Tax Relief Stack Optimizer
Enter your chargeable income and dependants. We order the reliefs by highest tax saved per dollar, respecting the $80,000 personal-relief cap.
YA2026 rates — verified against IRAS.
Enter your details to see the optimal order to claim Singapore tax reliefs — ranked by tax saved per dollar.
Why order matters
Each tax relief reduces your chargeable income by a fixed amount. But the tax saved on each dollar of relief depends on your marginal bracket. A $1,000 relief at the 22% bracket saves $220; at the 7% bracket it only saves $70. And once you hit the $80,000 personal-relief cap, any further relief is wasted — it reduces nothing.
The optimizer computes each relief's marginal tax saving for your income bracket, sorts them, then greedy-fills up to the cap. The output is the exact deployment order — and the point at which any remaining relief wouldn't move the needle.
Frequently asked
What's the order I should claim tax reliefs in?expand_more
Claim in descending order of tax saved per dollar spent. For top-bracket earners the typical order is: SRS ($15,300) → CPF cash top-up self ($8,000) → CPF top-up family ($8,000) → Parent Relief ($9,000 per parent if living together) → Course Fees ($5,500) → NSman Relief ($3,000–$5,000 depending on appointment) → Grandparent Caregiver Relief ($3,000) → Donations (2.5× donated amount). The optimizer sorts these for YOUR income bracket because the marginal rate determines the tax-per-relief dollar.
How does the $80,000 personal income tax relief cap work?expand_more
From YA2018 onwards, the total of all tax reliefs you claim cannot exceed $80,000 in a Year of Assessment. This applies to virtually all reliefs stacked together — SRS, CPF top-ups, NSman, parent relief, etc. (The $80k cap is separate from CPF mandatory contributions, which are not "reliefs".) The optimizer tells you when you hit the cap and which lower-priority reliefs become wasteful at that point.
Is SRS or CPF top-up better for tax relief?expand_more
SRS typically wins on flexibility — $15,300 annual cap for Singaporeans/PRs, accessible from age 63 (current retirement age) with only 50% of withdrawals taxed. CPF cash top-up wins on guaranteed returns — 4% p.a. on SA/RA, but locked until 55. Tax-wise they give identical relief per dollar. If you have CPF SA near FRS already, top-up to RA/SA is capped; SRS is the fallback. The optimizer shows both as separate line items and lets you decide where to deploy.
Can I claim parent relief if I don't live with my parent?expand_more
Yes but the amount is lower: $5,500 per dependant if not living with you, vs $9,000 if they are. The parent must be 55+ and have annual income ≤ $8,000, or be physically/mentally disabled (no age/income test for handicapped dependant relief, which pays $14,000 per handicapped dependant). Siblings can split the relief — total claimable across all siblings can't exceed the per-parent cap. The optimizer asks whether you live with each parent separately.
Do tax reliefs reduce my take-home pay or my tax bill?expand_more
Your tax bill. Tax reliefs reduce your chargeable income, which reduces the income tax payable after YA filing in March–April. They do NOT reduce your monthly take-home pay (CPF is already deducted separately). The saving materializes when you receive your Notice of Assessment from IRAS — you owe less tax than if you hadn't claimed. For high earners at the 22%+ marginal bracket, $10,000 of reliefs equals $2,200+ of real cash saved.