There are no gift taxes in Singapore. There are special cases, such as in the event of grief or when condolence tokens are sent, the employer will not be charged a gift tax. At this time of year, it's common for companies to give gifts to their customers and customers as an act of goodwill and appreciation for their support of the business. To avoid violating any tax laws, the person transferring the property or shares as a gift is strongly encouraged to be aware of any changes or updates related to Singapore taxes.
If you are giving gifts to employers on festive occasions such as Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Deepavali, and Christmas, and the monetary value of the gifts is not substantial, then they are not taxable. As an administrative concession, the IRAS has agreed that if input tax on the cost of gift items is not claimed, the output tax is not required to be taken into account. Gifts to customers are generally deductible for businesses if they are incurred in revenue production. It is also important for the gift giver to keep all documents related to the transfer of the gifts up to date.
If property is transferred to another person as a gift and no consideration is paid to the landlord or if the property to be given as a gift will be distributed without a will, intestate succession law, or Muslim inheritance law, current stamp duty rates will apply. Gifts given in conjunction with holidays, for the employee's birthday or wedding, or for the birth of the employee's child are not taxable, unless deemed to be significant in value and if the gifts are generally available to all staff. From the Company's perspective, expenses related to donations to staff are tax-deductible, as they are considered staff welfare costs. The Internal Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has established a set of rules for gift tax, which you must comply with when you are an employer.
Singapore tax authorities will conduct audit checks on all documents related to transfers of goods or shares as gifts. When real estate or shares are given as gifts, they are also taxed differently compared to most other gifts. Depending on the situation and the value of the gifts, some gifts given by employers to employees may be taxable in Singapore.
