Reliefs reduce your chargeable income before tax is calculated — most Singaporeans qualify for several automatically or with a simple claim. One relief in particular has changed significantly since 2024.
⚠ WMCR now works differently depending on your child's birth year| Relief | Amount (approx.) |
|---|---|
| Earned Income Relief | $1,000 – $8,000 (by age) |
| CPF Relief | Your actual CPF contributions |
| Spouse Relief | $2,000 |
| Qualifying Child Relief (QCR) | $4,000 per child |
| Working Mother's Child Relief (WMCR) | See dual-system breakdown below |
| Parent Relief | $5,500 – $9,000 (by living arrangement) |
| Grandparent Caregiver Relief | $3,000 |
| Course Fees Relief | Up to $5,500/year |
| NSman Relief | $1,500 – $5,000 |
This is the single most important thing to understand about Singapore's family tax reliefs right now. Working Mother's Child Relief now works completely differently depending on when your child was born or adopted — a change that's caught many families off guard.
| Child Order | WMCR (% of mother's earned income) |
|---|---|
| 1st child | 15% |
| 2nd child | 20% |
| 3rd and later children | 25% each |
Under this system, higher-earning mothers receive a larger dollar relief, since it scales directly with income. Combined WMCR across multiple children is capped at 100% of the mother's earned income.
| Child Order | WMCR (fixed amount) |
|---|---|
| 1st child | $8,000 |
| 2nd child | $10,000 |
| 3rd and later children | $12,000 each |
Effective from Year of Assessment 2025, this fixed amount applies regardless of the mother's income — the same dollar relief for a $40,000 earner as for a $200,000 earner, for children in this birth-date category.
The government's stated goal was to make family support more progressive — giving equal support to children of the same birth order regardless of the mother's income, rather than rewarding higher earners with proportionally larger relief. In Parliament (February 2026), the Ministry of Finance disclosed that around 9,500 working mothers paid higher income tax in YA2025 as a direct result of this shift — almost entirely higher-income mothers whose percentage-based relief would have exceeded the new fixed amount.
If you have children born both before and after 1 January 2024, each child is assessed under whichever system applies to their specific birth date — you don't get to choose, and it's genuinely two different calculations within the same tax return.
Regardless of which WMCR system applies, combined Qualifying Child Relief (or Handicapped Child Relief) plus WMCR for the same child cannot exceed $50,000 in total. QCR/HCR claims are applied first, with WMCR limited to whatever room remains under that cap.
See how these reliefs change your total tax bill.
Use the Income Tax Calculator →Total personal reliefs claimable are capped at $80,000 per Year of Assessment, regardless of how many individual reliefs you qualify for or how they combine. High earners stacking CPF Relief, SRS contributions, WMCR, and other reliefs are the ones most likely to actually hit this ceiling.
Relief amounts, eligibility conditions, and caps are reviewed periodically. Verify exact figures for your situation on the IRAS website before filing.