How Singapore take-home pay is worked out
- Employee CPF comes out of every pay: 20% of Ordinary Wages up to $8,000 a month for those aged 55 and below, and the same rate on your bonus up to the Additional Wage ceiling.
- Income tax is charged on your chargeable income: employment income minus personal reliefs — earned income relief ($1,000 below 55), CPF relief for your own compulsory contributions, and any other reliefs — capped at $80,000.
- Resident rates run from 0% on the first $20,000 to 24% above $1 million.
- Take-home pay = gross pay − employee CPF − income tax.
Employer CPF is not deducted from you; it goes into your Ordinary, Special or Retirement, and MediSave accounts.
Worked example: $6,000 a month plus a $6,000 bonus
$6,000 a month + $6,000 bonus, citizen aged 55 or below, 2026 wages
Employee CPF is $15,600 for the year and your employer adds $13,260. After earned income relief and CPF relief, chargeable income is $61,400, and tax is $2,048.00. You keep about $5,029 a month.
Take-home per month$5,029.33after CPF and income tax (averaged)
- Take-home per year
- $60,352
- Your CPF per year
- $15,600
- Employer CPF on top
- $13,260
| Item | Year | Month (average) |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $78,000.00 | $6,500.00 |
| Employee CPF | −$15,600.00 | −$1,300.00 |
| Income tax (YA 2027) | −$2,048.00 | −$170.67 |
| Take-home pay | $60,352.00 | $5,029.33 |
| Employer CPF (into your CPF accounts) | $13,260.00 | $1,105.00 |
Income tax · YA 2027
- Employment income
- $78,000.00
- Less earned income relief
- -$1,000.00
- Less CPF relief
- -$15,600.00
- Chargeable incomereliefs capped at $80,000
- $61,400.00
- Income tax
- $2,048.00
- Marginal tax rate
- 7.0%
What changed for 2026 and 2027
- 1 January 2026: the CPF Ordinary Wage ceiling reached $8,000, and rates for senior workers aged above 55 to 65 rose.
- 1 January 2027: rates rise again for ages above 55 to 60 (to 35.5%) and above 60 to 65 (to 26%), reaching the target rates for the 60–65 group. Select 2027 in the calculator to see the effect.
- Income tax: no rebate for YA 2026 or YA 2027; rates unchanged since YA 2024.
Tips
- Top up via SRS: Supplementary Retirement Scheme contributions (up to $15,300 for citizens and PRs) are deductible, which saves tax at your marginal rate.
- Cash top-ups to your own or family members’ CPF retirement accounts can give up to $16,000 of relief a year.
- Check your residency status: foreigners working fewer than 183 days pay 15% or resident rates, whichever is higher, without reliefs.