Singapore reached 9% after two increases in consecutive years, and IRAS applies it to all sales of goods and services here unless the sale can be zero-rated or exempted under the GST law.
Two increases in two years
GST was introduced in Singapore on 1 April 1994 at 3%. It sat at 7% from 1 July 2007 right through to the end of 2022, then rose to 8% for the whole of 2023 before reaching its present level.
Two increases in successive years leave a lot of paperwork straddling a boundary, which is why IRAS still publishes the dated history rather than the current figure on its own. Anything raised before 2024 has to be read against the period it falls in.
The million-dollar tests
Compulsory registration turns on two views of one threshold. Under the retrospective view you ask whether taxable turnover for the calendar year, 1 January to 31 December, exceeded $1 million; if it did, you apply between 1 and 30 January of the following year and are registered on 1 March.
The prospective view bites sooner. If at any point you can reasonably expect turnover to exceed $1 million over the next 12 months you must apply within 30 days of that forecast, and IRAS expects supporting documents: signed contracts, accepted quotations, or income statements showing the past year close to the line and trending up.
Cross the line part-way through a year without reasonably expecting to stay above it for the next 12 months, and neither view obliges you to register on the spot. You wait for the calendar year to close and apply on the retrospective basis.
A grace period on forecasts
A concession announced on 28 February 2025 softened the prospective route. Where liability arises on or after 1 July 2025, registration takes effect two months from the date of the forecast rather than on the 31st day after it, giving a business time to get its pricing and systems ready. The 30-day application deadline is unchanged.
Singapore: common questions
What is the GST rate in Singapore?
9%. It was introduced at 3% on 1 April 1994, held at 7% from 1 July 2007 to the end of 2022, then spent 2023 at 8% before reaching the current figure.
When must I register for GST in Singapore?
Once taxable turnover passes $1 million on either test. Retrospectively you apply between 1 and 30 January after the calendar year that crossed it; prospectively you apply within 30 days of forming a reasonable expectation of crossing it.
How long is the grace period on a prospective registration?
Two months from the date of the forecast, where the liability arises on or after 1 July 2025, in place of the 31st day after it. The deadline for applying stays at 30 days.
Figures on this page are from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore. Rules change, so check the source before relying on one. Calculator for every other country.
How to add GST or VAT to a price
If you have a price that does not yet include tax, multiply it by one plus the rate. At a 10% rate that means multiplying by 1.1; at 20%, by 1.2.
Total = price × (1 + rate)
So a $200 service at 10% GST becomes $220, of which $20 is tax. The tax itself is the price multiplied by the rate.
How to remove GST or VAT from a total
Work backwards by dividing. The rate went onto the smaller number, so taking the same percentage off the larger one comes up short.
Price before tax = total ÷ (1 + rate)
Tax = total − price before tax
A $110 invoice at 10% GST breaks down to $100 plus $10 of tax. Subtracting 10% of $110 would have given you $99, which is wrong by a dollar, and the error grows with the amount.
Why the tax is never the full rate of the total
A 10% rate adds 10% to the price, but that tax is then only about 9.09% of the resulting total, because the total got bigger. The bar at the top of this page shows that gap. The higher the rate, the wider it gets: at 20% VAT, the tax is one sixth of the total, or 16.67%.
Shortcuts worth memorising
At certain rates the tax inside a total is a clean fraction, which makes mental checks easy.
| Rate | Tax inside a total | Tax as % of total |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | total ÷ 21 | 4.76% |
| 10% | total ÷ 11 | 9.09% |
| 15% | total × 3 ÷ 23 | 13.04% |
| 20% | total ÷ 6 | 16.67% |
| 25% | total ÷ 5 | 20.00% |
Standard rates around the world
The rates below are standard rates, the ones that apply to most goods and services. Many countries also run reduced rates for essentials such as food, books, medicine and transport, so check which band your transaction falls into before relying on a figure.
| Country | Tax | Standard rate |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | VAT | 20% |
| Belgium | VAT | 21% |
| Bulgaria | VAT | 20% |
| Croatia | VAT | 25% |
| Cyprus | VAT | 19% |
| Czech Republic | VAT | 21% |
| Denmark | VAT | 25% |
| Estonia | VAT | 24% |
| Finland | VAT | 25.5% |
| France | VAT | 20% |
| Germany | VAT | 19% |
| Greece | VAT | 24% |
| Hungary | VAT | 27% |
| Ireland | VAT | 23% |
| Italy | VAT | 22% |
| Latvia | VAT | 21% |
| Lithuania | VAT | 21% |
| Luxembourg | VAT | 17% |
| Malta | VAT | 18% |
| Netherlands | VAT | 21% |
| Poland | VAT | 23% |
| Portugal | VAT | 23% |
| Romania | VAT | 21% |
| Slovakia | VAT | 23% |
| Slovenia | VAT | 22% |
| Spain | VAT | 21% |
| Sweden | VAT | 25% |
| Iceland | VAT | 24% |
| Norway | VAT | 25% |
| Russia | VAT | 22% |
| Serbia | VAT | 20% |
| Switzerland | VAT | 8.1% |
| Turkey | VAT | 20% |
| Ukraine | VAT | 20% |
| United Kingdom | VAT | 20% |
| Argentina | VAT | 21% |
| Brazil | ICMS | 17% |
| Canada | GST | 5% |
| Chile | VAT | 19% |
| Colombia | VAT | 19% |
| Mexico | VAT | 16% |
| Peru | VAT | 18% |
| Australia | GST | 10% |
| China | VAT | 13% |
| India | GST | 18% |
| Indonesia | VAT | 11% |
| Japan | Consumption tax | 10% |
| Malaysia | SST | 10% |
| New Zealand | GST | 15% |
| Philippines | VAT | 12% |
| Singapore | GST | 9% |
| South Korea | VAT | 10% |
| Thailand | VAT | 7% |
| Vietnam | VAT | 10% |
| Egypt | VAT | 14% |
| Israel | VAT | 18% |
| Nigeria | VAT | 7.5% |
| Saudi Arabia | VAT | 15% |
| South Africa | VAT | 15% |
| United Arab Emirates | VAT | 5% |
Rates last reviewed September 2026. Governments change them at short notice, so confirm against your own tax authority before you file anything.
Country guides
Each guide keeps this calculator and adds what the country's own revenue authority says about the tax: which rate applies to what, when registering stops being optional, and what falls outside the rate altogether.
Common questions
What is the difference between GST and VAT?
Very little, mechanically. Both are consumption taxes charged at each stage of supply, with businesses claiming back the tax they paid on inputs so that only the final consumer carries the cost. The name is regional: Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, India and Canada say GST, most of Europe and much of the world says VAT, Japan says consumption tax. The arithmetic on this page is identical either way.
How do I work out the GST included in a total?
Divide the total by one plus the rate to get the price before tax, then subtract that from the total. At a 10% rate there is a faster route: divide the total by 11. Switch this calculator to "includes tax" and it does either for you.
Why doesn't the tax equal 10% of my total?
Because the 10% was added to the smaller number. Ten per cent of $100 is $10, and that $10 is only 9.09% of the $110 total. Any time you work backwards from a tax-inclusive figure, you divide rather than subtract a percentage.
Which rate should I use?
Pick your country above and the standard rate fills in. Many countries tax food, books or transport in a lower band; if your supply sits in one of those, type that rate into the box instead. Where a supply is zero-rated or exempt, no tax applies at all, though the two differ for reclaim purposes.
How should rounding be handled on an invoice?
This page rounds to the nearest cent and always keeps the three figures consistent, so the base and the tax add exactly to the total. Accounting systems and tax authorities vary on whether rounding happens per line or per invoice, which can shift a total by a cent. If you are reconciling against a system that disagrees, that is usually the reason.
Is this a salary calculator?
No. This one handles sales tax, where net is the price before tax and gross is the price after it. Payroll uses the same two words the other way round: there, gross is your pay before deductions and net is what actually reaches your account. If you are converting a salary, you want a take-home pay calculator for your country, not this page.
Does this send my numbers anywhere?
No. Every calculation runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, logged or stored beyond your last-used country and rate, which stay on your own device.