employment income of $80,000.

Total taxable income = $80,000 + $29,550 = $109,550

Step 5: Apply Personal Reliefs

Before tax rates are applied, subtract your personal reliefs. Common reliefs include:

Earned income relief
CPF contributions (if applicable)
NSman relief
Spouse/child relief
Course fees relief

Suppose your total reliefs amount to $15,000.

Chargeable income = $109,550 − $15,000 = $94,550

Step 6: Apply Progressive Tax Rates

Singapore's resident individual tax rates (YA 2025 onwards) are progressive:

| Chargeable Income | Tax Rate | |-------------------|----------| | First $20,000 | 0% | | Next $10,000 | 2% | | Next $10,000 | 3.5% | | Next $40,000 | 7% | | Next $40,000 | 11.5% | | Next $40,000 | 15% | | Next $40,000 | 18% | | Next $40,000 | 19% | | Next $40,000 | 19.5% | | Next $40,000 | 20% | | Next $40,000 | 22% | | Above $400,000 | 22% (from YA2025) |

For our example ($94,550 chargeable income):

| Band | Amount | Rate | Tax | |------|--------|------|-----| | First $20,000 | $20,000 | 0% | $0 | | Next $10,000 | $10,000 | 2% | $200 | | Next $10,000 | $10,000 | 3.5% | $350 | | Next $40,000 | $40,000 | 7% | $2,800 | | Next $14,550 | $14,550 | 11.5% | $1,673 | | Total | $94,550 | | $5,023 |

Without the rental income, your tax on $65,000 chargeable income ($80,000 − $15,000 reliefs) would be approximately $3,350. The additional tax attributable to the rental income is roughly $1,673.

Joint Ownership Scenario

If you jointly own a rental property with your spouse (50/50), the rental income and expenses must be split according to your ownership share.

Using the same example:

Your share of gross rent: $60,000 × 50% = $30,000
Your share of expenses: $30,450 × 50% = $15,225
Your net rental income: $30,000 − $15,225 = $14,775

Each owner declares their share separately in their own tax return. You cannot consolidate all rental income under one owner.

If ownership is split differently (e.g., 70/30), the income and expenses follow the same ratio. The split is based on legal ownership, not who manages the property or collects the rent.

Multiple Properties Scenario

If you own more than one rental property, you must aggregate the rental income and expenses from all properties.

Important rule: You must use the same expense method (deemed or actual) for all your rental properties in the same Year of Assessment. You cannot use deemed for one property and actual for another.

| Property | Gross Rent | Deemed (15%) | Actual Expenses | |----------|-----------|--------------|-----------------| | Condo A | $60,000 | $9,000 | $12,450 | | HDB B | $30,000 | $4,500 | $3,200 | | Total | $90,000 | $13,500 | $15,650 |

Add mortgage interest for both properties (say $18,000 + $8,000 = $26,000):

| Method | Total Deduction | |--------|----------------| | Deemed (15% + all interest) | $13,500 + $26,000 = $39,500 | | Actual (all expenses + interest) | $15,650 + $26,000 = $41,650 |

In this case, actual expenses across both properties give a higher deduction. But if Property B had no repairs that year (lowering actual expenses), deemed might win overall.

When You Rent Out for Only Part of the Year

If you only rented out the property for part of the year — say 8 months — your gross rent is the actual rent received for those 8 months. Expenses are similarly prorated for the rental period only.

If the property was vacant between tenants and you made reasonable efforts to find a new tenant, expenses during that vacancy period may also be deductible (from YA 2022 onwards).

Filing Your Rental Income

Rental income is reported in your annual tax return (Form B or Form B1). Key deadlines:

Paper filing: 15 April
e-Filing: 18 April

IRAS may pre-fill some rental income information based on tenancy stamp duty records. Always verify that the pre-filled amounts match your actual rental receipts, especially if rent changed during the year.

Key Takeaways

Rental income is added to your other income and taxed at progressive rates
Choose between 15% deemed expenses (+ mortgage interest) or actual itemised expenses each year
Joint owners must split income and expenses by ownership share
Multiple property owners must use the same expense method across all properties
Verify IRAS pre-filled figures against your actual records before filing