Multigenerational household budget in Singapore: reliefs, grants and splitting the bills

A multigenerational household budget comes down to three jobs. List the bills you share, agree a split in writing and claim what the government gives. In Singapore that means IRAS tax reliefs, MOM's lower maid levy, CPF matching and HDB grants. Here's the order, with the official amounts.

How to set up a multigenerational household budget, step by step

1. List every bill the household shares in a month, with your own amounts. Include utilities, groceries, conservancy charges, the helper's pay and levy, and medical costs.
2. Pick one split: by adult, by income, or one side pays the bills and the other buys the food.
3. Agree what the grandparents get for minding the kids, if they do. Keep it apart from the bills, and write it down with a review date.
4. Claim Grandparent Caregiver Relief if a grandparent minds your citizen child aged 12 or under. IRAS gives working mothers $3,000, if that grandparent earns $8,000 a year or less from work.
5. Claim Parent Relief on each grandparent aged 55 or above who earns $8,000 a year or less. IRAS gives $9,000 if you live together, or $5,500 apart if you spent $2,000 or more on them.
6. Check if a grandparent qualifies for CPF's Matched Retirement Savings Scheme before you top up their CPF. The Government matches their cash top-ups dollar for dollar, up to $2,000 a year.
7. Pay MOM's $60 concession levy, not $300, if a citizen child under 16 or a citizen aged 67 or above lives with you. List a grandparent on MOM's FDW eService, at your NRIC address, to count them.
8. Look at HDB's Proximity Housing Grant if you're buying resale. It's $30,000 to live with your parents or $20,000 within 4km, and our HDB schemes guide covers new flats.
9. Review the split once a year, after your tax bill arrives. Look at it again when a child starts school or a grandparent stops work.

Schemes for a three-generation household

These schemes change when grandparents live with you or mind your kids. The agency in brackets is where you claim or apply.

MOM's concession saves $240 a month on one helper, or $2,880 a year. Each eligible person covers one helper, up to 2 helpers. So a grandparent aged 67 or above can cover a second one. Our maid levy calculator runs your numbers, and the cost of a domestic helper has the rest of the bill.

A $2,000 cash top-up to an eligible grandparent's CPF gets $2,000 from the Government, credited the following year. That makes $4,000 in their Retirement Account, but the matched top-up gets no tax relief. Unmatched cash top-ups to family can get relief of up to $8,000 a year. IRAS says an accepted top-up can't be refunded.

IRAS allows one Grandparent Caregiver Relief claim per grandparent. If both your parents mind your child, $3,000 is still the most. A working mother can claim it and Parent Relief on the same grandparent. Siblings who support the same parent can share Parent Relief in any split they agree.

What the reliefs save: a worked example

A relief comes off your income before tax is worked out. So what it saves depends on your tax rate. IRAS taxes resident chargeable income between $40,000 and $80,000 at 7%.

Example only, with a made-up income: you're a working mother with $60,000 of chargeable income. Your mother lives with you, earns under $8,000 a year and minds your child. You claim both reliefs on her.

That's $12,000 of relief at 7%. The $550 is IRAS's tax on the first $40,000, before any rebate. Income above $80,000 is taxed at 11.5%, so reliefs save more there. Try your own numbers in our parent tax relief calculator.

Three ways to split the shared bills

No agency sets a split, so pick the one your family finds fair. The numbers below are made up, so swap in your own. They assume $2,000 of shared bills a month, two working parents and two grandparents.

The bills-and-food split works when the two totals are close, so compare them at your yearly review. Keep each family's phone plans and personal spending outside the split. Holidays together need their own budget: see travelling with grandparents and kids. To cut the shared total, see how to save money as a family.

Paying grandparents for childcare

No agency sets a figure for how much to give parents for looking after kids. Agree first what the money covers. Start with the kids' food and transport while they're with the grandparents, then add a thank-you you can keep paying.

IRAS's $8,000 limit for Grandparent Caregiver Relief counts income from work or business. A grandparent on a pension isn't treated as working, IRAS says.

Weighing grandparents against a centre or a helper? See infant care vs helper vs grandparents and the childcare subsidy calculator. If the friction is about how the kids are raised, see handling mother-in-law parenting conflict.

Housing for three generations

Our HDB schemes guide covers the Proximity Housing Grant and the Family Care Scheme (Proximity). Two more options are only for buying together. A 3Gen flat has 4 bedrooms, 2 with attached bathrooms. HDB sells it to you, your spouse and your parents as one household. The Family Care Scheme (Joint Balloting) replaced the Multi-Generation Priority Scheme. Under it, you and your parents apply together for 2 flats in one BTO project that offers 2-room Flexi or 3-room flats.

Buying a 4-room or 5-room flat with your parents raises HDB's income ceiling. It goes from $16,000 to $24,000 a month for everyone on the application. That ceiling decides your CPF housing grants and HDB loan.

When to get help

• Money talks at home keep ending in arguments: try a Family Service Centre. MSF says you can call, walk in or email one of the 49 in HDB towns (MSF's FSC page).
• Money is short for daily costs: call the ComCare Hotline on 1800 222 0000 (MSF ComCare).
• A grandparent permanently needs help with at least 3 of the 6 activities of daily living: check AIC's Home Caregiving Grant, a monthly cash payout for families who qualify.
• You missed a relief: use Amend Tax Bill on myTax Portal within 30 days of your tax bill (IRAS).
• You want to know your HDB grants: get an HDB Flat Eligibility letter on the HDB Flat Portal (HDB). It lists your grants and loan.

Frequently asked questions

How much does living with grandparents cost in Singapore?

There's no official figure, because it's your own bills shared a new way. Add up the month's shared spending and split it the way you agree. Then take off what the schemes give back: the levy concession alone saves $240 a month on one helper.

Can I claim grandparent caregiver relief if my mother-in-law looks after my kids?

Yes, if you're a working mother and your child is a Singapore citizen aged 12 or under. IRAS counts your husband's parents, even an ex-husband's. Your mother-in-law must live in Singapore and earn $8,000 a year or less from work. The relief is $3,000, and fathers can't claim it.

How much should I give my parents for looking after my kids?

The government doesn't set an amount. Agree what it covers, such as the kids' food and transport plus a thank-you. Pick a figure you can keep paying, and check it once a year.

What should we agree before living with parents after marriage in Singapore?

Agree the bills split, who pays which bill and what the grandparents get for childcare. Set a date to review it each year. If you might buy a flat together later, look at HDB's 3Gen flat and the Proximity Housing Grant.

What schemes help a three generation household in Singapore?

IRAS gives Grandparent Caregiver Relief and Parent Relief. MOM cuts the helper levy to $60 a month, and the Government matches top-ups to eligible grandparents under MRSS. HDB has the Proximity Housing Grant, the Family Care Scheme and 3Gen flats, all in the table above.

Do my parents' CPF payouts count as income for Parent Relief?

No. IRAS counts taxable income, tax-exempt income such as pensions, and foreign income, but not CPF payouts. Your parent's total from the rest must be $8,000 or less for the year.