Scope and historical dates
This fifth-edition IRAS guide, dated 30 January 2026, explains the historical increase from 7% to 8% on 1 January 2023. Its filename still refers to the first edition. The later change from 8% to 9% on 1 January 2024 is mentioned, but the numerical examples and concessions in this article concern the 2023 change. They must not be treated as the rate for a current transaction. The guide covers local supplies, reverse charge, overseas vendor registration, registration and cancellation, invoices, credits and preparation checklists.
Start with invoice, payment and actual supply
The general time of supply is the earlier of issuing an invoice and receiving payment. Where that tax point falls on or after 1 January 2023, the ordinary rate is 8%; a tax point before it ordinarily attracts 7%. The transitional rules also consider when goods were delivered or made available and when services were performed. Determine all three events and their values. An invoice issued before the change cannot charge or state 8%, even if performance or payment will be later.
Displayed prices and the service-charge exception
Prices displayed to the public, including website, advertising, brochure and price-list amounts, generally must include GST. Change them to 8%-inclusive prices from 1 January 2023. If an overnight change is impracticable, show both old and new inclusive prices clearly with their effective dates. Keeping the same gross price means extracting GST at 8/108. Hotels and food-and-beverage businesses genuinely imposing a service charge may display exclusive prices with a prominent statement of the service charge and GST. Businesses imposing no service charge cannot use that exception; a nominal charge created to circumvent the rule does not qualify.
Invoice after the change: full-payment cases
If the invoice is issued on or after 1 January 2023 but full payment was received beforehand, the whole supply remains at 7%, irrespective of delivery timing. If full payment is received afterwards, the ordinary rate is 8%. The supplier may elect 7% for goods delivered or services performed before the change; a wholly post-change supply cannot receive this election. For a split delivery, elect 7% on the pre-change portion and apply 8% to the remainder. Examples 1–4 show: payment on 12 December with invoice on 4 January and delivery on 6 January remains 7%; goods delivered on 15 December with January invoice/payment may elect 7%; wholly January events attract 8%; and S$200 delivered on 27 December plus S$800 delivered on 15 January may be divided between 7% and 8%.
Invoice after the change: split payments
Where payment is partly before and partly after the change, the basic rule assigns 7% to the former and 8% to the latter. The supplier may instead elect 7% on the higher of pre-change payment or pre-change delivery/performance value; the balance attracts 8%. Example 5 allows the whole S$1,000 at 7% when goods were delivered on 20 December despite only S$200 paid before the change. Example 6, with S$200 prepaid and all goods delivered on 15 January, leaves S$200 at 7% and S$800 at 8%. Example 7A has S$200 prepaid and S$400 delivered before the change, so election gives S$400 at 7% and S$600 at 8%. In example 7B, S$600 was prepaid but only S$200 delivered beforehand; S$600 already receives 7% under the payment rule, leaving S$400 at 8%.
Who makes the election and what evidence is needed
For local supplies the supplier makes the election; the customer cannot impose it. A self-billing customer needs the supplier’s written agreement. No separate application or prior approval is required, but retain delivery records, work reports, customer acknowledgements and records showing goods were available before the change. The election is unavailable for business assets sold in satisfaction of a debt.
Crediting an 8% invoice after electing 7%
If an 8% invoice has already been issued and the supplier then elects 7%, either credit the excess GST alone or cancel the original invoice through a credit note and issue a replacement at 7%. The ordinary adjustment deadline was 15 January 2023. Where unable to meet it, the guide permits up to 90 days from the original invoice without requesting an IRAS extension. A customer’s earlier request must be met earlier. A 5 January invoice therefore has a 5 April deadline; example 8’s 4 January invoice has a 4 April deadline. For S$1,000, credit S$10 excess GST or cancel S$1,080 and reissue S$1,070. This automatic 90-day allowance is distinct from the extension procedure for mandatory upward adjustments on pre-change invoices.
Invoice before the change: the lower-of rule
A pre-change invoice remains wholly at 7% if full payment or full delivery/performance occurred before 1 January 2023. Otherwise apply 8% to the lower of the post-change payment value and post-change delivery/performance value; retain 7% on the balance. Full post-change payment and performance therefore make the whole amount 8%. Examples 9–11 illustrate full payment on 10 December for services on 20 January remaining 7%; delivery on 27 December with payment on 5 January remaining 7%; and both January service and payment requiring adjustment to 8%.
Mandatory adjustment documents and timing
By 15 January 2023, credit and re-invoice the affected portion at 8%, or cancel the entire invoice and issue separate 7% and 8% invoices. If more time is needed, write to IRAS stating the requested period and reasons. Additional output tax arises at the earliest of the new invoice, payment or 15 January. A non-tax invoice, such as a receipt to an unregistered customer, does not require formal credit/re-invoicing under the concession, but the supplier must account for the correct GST and keep internal support. A mixed-rate adjustment cannot be shown in one simplified invoice: issue a full tax invoice or two simplified invoices specifying their rate or tax amount.
Examples of pre-change invoice adjustments
For a S$1,000 supply, example 12 has S$200 performed beforehand and S$800 afterwards, with all payment afterwards: credit S$856 and reissue S$864 for the S$800 portion, or cancel S$1,070 and issue S$214 plus S$864. Example 13 is fully delivered before the change and stays at 7% despite split payment. Example 14 has S$300 paid before the change but all performance afterwards, so credit S$749 and reissue S$756 for S$700. Example 15 has S$200 prepaid and S$400 delivered beforehand, leaving S$800 post-change payment and S$600 post-change delivery: adjust the lower S$600, crediting S$642 and reissuing S$648.
Continuous supplies
Licences, leases, utilities, construction, subscriptions, telephone, internet and streaming services follow the same invoice/payment and transition rules. Example 16’s December utilities invoiced on 10 January and paid on 12 January may elect 7%. Example 17 concerns S$400 monthly maintenance for December–February: an invoice for S$1,200 is issued on 10 December and S$800 paid on 15 December. Post-change service value is S$800 but unpaid value is S$400; only S$400 needs 8%, with S$428 credited and S$432 re-invoiced by 15 January.
Private use of business goods
Where input tax was claimed on business goods made available without charge for private use, a deemed supply may arise at the end of the accounting period. If that date is after the change the ordinary rate is 8%, calculated on the full cost of providing the private use. The business may elect 7% to the extent of pre-change use, supported by correspondence and delivery/return records. Example 18, private use on 20 December within a period ending 31 January, illustrates that election.
Registration: ordinary tax points and special pre-registration performance
An ordinary invoice/payment tax point before registration or after cancellation is outside GST. Examples 19–20 show a 20 December invoice before 25 December registration remaining outside even with January payment/delivery, and supplies invoiced/paid/delivered after 5 January cancellation being outside. A person registered on or after 1 January cannot use the rate-change transitional rules generally. However, a customer not entitled to full input tax may request the special treatment for goods delivered or services performed before registration. Example 21 has services on 30 December, registration on 10 January and invoice/payment afterwards: the ordinary 8% result can instead exclude the pre-registration performance when the qualifying customer requests it.
Cancellation and deemed supplies
Where cancellation occurs before 1 January, the rate-change rules do not apply. Pre-cancellation performance not already covered by an invoice or payment is deemed supplied the day before cancellation at the prevailing rate: example 22’s S$1,000 service on 15 December, cancellation on 30 December and January billing/payment gives 7% on 29 December. Cancellation after 1 January can combine ordinary transition rules and a separate deemed supply. In example 23, S$1,000 services on 15 December, S$500 received on 5 January and cancellation on 15 January permit 7% election on that first S$500. The unbilled/unpaid remaining S$500 is deemed supplied on 14 January at 8%, even though the work was earlier; the example does not extend the 7% election to that deemed balance.
Reverse charge: ordinary invoice/payment basis
Reverse charge on imported services commenced in 2020 for businesses or GST groups not entitled to full input-tax recovery. Its ordinary tax point is the earlier of the overseas supplier’s invoice and payment made, rather than payment received. For an invoice after the change, pre-change payment attracts 7%; later amounts attract 8%, with election to apply 7% to the higher of pre-change payment or performance value. Keep supporting documents; the recipient business makes the election without a separate form or approval. For a pre-change invoice, 8% applies to the lower of post-change payment and performance, with the rest at 7%. Additional output tax arises at the earlier of payment made or 15 January 2023.
Reverse-charge examples and recoverable input tax
Example 24: S$1,000 services performed on 15 December, S$300 paid on 20 December, invoice on 8 January and S$700 paid on 15 January may all be elected at 7%. Example 25: a S$1,000 invoice on 1 December, with all work on 23 January and payment on 31 January, initially generated S$70 output tax in the December return. Add S$10 output tax in the March return at the 15 January adjustment point. If the residual-input recovery rate is 90%, the corresponding S$9 input tax is claimed in that same March return, subject to the ordinary recovery rules.
Reverse charge using the posting-date alternative
Section 11C(3) permits the earlier of posting the supplier invoice into accounts and payment made, if used consistently in all returns. Apply equivalent before/after and higher/lower transition tests using the posting date instead of invoice date. Example 26: services on 20 December, payment and posting on 20 January ordinarily attract 8%, but 7% may be elected for the earlier performance; both output and eligible input tax belong to the January posting period. Example 27: posting on 1 December with all services on 25 January and payment on 10 February requires the additional 1% in the period containing 15 January. Annex A’s invoice checklist does not apply to this posting-date method.
Reverse charge using a longer-period election
Under section 11C(8), a qualifying longer-period election deems the reverse-charge supply on the day immediately after that longer period. If that first day is on or after 1 January, report the elected supplies in the accounting period containing that day. Example 28’s longer period ends on 31 March, so the deemed date is 1 April and reporting is in the June return: S$300 performed on 28 December at 7%, S$700 on 31 January at 8%, although the invoice was 20 December and payment 10 February. If the first day falls before the change, subsequent transition additions belong to the accounting period containing 15 January. Example 29 has March–May, June–August, September–November and December–February periods; S$1,000 already accounted at 7% in the August return, S$550 paid and S$400 performed on 20 October, and S$450 paid on 20 January with S$600 performed on 20 February. The lower post-change amount S$450 gives S$4.50 additional tax in the February return.
Reverse charge across registration and cancellation
Ordinary pre-registration or post-cancellation invoice/payment tax points are outside reverse charge: examples 30–31 illustrate those exclusions. A recipient registered on or after 1 January may rely on pre-registration performance to exclude that portion without a customer-request condition: example 32 has service on 30 December, registration on 10 January, followed by invoice/payment. For cancellation before the change, unbilled/unpaid pre-cancellation services are deemed supplied on the preceding day; example 33 has S$1,000 on 15 December and cancellation on 30 December, giving 7% on 29 December. Example 34’s January cancellation parallels example 23: the S$500 paid on 5 January may elect 7% for December performance, but S$500 remaining at cancellation is deemed supplied on 14 January at 8%.
Overseas vendor registration and new 2023 taxable imports
The overseas vendor registration regime introduced in 2020 for B2C digital services uses the local transition tests in sections 3–4. An overseas vendor operating the permitted payment-only tax-point method has no additional invoice or price-display requirement under this guide. A qualifying non-tax pre-change invoice with partial later payment still requires correct additional tax, although formal replacement documents are not required. From 1 January 2023, the extension to B2C non-digital services and low-value goods and reverse charge on B2B imported low-value goods has separate implementation rules. Where those new rules make a supply taxable it attracts the new 8% rate; do not assume an earlier date automatically creates a 7% election. The guide refers readers to the separate remote-services and low-value-goods guides for those details.
Valuing performance on each side of the date
Use the value actually delivered/performed: measurable work, open-market value or the costing/pricing basis can support a reasonable allocation. For homogeneous goods, units can provide the allocation, such as 30 of 100 identical boxes giving 30% pre-change value. Time may be appropriate for evenly provided services, but cannot replace actual performance where activity is uneven. Example 35’s evenly performed cleaning over November 2022–January 2023 costs S$6,000: November and December give S$4,000 before the change, and January gives S$2,000 afterwards.
Existing contracts and fixed gross prices
The law permits increasing consideration for the GST rise unless the contract expressly excludes an increase for a tax change or already takes it into account. Review the actual wording and seek legal advice where uncertain. Where the agreed gross price cannot increase, extract tax from that fixed amount. Example 36’s S$10,700, originally S$10,000 plus S$700 at 7%, yields GST of S$792.59 at 8/108 when the taxable supply moves to 8%.
Credit-note particulars and return adjustments
A credit note must identify itself, have a number and issue date, show the supplier’s name/address/GST registration number and the customer’s name/address, identify the original invoice number/date, describe the relevant goods/services and reason, state quantity/value, and specify credited GST rate/amount. The supplier reduces standard-rated supply value and output tax; the customer reduces taxable purchases and input tax. Keep clear accounting reasons and supporting documents. Generally report in the period when the credit note is issued, subject to the specific transition timing rules.
Rebates, returns and missing original invoices
Cash volume rebates discount past purchases: use the original 7% for pre-change purchases, or allocate a mixed-period rebate reasonably between 7% and 8%. For inclusive rebates use the respective tax fraction. A rebate usable only against a future sale reduces that future sale’s net value, taxed at its applicable 8% in the guide. Returned goods originally taxed at 7% are credited at 7%, even if returned later; retain the original-invoice link and evidence of tax accounted. Where that invoice cannot be identified, a no-GST-adjustment credit is permitted only with a retained written agreement, a fully taxable customer making no exempt supplies, and an express statement that the document is not a credit note for GST purposes. In that case neither party adjusts the corresponding supply/purchase and GST in its return.
Exchange versus refund and repurchase
When goods and payment were before the change and the original payment is retained on exchange after it, only extra consideration attracts 8%. Example 37 has S$1,000 goods/payment on 20 December exchanged for S$1,500 goods on 10 January: without refunding the S$1,000, only S$500 is taxed at 8%. If S$1,000 is refunded in cash or store credit and used for the replacement purchase, the full S$1,500 new sale attracts 8%, including the credit and any extra payment.
Full and simplified invoices, and input claims
Replacement invoices must contain ordinary tax-invoice information and be supported by the original invoice and credit note. Simplified invoices are permitted when the gross amount does not exceed S$1,000. A post-change simplified invoice properly charging 7% must separately show that rate or GST amount; otherwise issue a full tax invoice. A supply partly at 7% under transition needs a full invoice showing both rates and amounts. Input tax cannot exceed tax shown. If a simplified invoice omits the tax amount, generally use 7/107 for a pre-1 January invoice and 8/108 for one dated on or after that date; do not override an explicitly identified historical rate.
Reporting credits and replacement invoices
No separate rate-change return or form is required. Report ordinary adjustments in the relevant accounting period, subject to transition tax-point rules. Example 38 uses a 22 December S$1,000 invoice and S$70 output tax in the December return, with S$200 pre-change services and S$800 later. Credits and new invoices issued on 10 January reduce March supplies by S$800 and tax by S$56, then increase supplies by S$800 and tax by S$64. The net March output-tax increase is S$8; the original December reporting remains.
Recurring GIRO and card collections
Recurring GIRO or recurring credit-card amounts received in January 2023 may be treated as pre-change receipts if successfully effected by month-end, relating to invoices/bills issued before 1 January under the normal billing cycle. A customer’s instalment plan with a card issuer is not this recurring-payment arrangement: the supplier normally receives the full card purchase payment, while instalments concern the customer and card issuer.
Electronic payments and e-wallets
Treat non-recurring card charges by 31 December, TT instructions received by the recipient bank by that date, AXS/SAM/NETS transactions by that date, and customer e-wallet deductions by that date as pre-change receipts even if settlement follows later. A platform merchant must be able to determine the customer’s earlier wallet deduction. FAST and PayNow are received when funds arrive. An ad-hoc GIRO transfer may count as pre-change if evidence shows deduction from the customer before 1 January and supplier receipt no later than 5 January; retain customer deduction and supplier receipt records. This ad-hoc rule does not replace the recurring rule.
Cheques and businesses trading past midnight
A cheque issued before 1 January may count as a pre-change payment if banked by 4 January 2023 and successfully cleared. Sales after midnight on 31 December through 7 a.m. on 1 January may still attract 7% only if treating them as the preceding day’s sales is the business’s normal accounting practice and the register/accounting system was programmed accordingly. Merely remaining open overnight does not meet those conditions.
Annexes A and B: transaction decision checklist
The annexes provide both a case checklist and two decision flows. First decide whether the invoice is before or after 1 January; next separate full pre-payment, full post-payment and split payment; then examine full pre-performance, full post-performance or split performance. The grouped table retains every branch of the two flows. For ordinary reverse charge substitute payment made for payment received; the invoice checklist excludes the section 11C(3) posting method.
| Invoice | Payment | Delivery/performance | GST treatment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before change | All before | Any timing | 7% on all |
| Before change | All after | All before | 7% on all |
| Before change | All after | All after | 8% on all |
| Before change | All after | Split | 7% on pre-performance; 8% on post-performance |
| Before change | Split | All before | 7% on all |
| Before change | Split | All after | 7% on pre-payment; 8% on post-payment |
| Before change | Split | Split | 8% on lower post-payment/post-performance; balance 7% |
| On/after change | All before | Any timing | 7% on all |
| On/after change | All after | All before | Ordinary 8%; may elect all 7% |
| On/after change | All after | All after | 8%; no election |
| On/after change | All after | Split | Ordinary 8%; may elect pre-performance 7%, rest 8% |
| On/after change | Split | All before | Ordinary split by payment; may elect all 7% |
| On/after change | Split | All after | 7% pre-payment; 8% post-payment; no further election |
| On/after change | Split | Split | Ordinary split by payment; may elect 7% on higher pre-payment/pre-performance, balance 8% |
Annex C: preparation and source amendments
Update accounting/invoicing software and cash-register/receipt systems; comply with price-display requirements; train staff on local and reverse-charge transitions; review contractual allocation of GST; notify customers, including appropriate prevailing-rate notices; and consider the Major Exporter Scheme if mainly importing/exporting. Questions go to IRAS’s GST Division through its official Contact Us channel. The amendment history records clarification and new election/registration/exchange/e-wallet provisions on 5 August 2022, further price-display clarification on 6 September 2022, and ad-hoc GIRO clarification on 10 January 2023. The fifth-edition cover date is 30 January 2026, although the reproduced amendment table ends with the January 2023 entry; no additional substantive amendment is inferred.
Official source
This article independently explains the substantive contents of the official PDF, including the relevant conditions, procedures and annexes. The linked document remains the authoritative source for its original wording, and later changes should be checked separately.
Read the official PDF ↗