Singapore Releases 18 Tax Incentives Recognised as QTIs under GloBE

SINGAPORE, DDTCNews - The Singapore tax authority (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore/IRAS) has released a list of tax incentives recognised as qualified tax incentives (QTIs) in the context of implementing the substance-based tax incentive (SBTI) safe harbour.

In accordance with the side-by-side package released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) earlier this year, a QTI is a tax incentive that is treated as an addition to covered taxes in the calculation of GloBE. In the context of Singapore, the SBTI safe harbour applies for fiscal years commencing on or after 1 January 2026.

"A QTI is a generally available tax incentive where the amount of tax incentive is calculated based on the expenditure incurred or on the volume of tangible property produced in the jurisdiction. QTIs do not include income-based tax incentives," stated IRAS on its official website, as cited on Tuesday (20/10/2026).

The value of QTIs that may be utilised as an addition to covered taxes is limited by a substance cap of 5.5% of the greater of the eligible payroll costs in respect of employees in a jurisdiction or the depreciation of eligible tangible assets in a jurisdiction.

The second method available for determining the value of a QTI is an alternative cap of 1% of the carrying value of eligible assets where the GloBE-covered entity makes a five-year election.

In the list released by IRAS, there are 18 types of tax incentives under the Income Tax Act 1947 and other regulations that are recognised as QTIs and may therefore be added to covered taxes in the calculation of GloBE.

The publication of the QTI list provides certainty to GloBE-covered multinational enterprises in determining whether the tax incentives they utilise meet the criteria for recognition as QTIs.

The 18 incentives in question include:

• Corporate volunteer scheme (Section 14Z)
• Donations (Section 37(3)/(3A))
• Overseas humanitarian assistance tax deduction scheme (Section 37AB)
• Philanthropy tax incentive scheme for family offices (Section 37AA)
• Double tax deduction for internationalisation (Sections 14B, 14H, 14I)
• Enterprise Innovation Scheme (EIS): SkillsFuture-eligible training courses (Section 14ZG)
• EIS: Artificial intelligence (AI) expenditure (Section 14ZK)
• EIS: Innovation projects with approved institutions (Section 14EA)
• Innovation cost-sharing agreement (Section 14EB)
• Green certificates or credits (Section 14ZJ)
• Intellectual property (IP) protection (Section 14A)
• IP rights acquisition (Section 19B)
• IP licensing (Section 14U)
• Investment allowance (Part 8 of Economic Expansion Incentives Act 1967)
• Land intensification allowance (Section 18C)
• Mergers and acquisitions allowance (Section 37O)
• Rated retail bonds (Section 14Y)
• Research and development (Sections 14C, 14D)

(rig)