Singapore: Updates to e-tax guide on R&D tax measures and claim form

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) updated an e-tax guide on research and development (R&D) related tax measures that includes the following amendments:

• Updates to account for the renumbering of R&D provisions within the Singapore Income Tax Act (ITA)
• Updates to replace the “pre-claim scheme” with the “R&D assurance framework”

Prior to the renumbering of the of the Income Tax Act 1947 (2020 revised edition), Sections 14D and 14DA were the key R&D tax provisions. They have been renumbered to Sections 14C and 14D respectively.

IRAS also updated the R&D claim form to account for the renumbering in the ITA. Companies will need to submit the latest version of the R&D claim form together with their corporate income tax return to claim R&D tax deductions from year of assessment (YA) 2022 onwards.

The upcoming deadline to submit R&D claim forms for expenditures incurred in fiscal year 2021 is 30 November 2022, the same deadline for the submission of corporate income tax return. 

While companies will have more flexibility in providing details in the updated R&D claim form, they will still need to provide sufficient information to help substantiate their R&D claims. 

To provide upfront certainty for large and complex R&D projects, IRAS previously implemented a pre-claim scheme for projects with estimated R&D costs exceeding $15 million*. This scheme has since been replaced with the R&D assurance framework.

Under the framework, subject to meeting the requirements, companies can enjoy upfront certainty on their R&D claims for up to three YAs. To apply for the framework, companies will need to submit an application form with a complete list of R&D projects to be included under the framework.

Read an October 2022 report [PDF 223 KB] prepared by the KPMG member firm in Singapore 

_{*$=Singapore dollar}