Charity and non-profit expenses in Singapore: the complete GST guide

A Singapore charity’s GST position turns on three kinds of activity. Activities charged at market rates are business, and their input tax is claimable. Free activities for the public are non-business, and their input tax is not. In between sit subsidised activities, where grants, donations or sponsorships let you charge less than the market rate, and their input tax has to be apportioned. On the income side, grants, donations and sponsorships carry no GST unless the giver gets a direct benefit back. And registration only bites once taxable supplies pass S$1 million. This guide walks through the whole ledger with a verdict before the detail. Every figure is sourced to IRAS and the CPF Board in the Sources section, retrieved 10 October 2026.

What this guide covers: GST registration, grants, donations and sponsorships, donations with benefits, claiming input tax for business, free and subsidised activities, blocked input tax, staff costs, and records.

The charity’s ledger at a glance

The rest of this guide walks through each row, and every section opens with its verdict.

Where ExpenseFlow fits

A charity’s purchase ledger is program costs, venue and event bills, outreach materials, rent and utilities, and grant-funded project costs. ExpenseFlow captures each document (email forward, upload or phone), reads the line items and GST, codes each line with a written reason, and routes anything uncertain to a person before it posts. Its nonprofit check comes from the rules on this page: a line or account that reads as grant-funded, fundraising, appeal, donor-funded, bursary, outreach or beneficiary support is flagged, because input tax is recoverable only to the extent it supports taxable supplies, a cost for a free activity is generally not claimable, and shared costs must be apportioned at period end. After approval the bill syncs to Xero with the source document attached, or to QuickBooks Online as a coded bill.

What it does not do: it never decides whether an activity is business, free or subsidised, never computes the apportionment ratio and never values donor benefits.

The ExpenseFlow for charities and nonprofits page covers these checks across all five countries.

GST registration

Charities and non-profit organisations must register for GST if the value of their taxable supplies exceeds S$1 million at the end of the calendar year, or is expected to exceed S$1 million in the next 12 months, even if they are engaged mostly in non-business activities ^[1] . Grants, donations and sponsorships without direct benefits are not taxable supplies ^[1] , so most charities stay below the line.

Grants, donations and sponsorships

When you receive grants, donations and sponsorships and give no direct benefits in return, the amounts don’t attract GST ^[1] . When you do provide direct benefits to the giver, you are treated as making a supply and account for output tax at the prevailing rate on the open market value of the benefits; when that value isn’t available, account at the tax fraction of 9/109 on the money received, or at the prevailing rate on the value of what you received ^[1] . The prevailing rate is 9% ^[2] .

Certain donations to registered charities or Institutions of a Public Character are treated as pure donations even when a benefit is given in return, if the benefit is given in connection with a fundraising event and falls within the list of benefits treated as having no commercial value in IRAS’s e-Tax Guide on donations with benefits ^[1] . Then no GST is accounted for ^[1] . Whether a donor can claim a tax deduction is a separate question that depends on IPC status ^[3] .

Business, free and subsidised activities

Input tax on wholly business activities, where you charge market rates and the activity isn’t funded by grants, donations or sponsorships, is claimable subject to the normal conditions ^[1] . Input tax on non-business activities, such as free talks or free medical services for the public, is not claimable ^[1] . Subsidised activities, where your fee is lowered by non-business receipts such as grants, donations or sponsorships, need apportionment; IRAS’s example is a social service agency charging the low-income group less because of a government grant ^[1] . If attributing input tax across wholly business, free and subsidised activities is difficult, a simpler basis of apportionment is allowed under IRAS’s e-Tax Guide for charities and non-profit organisations ^[1] .

Blocked input tax and invoices

Regulation 26 disallows input tax on club subscription fees, family benefits and staff medical expenses ^[4] . A claim needs a tax invoice, or a simplified tax invoice for amounts up to $1,000 ^[4] .

Staff costs and records

From 1 January 2026, the employer CPF rate for wages above $750 is 17% for employees aged 55 and below, lower for older age bands ^[5] . The Skills Development Levy is 0.25% of monthly wages, at least $2 and at most $11.25 per employee ^[6] . Keep each grant agreement and the record of any benefit given to a donor or sponsor, because they decide whether GST applies ^[1] . The GST guide, GST F5 guide and record-keeping guide cover the rest.

Common mistakes

• Claiming input tax on free public programmes ^[1] .
• Claiming input tax on subsidised activities in full instead of apportioning ^[1] .
• Ignoring the GST on sponsorships that come with advertising or other direct benefits ^[1] .
• Treating every donor benefit as covered by the fundraising concession ^[1] .
• Registering too late after taxable supplies pass S$1 million ^[1] .
• Claiming input tax on club subscriptions or staff medical bills ^[4] .