HolderTax / Singapore
Jurisdiction · Schedule H–SG · year of assessment 2027 (income 2026)
Singapore
No capital gains tax — not as a crypto perk, but because Singapore never had one. The entire schedule turns on a single question: are you an investor or a trader? And from 2027, the exchanges will be collecting your tax residency before they let you press sell.
Filing windowe-file by 18 April 2027 · records kept 5 years
Current position
The schedule.
Status marks: — settled in practice, ! watch (moving or commonly misapplied), ? unresolved. All lines are a working draft pending licensed review.
Schedule H · Part IThe exemption, the boundary, income events, transparency and deadlines
FORM H–SG / 2026
STATUS: WORKING REVIEW| Line | Position | Current treatment | What it means | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Capital gains | Not taxed · no CGT exists | Buy, hold, sell at a profit: for an investor, the gain sits outside the tax net entirely. Shares, property, crypto — the same logic. | — |
| 02 | Trading as business | Income tax · resident rates to 24% | Run the activity like a trade and the same gains become ordinary income — with deductible losses, but progressive rates. | — |
| 03 | Badges of trade | Facts test · no statutory line | Frequency, holding period, financing, organisation, intent. The most valuable classification in this schedule has no bright-line rule. | ? |
| 04 | Staking · lending | Taxable when income in nature | Rewards with income character are taxed at value on receipt. Where hobby-level passive staking ends and income begins is judged, not measured. | ! |
| 05 | Airdrops · hard forks | Generally not taxable without service | Tokens that arrive for nothing given are windfalls; tokens that pay for something you did are income. | — |
| 06 | Paid in crypto | Employment or service income · at value | Salary or fees settled in tokens are taxed like salary or fees — the asset does not change the character. | — |
| 07 | Mining | Hobby or business · scale decides | Systematic, financed, profit-seeking operations are a trade; incidental mining is not. The badges apply here too. | ! |
| 08 | GST | Digital payment tokens exempt | Exchanging and using payment tokens is GST-exempt since 2020; platform service fees can still carry GST. | — |
| 09 | Wealth & monitoring | No wealth tax · no holdings form | Nothing like a Quadro RW or Form 721 exists. What you hold is not declared — only what you earn. | — |
| 10 | Arrivals | Pre-residency gains outside the net | Gains accrued before becoming resident are not Singapore's concern — but a clean valuation snapshot at the move is yours to keep. | ! |
| 11 | DeFi · NFTs | Scale can flip the classification | Heavy farming, systematic flipping and liquidity operations can carry the badges of a trade even for a "holder". | ? |
| 12 | CARF | Regulations gazetted · TIN from 1 Jan 2027 | New users certify tax residency at onboarding from 2027; from 1 January 2028 no valid certification, no trades. First exchanges of data: 2028. | ! |
| 13 | Filing | e-file by 18 April · YA system | Income of 2026 is assessed in YA 2027. Taxable crypto income goes on the return; exempt gains do not — but see line 14. | — |
| 14 | Records | 5 years · the proof of the exemption | Dates, units, values, purpose, counterparties. In a system with no CGT, records exist to prove you are the investor you claim to be. | ! |
Working draft · all 14 lines pending licensed review · sign-off dates will appear per lineStart with line 03 →
IRAS queryA question about a specific matterFor that matter, the VDP window has closed. Answer precisely, with advice — and check what else should move first.Window closing
Audit · investigationA review has been openedFull statutory penalties are in play, tempered by cooperation. Representation before responses.Formal
Classification doubtNo letter — but the pattern looks like tradingThe badges are assessed on facts you are creating now. Reading them early is cheaper than arguing them later.Self-check
No letter yetThe gentlest correction terms on this siteWithin one year of the deadline: penalty waived. After: 5% per year late. Before any query — that is the whole condition.Voluntary
Published pages · Singapore
Read in the order trouble arrives.
Rule
The badges of trade
The only line that matters in a no-CGT system — and it is drawn from facts, not thresholds.
→ RuleWhat IRAS taxes anyway
Staking, mining, salaries in tokens, airdrops-for-service: income by character, whatever the asset.
→ AnalysisCARF: certify or stop trading
TIN at onboarding from 2027, no-certification-no-trades from 2028 — transparency without a new tax.
→ DecisionThe Voluntary Disclosure Programme
A one-year grace period that waives penalties entirely — the gentlest door in this site's matrix.
→