Resign or Stay Calculator (Singapore 2026)

Q: When should I quit to keep my bonus?

Two timing windows matter: (1) bonus payout date — you must still be employed on this date for the bonus to be paid, and (2) the claw-back clause — most Singapore companies require you to stay 6 to 12 months AFTER bonus payout or you must return the bonus. So the safe quit window is bonus payout + claw-back months. Use this calculator to test your specific timing.

Q: How is leave encashment calculated in Singapore?

Unused annual leave at the time you leave is encashed at your daily rate of pay: monthly salary ÷ working days per month (typically 21). Example: $6,000/mo with 10 unused leave days = 10 × ($6,000 / 21) ≈ $2,857. MOM rules require employers to encash earned but unused leave for non-domestic workers — confirm your company policy on accrued vs forfeited leave.

Q: Do I have to give 1 or 2 months notice?

It is in your contract — typically 1 month for non-managers, 2–3 months for managers and senior roles. MOM Employment Act sets minimums based on length of service: 1 day (under 26 weeks), 1 week (26 weeks–2 years), 2 weeks (2–5 years), 4 weeks (5+ years). You can pay in lieu of notice (your salary × notice months) to leave earlier. Use our Notice Period Calculator for the legal minimums.

Q: Does CPF still get deducted during my notice period?

Yes — you are still an employee during notice, so all CPF rules apply normally. Your monthly OW capped at $8,000, age-band rate (e.g. 20% employee + 17% employer at age 30), and any bonus paid during notice is subject to CPF up to the AW Ceiling. After your last day, no more CPF until you start the new role.

Q: What about income tax timing?

IRAS taxes you on a calendar-year basis (YA). Switching jobs mid-year does not change total tax — you still aggregate all income from both employers in your tax return. The only meaningful tax timing impact is if your TOTAL annual income crosses a bracket: e.g. moving from $80k to $130k crosses two brackets. The calculator does not subtract income tax (small differential typically) but flags it as a follow-up consideration.

Q: I have a sign-on bonus that vests over 12 months. How do I model it?

If the sign-on is paid upfront with a clawback clause (e.g. 50% if you leave within 12 months), enter the full amount in this calculator and budget the clawback risk separately. If it vests in tranches over time, enter only the amount you would receive within 12 months in the sign-on field — anything later is a long-term consideration outside the 12-month window.

Q: Should I take the new offer if it pays only $200/mo more?

Run the calculator with your specific numbers — typically a $200/mo raise is around $2,400 over 12 months gross, well within the noise of leave encashment ($2,000–$4,000), bonus timing risk (could lose $10,000+) and gap-month expenses. Most resign-or-stay decisions where the salary delta is below $1,000/mo are non-financial: career progression, manager fit, learning velocity, mental health.

12-month side-by-side comparison of staying at your current job vs taking a new offer. Bakes in Singapore-specific levers: notice period, leave encashment, bonus claw-back timing, sign-on bonus, gap-month income loss and CPF on both wages.

Last updated: May 2026Source: MOM · CPF

What is the Resign or Stay Calculator?

It runs the 12-month cashflow for both scenarios and tells you which one nets more money — but exposes the levers most Singaporeans miss: bonus you forfeit if you quit before claw-back, leave you encash on departure, gap-month expenses without income, sign-on bonus from the new employer, and CPF on Additional Wages within the $102,000 ceiling. Output is a verdict (leave-better / stay-better / similar) with a month-by-month cumulative delta.

Quick Answer

A $6,000/mo employee considering a $7,500/mo new offer with $5k sign-on, 2-month notice, 10 days accrued leave, $12k bonus paid in March (no clawback): leave is roughly $20,000+ ahead over 12 months. With a 3-month gap before starting + bonus forfeit, the picture flips to stay-better.

Current monthly salary

New offer monthly salary

Age

Notice (mo)

Leave days

Bonus

Expected bonus

Payout month (1–12)

Claw-back: months you must stay AFTER payout

If you leave before this many months pass, bonus must be returned. Set 0 for no clawback.

New role

Gap months (no income)

Sign-on bonus

Monthly expenses (for gap-months budgeting)

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Enter both salary, notice, bonus and gap details — see the 12-month side-by-side cashflow comparison.

For reference only — not HR or legal advice.

Quick Reference — 2026

• Statutory notice (MOM Employment Act): 1 day <26wk · 1 wk 26wk–2y · 2 wk 2–5y · 4 wk 5y+
• Annual leave entitlement: 7 days at year 1, +1 per year, capped at 14
• Leave encashment formula: days × (monthly salary / 21)
• CPF rates age <55: 20% employee + 17% employer = 37%
• CPF OW ceiling: $8,000/mo (capped per month)
• Annual Wage Ceiling: $102,000 (governs bonus CPF)
• Typical bonus claw-back: 6–12 months after payout in tech / banking sectors
• Pay in lieu of notice: Salary × notice months can be paid by either side

Who This Calculator Is For

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Mid-Career Professionals With New Offer

Bonus timing is usually the swing factor. Run with your specific bonus-payout month + claw-back clauses.

Bonus before quit: Claw-back risk
Quit before bonus: Forfeit risk
Sign-on bonus: Often offsets forfeited bonus

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Career Switchers (Industry Change)

New industry often comes with a salary cut + months of upskilling. Model the gap honestly.

Gap months: Common 1–3 month break for re-skilling
Lower entry salary: Stress-test 12-month delta
Long-term: Re-run with year-2 expected salary

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Managers With Long Notice

2–3 month notice means more bonus exposure but also more accrued leave. Run with full notice in calculator.

Long notice: More leave to encash
Bonus risk: Larger window for clawback issues
PILON: New employer may pay your old notice

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Considering a Sabbatical / FIRE

Use the gap-months input to model 6–12 months without income — and the cumulative delta shows when you fall back below stay scenario.

Gap months input: Up to 12
Pair with FIRE calc: Long-term impact
CPF gap: No employer contributions during break

Why Bonus Timing Dominates the Maths

Singapore companies typically pay annual bonuses (AWS, performance bonus, 13th month) between January and April — and most contracts include a claw-back clause requiring you to stay 6 to 12 months after payout. Quit before the claw-back expires and you must return the bonus. Quit before the payout date and you forfeit it entirely. Either way, this single line item often dwarfs every other consideration in the resign-or-stay decision.

Two side-effects to model: (1) CPF on bonus — bonus is Additional Wage subject to CPF up to the $102,000 Annual Wage Ceiling minus your YTD OW (use our Additional Wage CPF Calculator to size this); (2) income tax timing — both bonus and new salary land in the same YA, so total tax does not change unless you cross a bracket. The Income Tax Calculator shows the YA2026 brackets.

Two other levers: leave encashment (unused annual leave at daily rate — see the Annual Leave Calculator) and notice period (statutory minimums by service length — see the Notice Period Calculator). Pay-in-lieu-of-notice (PILON) can shift income from current to new employer if either side wants to accelerate. The combination tilts the verdict by tens of thousands.

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Bonus claw-back

Typical 6–12 months after payout

Largest single risk

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Leave encashment

Daily rate × unused days

$2k–$8k typical

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Gap-month outflow

Monthly expenses × gap months

Hidden cost of break

Stay vs Leave: Levers and Their Typical Magnitudes

Approximate ranges for a Singapore mid-career professional. The calculator above plugs your specific values into the same framework.

Lever	Stay impact	Leave impact	Magnitude
Bonus retained vs forfeited	Full bonus retained	Forfeit if quit before payout	$5,000–$30,000
Bonus claw-back	Not applicable	Repay if quit before clawback ends	$5,000–$30,000
Leave encashment	Stay carries leave forward	Encash unused days at quit	$2,000–$8,000
Sign-on bonus	Not available	Often $5k–$20k	$5,000–$20,000
Salary delta over 12 months	Same	New − old × 12	$5,000–$50,000
Gap-months expense outflow	No outflow	Monthly expenses × gap	$5,000–$30,000
CPF on AW (bonus)	Within AW ceiling, CPF applies	Same — both employers count to AWC	Neutralises
Career progression	Continuing track	Reset / accelerated track	Non-financial

Most Singapore resign-or-stay decisions hinge on bonus timing × salary delta. The other levers usually round to ±$5,000 within the 12-month window.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I quit to keep my bonus?expand_more

Two timing windows matter: (1) bonus payout date — you must still be employed on this date for the bonus to be paid, and (2) the claw-back clause — most Singapore companies require you to stay 6 to 12 months AFTER bonus payout or you must return the bonus. So the safe quit window is bonus payout + claw-back months. Use this calculator to test your specific timing.

How is leave encashment calculated in Singapore?expand_more

Unused annual leave at the time you leave is encashed at your daily rate of pay: monthly salary ÷ working days per month (typically 21). Example: $6,000/mo with 10 unused leave days = 10 × ($6,000 / 21) ≈ $2,857. MOM rules require employers to encash earned but unused leave for non-domestic workers — confirm your company policy on accrued vs forfeited leave.

Do I have to give 1 or 2 months notice?expand_more

It is in your contract — typically 1 month for non-managers, 2–3 months for managers and senior roles. MOM Employment Act sets minimums based on length of service: 1 day (under 26 weeks), 1 week (26 weeks–2 years), 2 weeks (2–5 years), 4 weeks (5+ years). You can pay in lieu of notice (your salary × notice months) to leave earlier. Use our Notice Period Calculator for the legal minimums.

Does CPF still get deducted during my notice period?expand_more

Yes — you are still an employee during notice, so all CPF rules apply normally. Your monthly OW capped at $8,000, age-band rate (e.g. 20% employee + 17% employer at age 30), and any bonus paid during notice is subject to CPF up to the AW Ceiling. After your last day, no more CPF until you start the new role.

What about income tax timing?expand_more

IRAS taxes you on a calendar-year basis (YA). Switching jobs mid-year does not change total tax — you still aggregate all income from both employers in your tax return. The only meaningful tax timing impact is if your TOTAL annual income crosses a bracket: e.g. moving from $80k to $130k crosses two brackets. The calculator does not subtract income tax (small differential typically) but flags it as a follow-up consideration.

I have a sign-on bonus that vests over 12 months. How do I model it?expand_more

If the sign-on is paid upfront with a clawback clause (e.g. 50% if you leave within 12 months), enter the full amount in this calculator and budget the clawback risk separately. If it vests in tranches over time, enter only the amount you would receive within 12 months in the sign-on field — anything later is a long-term consideration outside the 12-month window.

Should I take the new offer if it pays only $200/mo more?expand_more

Run the calculator with your specific numbers — typically a $200/mo raise is around $2,400 over 12 months gross, well within the noise of leave encashment ($2,000–$4,000), bonus timing risk (could lose $10,000+) and gap-month expenses. Most resign-or-stay decisions where the salary delta is below $1,000/mo are non-financial: career progression, manager fit, learning velocity, mental health.

Sources

• Ministry of Manpower (mom.gov.sg) — Notice period, leave encashment, Employment Act
• CPF Board (cpf.gov.sg) — CPF rates, OW ceiling $8,000, AWC $102,000
• IRAS (iras.gov.sg) — Bonus tax + YA timing

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