Property Tax and Rental Income in Singapore: 2026 Guide

In Singapore, property tax is an ownership tax based on Annual Value (AV), while rental income is taxed separately as personal income. You pay both, but they are calculated on entirely different bases. Property tax uses IRAS's estimate of your property's annual market rent (the AV) multiplied by a rate schedule. Rental income tax uses your actual gross rent minus allowable deductions, then applies your personal marginal rate. Neither cancels the other out.

Your immediate obligations as a landlord:

• Declare rental income on your Income Tax Return via myTax Portal under "Other Income: Rent from Property." Income is taxable from the date it is due and payable, not when your tenant actually pays.
• E-Stamp your tenancy agreement via myTax Portal, which auto-notifies IRAS of the letting. If you do not e-Stamp, you must notify IRAS within 15 days of letting or face fines up to S$5,000.
• Continue paying property tax on the AV. If the property is no longer owner-occupied, update your occupancy status so IRAS applies the correct (non-owner-occupied) rate.
• Choose your deduction method: claim actual allowable expenses or use the simplified 15% deemed allowance for residential properties.
• Keep records for at least five years: tenancy agreements, rent-due schedules, invoices, and loan statements.

Key Takeaways

Singapore landlords pay both property tax (on AV) and income tax on net rental income — they are separate obligations calculated on different bases, and both require active compliance steps throughout the year.

Table of Contents

• What counts as rental income in Singapore
• How property tax and income tax on rental income differ
• How to calculate your taxable rental income
• What expenses are allowable against rental income
• When can you use the simplified 15% deemed claim?
• How to report rental income to IRAS
• Tax rules for non-resident landlords
• How property tax is calculated: AV, rate bands, and 2026 rebates
• How to check your AV and dispute it if it seems wrong
• Penalties, notification duties, and common compliance pitfalls
• How rental losses are treated in Singapore
• A practical landlord checklist for IRAS compliance
• What most landlords get wrong about the due-date rule
• Sources
• FAQ

What counts as rental income in Singapore

Gross rental income is broader than the monthly figure on your tenancy agreement. IRAS includes all payments a tenant makes in connection with the right to occupy the property.

The following items count as rental income:

• Basic rent: the monthly or periodic payment stated in the lease.
• Service charges and maintenance fees paid by the tenant to the landlord (not to a management corporation directly).
• Utility reimbursements when the landlord pays the utility bills and the tenant reimburses them — these flow through your hands and are income.
• Advance rent and last-month rent: taxable in the year the payment is due, not when received.
• Security deposits treated as rent: a deposit is generally not income until it is applied against rent arrears or forfeited. Once forfeited or applied, it becomes taxable.
• Lease cancellation payments received from a tenant who exits early — these are taxable as rental income.
• Subletting receipts: if you sublet a room or the whole unit, the subletting income is rental income regardless of whether you are a tenant yourself or an owner.

IRAS treats rental income as taxable from the date it is due and payable, not the date of actual receipt. This means a December rent that your tenant pays in January still falls in the December tax year. Keep a rent-due schedule alongside your bank statements — the two records together are what IRAS will want to see.

For joint ownership, each co-owner declares their legal share of the rental income in their own Income Tax Return, regardless of which owner's bank account the rent lands in. A 60/40 ownership split means a 60/40 income split, full stop.

A furnished condo where the rent covers furniture is treated as one rental payment — you do not need to split out a furniture component unless the tenancy agreement separately itemizes it. For a room sublet in an owner-occupied HDB flat, only the room rent is income; the owner's own occupation of the remaining rooms is not.

How property tax and income tax on rental income differ

These two taxes share one trigger (owning a property that generates rent) but almost nothing else.

Property tax is an asset tax on ownership, not a tax on what you earn. A property sitting vacant still attracts property tax. A property rented below market rate still attracts property tax on the AV, which reflects market rent, not your contract rent.

Here is a quick illustration. Suppose your District 01 condo has an AV of S$36,000 and you rent it out for S$4,500 per month (S$54,000 per year in gross rent). Your property tax is calculated on S$36,000, not S$54,000. Your income tax is calculated on S$54,000 minus your allowable expenses. The two numbers are independent, and the AV can differ from actual rent because IRAS sets it based on comparable market rents at the time of its last review, not your specific lease.

How to calculate your taxable rental income

IRAS offers two methods for residential properties. You pick one per property per year.

Method A: Actual expenses

Deduct every allowable expense you actually incurred. The result is your net taxable rental income.

Method B: Simplified (deemed) claim

The IRAS e-Tax Guide on simplification of rental expense claims sets out the eligibility rules and the calculation procedure in detail.

Worked example: private condo, gross rent S$54,000/year

The gap narrows or reverses when actual non-interest expenses are high.

Pro Tip: Run both calculations before filing. If they fall below, the simplified method saves time and reduces the documentation IRAS might request.

What expenses are allowable against rental income

Not every cost you incur as a landlord is deductible. IRAS draws a clear line between revenue expenses (deductible) and capital expenses (not deductible).

Allowable expenses:

• Mortgage interest on the loan used to purchase the rented property (interest only, not principal repayment)
• Property tax paid on the property for the rental period
• Ground rent or lessee rent
• Agent or property management fees
• Maintenance and repairs that restore the property to its original condition (not improvements)
• Fire and building insurance premiums
• Utilities paid by the landlord and not recovered from the tenant
• Advertising costs for finding tenants

Not allowable:

• Loan principal repayments
• Capital improvements (new air-conditioning system, renovation that adds value rather than restores it)
• Personal expenses unrelated to the rental
• Late-payment penalties or interest on overdue property tax

Documentation IRAS expects:

• E-stamped tenancy agreement showing rent amount and lease term
• Bank statements showing rent receipts, cross-referenced to due dates
• Loan interest statements from your bank (for mortgage interest claims)
• Invoices and receipts for repairs, agent fees, insurance, and utilities
• Property tax bills for the rental period

Pro Tip: Create a folder per property per tax year — digital is fine. Name it "Property Address / Tax Year" and drop every receipt in as you go. Reconstructing a year's worth of invoices in April is painful; filing them monthly takes five minutes.

Keep records for at least five years from the date of filing. IRAS can raise queries within that window, and missing documentation is the fastest way to lose a deduction you legitimately incurred.

When can you use the simplified 15% deemed claim?

The simplified claim is available for residential properties that are tenanted. You cannot use it for vacant periods or for non-residential properties such as commercial units or shophouses.

The mechanics:

1. Take your gross rental income for the year.
2. Multiply by 15% — this covers all non-interest expenses (property tax, agent fees, repairs, insurance, utilities).
3. Add actual mortgage interest on top of the 15%.
4. The result is your total deduction.

For non-residential properties, the deemed allowance does not apply. You must claim actual expenses and keep full documentation. The same applies if you own a mixed-use property — apportion expenses between residential and non-residential portions and apply the correct method to each.

Choosing the simplified method does not exempt you from record-keeping entirely. IRAS may still ask for your tenancy agreement, gross rent figures, and loan interest statements. What it removes is the need to itemize every repair receipt and utility bill.

That is often generous for a fully paid-up property with modest maintenance costs, which is why many landlords with older, mortgage-free units prefer this route.

How to report rental income to IRAS

Rental income goes under "Other Income: Rent from Property" in your annual Income Tax Return, filed via myTax Portal. Most individuals use Form B1; self-employed individuals use Form B.

The filing deadline is typically April 18 for e-filing each year. IRAS may pre-fill some rental fields if it has data from e-Stamped tenancy agreements, but you are responsible for verifying and correcting any pre-filled amounts.

Step-by-step filing checklist:

1. Log in to myTax Portal and open your Income Tax Return for the relevant year.
2. Navigate to "Other Income" and select "Rent from Property."
3. Enter gross rent for each property separately.
4. Enter your chosen deduction method (actual expenses or simplified claim) and the deduction amount.
5. For jointly owned properties, enter only your legal share of gross rent and expenses.
6. Upload or retain supporting documents (tenancy agreement, expense receipts, loan interest statement) — IRAS may request these even if not required at filing.
7. Submit and save the acknowledgment.

Timing rule — the most common filing mistake: rental income is taxable from the date it is due and payable, not the date received. If your tenant owes December rent and pays it in January, that December rent belongs in the prior tax year. Your rent-due schedule (from the tenancy agreement) is the controlling document, not your bank statement.

IRAS pre-filling covers some rental data when leases are e-Stamped, but it rarely captures expense deductions. Always review pre-filled figures against your own records before accepting them.

Tax rules for non-resident landlords

If you are a non-resident individual for Singapore tax purposes, your rental income is taxed at a flat rate of 24% rather than at progressive resident rates. This applies to the net rental income after allowable deductions.

Key points for non-resident property owners:

• Tax residency is determined by physical presence and other factors IRAS assesses annually — it is not the same as permanent residency or citizenship status.
• Non-residents still file an Income Tax Return in Singapore for Singapore-sourced rental income.
• Where a corporate tenant is required to withhold tax on rent paid to a non-resident landlord, the tenant remits the withheld amount directly to IRAS. Confirm with your tenant whether withholding applies to your arrangement.
• Non-residents may still claim allowable deductions (actual or simplified) to arrive at net taxable rental income before the 24% rate applies.
• Property tax obligations are the same regardless of residency — you pay property tax on the AV at the applicable rate.

Pro Tip: If you are a non-resident landlord unfamiliar with Singapore's filing system, IRAS e-Services on myTax Portal are accessible from overseas. For complex situations — multiple properties, partial-year residency, or corporate tenants with withholding obligations — a Singapore-registered tax agent is worth the fee.

How property tax is calculated: AV, rate bands, and 2026 rebates

Annual property tax equals AV multiplied by the applicable tax rate. The AV is IRAS's estimate of what the property would fetch in annual rent on the open market, based on comparable transactions from URA and HDB rental data. It is not your contract rent.

Owner-occupied residential rates are concessionary and progressive. Non-owner-occupied residential rates are higher. Once you rent out a property, it moves to the non-owner-occupied schedule.

Owner-occupied residential property tax rates

Non-owner-occupied residential property tax rates

Worked example — private condo, AV = S$36,000, non-owner-occupied:

• First S$30,000 × 11% = S$3,300
• Next S$6,000 × 16% = S$960
• Total property tax = S$4,260

Worked example — HDB flat, AV = S$12,000, owner-occupied:

• First S$8,000 × 0% = S$0
• Next S$4,000 × 4% = S$160
• Total property tax = S$160

For 2026, the government announced owner-occupied property tax rebates: 15% for HDB owner-occupied properties and 10% (capped) for private owner-occupied properties. These rebates are applied automatically to your tax bill — you do not need to apply separately, but your owner-occupier status must be correctly recorded with IRAS.

Rebates apply only to owner-occupied properties. If you have rented out your property, the non-owner-occupied rates apply and the 2026 rebates do not.

How to check your AV and dispute it if it seems wrong

Your AV is visible in myTax Portal under "View Property Summary" if you are the registered owner. Non-owners can use the "Check Annual Value of Property" service on the IRAS website, though a fee applies.

Steps to assess whether your AV is accurate:

1. Pull your AV from myTax Portal.
2. Search URA's rental transactions portal for comparable units — same district, similar size, similar floor level, recent transactions.
3. For HDB properties, check HDB's published rental statistics for the relevant town and flat type.
4. Adjust comparables for differences: floor level, furnishing, condition, lease term.
5. If the AV looks materially higher than comparable market rents, you have grounds to request a review.

How to lodge an objection:

1. Log in to myTax Portal and navigate to "Object to Annual Value."
2. Submit your objection within 30 days of receiving the property tax bill (or within the period stated on the bill).
3. Attach supporting evidence: URA/HDB comparable rental data, your tenancy agreement if the contract rent is lower than the AV, and any relevant property condition notes.
4. IRAS will review and respond. If the AV is revised downward, your tax bill is adjusted accordingly. If IRAS maintains the AV, you can escalate to the Valuation Review Board.

For guidance on how AV is reviewed and updated, IRAS publishes AV information alongside each year's property tax bill cycle.

Penalties, notification duties, and common compliance pitfalls

You must inform IRAS within 15 days of letting your property for property tax purposes. E-Stamping the tenancy agreement via myTax Portal satisfies this automatically. If you skip e-Stamping and miss the 15-day window, you face fines up to S$5,000 and potential interest on any tax that should have been assessed at the non-owner-occupied rate.

Common compliance pitfalls:

• Forgetting to update occupancy status: if you move out and rent the whole unit, IRAS needs to know so the non-owner-occupied rate applies. Many landlords miss this and receive a corrected bill with back-tax.
• Misclassifying capital improvements as repairs: replacing a broken tap is a repair. Installing a new kitchen is a capital improvement. Only the former is deductible.
• Joint ownership income splitting errors: declaring 100% of rental income when you own 50% is an over-declaration; declaring 50% when you own 100% is an under-declaration. Both create problems.
• Ignoring the due-date rule: declaring rent in the year received rather than the year due can shift income between tax years and trigger under-reporting penalties.
• Not passing on property tax rebates: in some tenancy arrangements, landlords are contractually required to pass rebate savings to tenants. Check your lease terms.

Compliance checklist:

• E-Stamp every new tenancy agreement on the day of signing.
• Update IRAS of any change in occupancy status within 15 days.
• Keep a rent-due schedule from the tenancy agreement, separate from your bank statements.
• Reconcile rent due dates against receipts at year-end before filing.
• Retain all expense documentation for five years.

Pro Tip: E-Stamping is the single most reliable compliance shortcut available to Singapore landlords. It handles stamp duty, auto-notifies IRAS of the letting, and creates a dated digital record of the tenancy terms — all in one step.

How rental losses are treated in Singapore

If your allowable expenses exceed your gross rental income in a year, you have a rental loss. IRAS allows you to offset that loss against rental income from other properties you own in the same year, provided both properties are rented at market rates.

What you cannot do:

• Carry rental losses forward to offset rental income in future years.
• Offset rental losses against employment income, business income, or any other income category.
• Use losses from a property rented below market rate to offset income from another property.

The practical implication: if you own two properties and one runs at a loss (high mortgage interest, low rent year), you can net the loss against the other property's profit within the same tax year. If you own only one rental property and it runs at a loss, that loss simply disappears for tax purposes.

Pro Tip: If you are reporting rental losses year after year, IRAS may query whether the property is genuinely rented at market rate or whether the arrangement has a non-commercial element. A tax advisor can help you document the market-rate basis before a query arrives.

A practical landlord checklist for IRAS compliance

Staying compliant is mostly a documentation discipline. The rules are not complicated; the failures almost always come from disorganized records.

Documents to keep by category:

• Tenancy agreements (e-stamped copies, all versions including renewals)
• Rent roll: a simple spreadsheet showing property, tenant, monthly rent, due date, and receipt date
• Bank statements showing rent receipts
• Loan interest statements from your bank (annual)
• Property tax bills and payment receipts
• Agent fee invoices and receipts
• Repair and maintenance invoices with dates and descriptions
• Insurance policy documents and premium receipts
• Utility bills if paid by landlord

Filing timeline for the calendar year:

1. Tenancy start: e-Stamp the agreement on signing day. This triggers IRAS notification automatically.
2. January: receive property tax bill for the year. Verify AV and occupancy status. Pay by January 31 or set up GIRO.
3. January–March: gather full-year rent receipts, expense invoices, and loan interest statement.
4. By April 18: file Income Tax Return via myTax Portal, declaring rental income under "Other Income."
5. Within 30 days of property tax bill: lodge any AV objection if the AV appears incorrect.
6. Ongoing: retain all records for five years from the filing date.

For estimating your property's rental value and comparing it against AV, the guide on how to assess rental value walks through the comparable-rent methodology that IRAS itself uses. IRAS also provides a Rental Calculator (XLSM) for landlords claiming actual expenses.

Pro Tip: Name your digital folders "Property Address / YYYY" and create subfolders: Tenancy, Rent Receipts, Expenses, Tax Bills. At year-end, you zip the folder and you are done. Five minutes a month beats five hours in April.

What most landlords get wrong about the due-date rule

The single most common compliance error I see among Singapore landlords is not the AV calculation or the expense classification. It is the due-date timing rule.

Most landlords track rent by when it hits their bank account. That is natural — it is how most of us think about money. But IRAS taxes rental income from the date it is due, not the date it arrives. A tenant who pays three months late has not shifted your tax liability to a later year. You owe tax on that rent in the year it was contractually due, regardless of when you received it.

The fix is simple but requires a habit change: keep a rent-due schedule from the tenancy agreement alongside your bank statements. At year-end, reconcile the two. Any rent due in the year but not yet received still goes into your Income Tax Return for that year. You can then note the outstanding amount separately for your own cash-flow records.

Even when the actual and deemed methods produce similar numbers, the deemed method means fewer receipts to produce if IRAS queries your return. For landlords with one or two properties and modest non-interest expenses, that simplicity has real value beyond the tax calculation itself.

Sources

These are the primary IRAS and government pages to bookmark. Each serves a specific task.

• IRAS | Income from property rented out
• Property Tax on Residential Property

This article provides general information on Singapore property tax and rental income tax rules as of 2026. It is not a substitute for professional tax advice. Confirm current rates, thresholds, and filing requirements directly with IRAS or a qualified Singapore tax advisor.

If you are evaluating a Singapore property investment and want to understand the rental income potential alongside the tax implications, the One Marina Gardens fact sheet covers unit specifications and projected rental yields for this District 01 development. For a broader view of where rental yields are strongest across Singapore, the analysis of best rental yield condos provides district-by-district context.

One Marina Gardens, developed by Kingsford Marina Development, offers 937 units across 1- to 4-bedroom configurations in District 01, 160 meters from Marina South MRT. For investors running the numbers on rental income, property tax, and long-term yield, the One Marina Gardens main page is the starting point.

FAQ

How is property tax calculated for a rental property in Singapore?

Property tax equals Annual Value (AV) multiplied by the applicable non-owner-occupied residential rate.

Is rental income considered taxable income in Singapore?

Yes. All rent payments you receive are subject to income tax and must be declared in your Income Tax Return. Rental income is taxable from the date it is due and payable, not the date your tenant actually transfers the money.

What is the best tax strategy for rental properties in Singapore?

For properties with high mortgage interest and significant repairs, actual expenses usually win; for mortgage-free properties with low running costs, the deemed claim often produces a larger deduction with less paperwork.

What property is not subject to property tax in Singapore?

All properties in Singapore are subject to property tax, including vacant ones. There is no general exemption for residential properties based on rental status. Certain properties owned by charitable or government bodies may qualify for exemption, but standard residential and commercial properties owned by individuals do not.

Do non-resident landlords pay a different tax rate on rental income?

Yes. Property tax obligations remain the same regardless of residency status.

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