Scope and three expense ratios
The eight-page FAQ explains FEDR for qualifying self-employed delivery individuals earning no more than S$50,000 gross delivery income annually. The prescribed ratios are twenty percent for walking/public transport/bicycles, thirty-five percent for power-assisted bicycles/motorised personal mobility devices or aids/motorcycles, and sixty percent for vans.
Eligibility is not based on full-time status
Part-time and occasional workers can qualify. Above S$50,000, use actual allowable expenses. Businesses formed to deliver through employees/freelancers—including sole proprietorships, partnerships or companies—cannot claim the delivery-worker FEDR simply because their business performs deliveries.
Multiple modes: all FEDR or all actual
Apply the relevant ratio to income earned with each prescribed mode and declare separate self-employment sources. If any mode is unprescribed, such as a car, lorry or truck, no delivery income qualifies for FEDR, even income from an eligible mode. Do not mix FEDR and actual costs between modes; that risks duplicate deduction of shared expenses such as phone subscriptions.
Electronic filing fields
In myTax Portal choose Individuals, File Income Tax Return, File/Verify, Trade Business Profession or Vocation, Add New and Sole-Proprietorship/Self-Employment Income. Select Delivery Workers, the actual delivery mode and its gross income. Deemed Expenses computes the ratio and adjusted profit automatically; Actual Allowable Business Expenses uses your eligible costs. Selecting Others disables FEDR for all delivery income.
Paper example and annual choice
The example has S$40,000 motorised-device income with thirty-five-percent expenses: S$14,000 deduction and S$26,000 adjusted profit. For revenue at most S$200,000, the paper form leaves gross-profit and business-expense fields blank and reports revenue/adjusted profit as directed. Actual expenses remain optional if preferable; the basis can change each YA.
Change a filed election
The FAQ allows one re-filing by 18 April. Otherwise wait for the assessment and use Amend Tax Bill within thirty days of its date. Continue paying through GIRO or within one month of the bill despite an amendment. A resulting credit is refunded within thirty days of the amended bill under the source’s process.
Records are still required
FEDR removes expense classification work, not record keeping. The FAQ describes simplified record keeping for eligible small businesses with low revenue in the past two financial years; otherwise keep daily records and supporting receipts/platform statements for at least five years from the relevant YA. Its Q11 says less than S$200,000 while Q12 says at most that amount: consult the separate SRK requirements at the boundary. Q12’s twenty-five-percent heading is inconsistent with the delivery ratios elsewhere and should not be treated as a fourth delivery rate.
Why modes and the income ceiling differ
Industry feedback and expense surveys informed grouping. Higher earners can charge assembly/moving services that do not track delivery costs. Private motor-car costs are generally disallowed under transport policy, unlike passenger taxi/private-hire work; eligible non-car costs can still be actual deductions. IRAS cites insufficient lorry/truck data and potentially lower expense ratios, rather than granting them the van rate.
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 ↗