Parenthood Tax Rebate in Singapore: how much you get per child, and the tax reliefs for parents

IRAS says the Parenthood Tax Rebate (PTR) in Singapore takes $5,000 off your income tax for your first child, $10,000 for your second, and $20,000 for each child after that, for children born from 2008. It's a one-off rebate per child, given in the Year of Assessment after the birth, and any amount you don't use rolls forward to future years until it's gone. Married, divorced or widowed parents who are Singapore tax residents can claim it, and a couple can split it however they agree. On top of the rebate, parents can claim reliefs that lower taxable income, such as Qualifying Child Relief of $4,000 per child and the Working Mother's Child Relief. Our parent tax relief calculator adds them up for your family.

All figures below are from IRAS pages for Year of Assessment (YA) 2026, read on 11 October 2026. This guide explains the rules; it can't advise on your own tax position.

How much the Parenthood Tax Rebate is worth

For older children, the rules were different: a first child born before 2008 gets no PTR. IRAS also counts a stillborn child, or a child who has died, when working out birth order, so a family's next baby gets the rebate for its true place in the family.

A rebate is worth more than a relief of the same size. A relief lowers the income you're taxed on; a rebate comes straight off the tax bill. A $5,000 relief saves someone in the 7% band $350, while a $5,000 rebate cancels $5,000 of tax.

Who can claim PTR

IRAS sets these conditions:

• You are a Singapore tax resident, and married, divorced or widowed in the year of the birth or adoption.
• Your child is a Singapore citizen at birth, or becomes one within 12 months.

Single parents who have never married can't claim PTR; our guide to single parent benefits in Singapore lists what unwed parents can claim. If a child is later given up for adoption, IRAS says the parents lose any PTR balance for that child.

How PTR works year to year

PTR is given once, in the YA right after your child's birth year. So a baby born in 2025 brings PTR in YA 2026, which is the tax return you file in early 2026 on your 2025 income.

The rebate offsets your income tax for that year. Whatever is left carries forward automatically to the next year, and the next, until it's used up. It is never paid out as cash, and IRAS won't top it up later.

Couples can share it. You and your spouse agree on a split, such as 50/50 or 100/0, and each claims your share in your tax return. If your shares don't add up to 100%, or you can't agree, IRAS divides it equally. If one of you ends up with more PTR than tax, you can transfer the unused amount to your spouse through myTax Portal ("View/ Transfer Parenthood Tax Rebate (PTR)"), where it offsets their tax for the current year.

Claim PTR even in a year when neither of you owes any tax. IRAS encourages it, because the balance then sits in your PTR account ready for the years when your income rises.

A worked example from IRAS

IRAS's own example: Mr and Mrs Chen's first child was born in 2025. Mrs Chen earned $80,000 that year. They agreed to share the $5,000 PTR equally, so each gets $2,500.

1. Mrs Chen's reliefs: Earned Income Relief $1,000, Qualifying Child Relief $4,000, Working Mother's Child Relief $8,000 (the fixed amount for a first child born from 2024), and CPF relief $16,000. Total $29,000.
2. Chargeable income: $80,000 minus $29,000 = $51,000.
3. Tax: nothing on the first $20,000, $200 on the next $10,000 at 2%, $350 on the next $10,000 at 3.5%, and $770 on the remaining $11,000 at 7%. Total $1,320.
4. Her $2,500 PTR share wipes out the $1,320. The other $1,180 carries forward to YA 2027.

Mrs Chen pays no income tax for YA 2026. If Mr Chen's share is more than his own tax, the rest carries forward for him too, or he can transfer it to her.

The other tax reliefs for parents

Reliefs reduce the income you're taxed on, before the rebate comes off.

A few rules catch people out:

• The QCR and GCR income limits rose from $4,000 to $8,000 from YA 2025, so a child with a part-time job or a grandparent with a small income may now qualify.
• WMCR goes by the date your child became a Singapore citizen, which can differ from the birth date. IRAS's example is a child born in 2022 who became a citizen in 2024, who gets the fixed amount.
• QCR is counted first, and WMCR is capped at whatever is left of $50,000 per child. A mother's total WMCR across all her children can't exceed her earned income.
• In a family with older and younger children, each child follows its own rule. IRAS's example has a mother earning $90,000 with one child before 2024 at 15% ($13,500) and one born in 2024 at the fixed $10,000, for $23,500 in total.
• GCR can only be claimed by one person per caregiver, and the caregiver's own income must be $8,000 or less.

What changed for babies born from 2024

Before 2024, the Working Mother's Child Relief was a share of the mother's earned income: 15% for a first child, 20% for a second and 25% for later children. For a child who became a citizen on or after 1 January 2024, it's a fixed $8,000, $10,000 or $12,000 instead, from YA 2025.

Who gains depends on income. By our arithmetic from IRAS's figures, the old 15% for a first child equals the new $8,000 at an income of about $53,333. A mother earning less gets more under the new rule; one earning more would have got more under the old one. For a second child the crossover is $50,000 and for a third $48,000. You can't choose: each child follows the rule for the date they became a citizen, so families with older and younger children use both.

The $80,000 cap on reliefs

Since YA 2018, the total of all personal reliefs one person can claim is capped at $80,000. Anything above that is lost, and IRAS says it can't be moved to your spouse. The cap applies to reliefs. PTR is a rebate, taken off the tax after the capped reliefs, so it's worth claiming in full even if you hit the cap.

If you're near the cap, give shareable reliefs such as QCR to the spouse who has room. IRAS's example of a mother with three children, the youngest born in 2025, shows reliefs of $86,650 cut back to $80,000.

How to claim

1. File your tax return on myTax Portal by 18 April.
2. Claim PTR for a new child in the return for the year after the birth, with the split you've agreed.
3. Claim QCR, Child Relief (Disability) and GCR in the reliefs section. IRAS works out WMCR itself and pre-fills reliefs you were allowed last year.
4. Missed something? You can re-file once by 18 April; after that, you can ask IRAS to amend your assessment within 30 days of the tax bill.

To see the numbers for your own family, use our parent tax relief calculator. For the cash side of having a baby, our Baby Bonus calculator and guide to Baby Bonus and government support cover the payouts, and budgeting for a baby puts them against the costs.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the Parenthood Tax Rebate in Singapore?

For children born from 2008, $5,000 for the first child, $10,000 for the second and $20,000 for each child after that. It comes off your income tax, and unused amounts carry forward.

When can I claim PTR for my baby?

In the tax return for the year after your child's birth year. A baby born in 2025 is claimed in YA 2026, filed in early 2026.

How should my spouse and I split PTR?

However you agree, as long as the shares add up to 100%. Nothing is lost either way, because unused PTR carries forward and can be transferred to your spouse. Giving more to the spouse who pays more tax gets it used sooner.

Does PTR expire?

No. It carries forward until it's used up. The one exception is a child given up for adoption, when IRAS says the remaining balance is forfeited.

Can single parents claim the Parenthood Tax Rebate?

Only if they are divorced or widowed. IRAS's rules for PTR, the Working Mother's Child Relief and Grandparent Caregiver Relief all require the parent to be married, divorced or widowed.

Can I still claim relief on my helper's levy?

No. IRAS discontinued it from YA 2025; YA 2024 was the last year to claim it.