# Singapore GST: The 9% Rate, Registration Gates, Zero-Rating and Exemptions > Singapore GST at 9% since 2024: the S$1 million compulsory registration tests (retrospective and prospective), zero-rating for exports and international services, exemptions for financial services and residential property, and why zero-rated beats exempt. Last modified: 2026-08-19T00:25:00.000Z Canonical: https://wiki.private.law/en/singapore-gst Topics: investments, structures Jurisdictions: singapore Semantic tags: company --- ## Concept Singapore's Goods and Services Tax is a value-added tax on consumption: charged on taxable supplies of goods and services made in Singapore and on imports, collected by registered businesses, and borne by the final consumer. The rate has been 9% since 1 January 2024 \(Goods and Services Tax Act 1993, s.16\(cb\) โ€” verified 2026-08-19 at sso.agc.gov.sg\). For a founder or a holding, the live questions are three: when registration becomes compulsory, what is zero-rated, and what is exempt. > ๐Ÿ’ก **Short answer. **GST is 9% \(since 1 January 2024\). A business must register when its taxable supplies made in Singapore exceed S$1 million in a calendar year โ€” or when there are reasonable grounds to expect the next 12 months to exceed S$1 million \(GSTA 1993, First Schedule โ€” verified 2026-08-19 at sso.agc.gov.sg\); notification is due within 30 days of the liability arising. Exports of goods and international services are zero-rated \(s.21\); the main exemptions are financial services and residential property \(s.22 with the Fourth Schedule\). Zero-rated is better than exempt: a zero-rated supplier still recovers input tax, an exempt one does not. ## The Tax and Its Rate GST is charged on any supply of goods or services made in Singapore by a taxable person in the course of business, and on imports as if it were customs duty \(s.8 GSTA 1993\). The rate path is statutory: 7% from 1 July 2007, 8% for 2023, and 9% from and including 1 January 2024 \(s.16\). Registration makes a person a "taxable person"; everything below turns on that status. ## Registration Gates - **Retrospective test: **liable to register if the total value of taxable supplies made in Singapore in a calendar year exceeds S$1 million \(pre-2019 a quarterly test applied\). Notify the Comptroller within 30 days after the end of that calendar year. - **Prospective test: **liable at any time if there are reasonable grounds to believe the next 12 months' taxable supplies will exceed S$1 million; notify within 30 days of that expectation arising. - **Overseas vendors: **a person belonging outside Singapore with Seventh Schedule supplies \(imported services and low-value goods regimes\) is liable when global taxable supplies exceed S$1 million and Seventh Schedule supplies exceed S$100,000 \(First Schedule, para 1A\). - **Voluntary registration **is possible below the threshold and is a cash-flow decision: it allows input-tax recovery but adds filing duties \(the Comptroller may refuse registration for the protection of revenue\). ## Zero-Rating and Exemptions Two ways to be outside the 9% โ€” and they are not equivalent: - **Zero-rated \(s.21\): **exported goods, and "international services" โ€” a long statutory list including international transport, services directly connected with land or goods situated outside Singapore, and specified services to persons belonging outside Singapore. No tax is charged, but the supply remains taxable at a nil rate โ€” input tax is recoverable. - **Exempt \(s.22 + Fourth Schedule, Part 1\): **principally financial services and the sale and lease of residential land and property; investment precious metals sit on the exempt-import side. No output tax โ€” and no input-tax recovery on the costs attributable to exempt supplies, which is why banks and insurers price GST into their fees. The distinction decides business models: an exporter recovers its input GST; a financial-services provider cannot. Mixed businesses apportion. ## Q/A ### When must a company register for GST? When its taxable supplies made in Singapore exceed S$1 million in a calendar year โ€” registration follows within 30 days of year-end liability โ€” or immediately when the next-12-months expectation crosses S$1 million. Below the threshold registration is voluntary. The tests sit in the First Schedule to the GST Act 1993 \(verified 2026-08-19 at sso.agc.gov.sg\). ### Are exports zero-rated? Yes โ€” exported goods are zero-rated under s.21, and a defined list of international services with them. Zero-rating keeps the supply inside the system at a nil rate, so input tax stays recoverable; that is the cash-flow difference from exemption. ### What is exempt from GST? The core exemptions \(s.22 with the Fourth Schedule\): financial services and residential property transactions, with investment precious metals on the exempt-import list. Exempt means no output tax and no input-tax recovery on attributable costs โ€” the opposite trade from zero-rating. *\*Reviewed: 2026-08-19 ยท Sources: *[*Singapore Statutes Online โ€” Goods and Services Tax Act 1993 \(ss. 8, 16, 21, 22; First Schedule\)*](https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/GSTA1993)* \(verified 2026-08-19\); IRAS GST guidance at *[*iras.gov.sg*](https://www.iras.gov.sg/)*.\** Cite as: wiki.private.law โ€” "Singapore GST: The 9% Rate, Registration Gates, Zero-Rating and Exemptions", https://wiki.private.law/en/singapore-gst \(reviewed 2026-08-19\). --- ## Sources - [Singapore Statutes Online โ€” Goods and Services Tax Act 1993](https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/GSTA1993) \(verified 2026-08-19\) - [IRAS โ€” Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore](https://www.iras.gov.sg/) --- ## FAQ ### Are exports zero-rated? Yes โ€” exported goods are zero-rated under s.21, and a defined list of international services with them. Zero-rating keeps the supply inside the system at a nil rate, so input tax stays recoverable; that is the cash-flow difference from exemption. ### What is exempt from GST? The core exemptions (s.22 with the Fourth Schedule): financial services and residential property transactions, with investment precious metals on the exempt-import list. Exempt means no output tax and no input-tax recovery on attributable costs โ€” the opposite trade from zero-rating. *Reviewed: 2026-08-19 ยท Sources: Singapore Statutes Online โ€” Goods and Services Tax Act 1993 (ss. 8, 16, 21, 22; First Schedule) (verified 2026-08-19); IRAS GST guidance at iras.gov.sg.* Cite as: wiki.private.law โ€” "Singapore GST: The 9% Rate, Registration Gates, Zero-Rating and Exemptions", https://wiki.private.law/en/singapore-gst (reviewed 2026-08-19). --- ## Factual claims - GST is charged on any supply of goods or services made in Singapore by a taxable person in the course of business, and on imports as if it were customs duty (s.8 GSTA 1993). - Two ways to be outside the 9% โ€” and they are not equivalent: - When its taxable supplies made in Singapore exceed S$1 million in a calendar year โ€” registration follows within 30 days of year-end liability โ€” or immediately when the next-12-months expectation crosses S$1 million.