I am a single working adult who needs to employ a maid to look after my parent who is seriously ill. Why can I not claim the foreign maid levy relief?

There are various types of personal reliefs provided in our income tax assessment system. Some of these are general reliefs provided to individuals like the Earned Income Relief. There are also other reliefs that serve specific objectives and thus are provided only to specific group of qualifying individuals.

The foreign maid levy (FML) relief is one targeted relief meant to encourage married women to re-join the workforce after they have set up their families. This is the reason why FML relief is provided only to married working women. Therefore, we are not able to allow you to claim this relief.

However, if you have contributed to your parent's maintenance, you can qualify for the parent relief. The parent relief is given as a recognition for individuals taking care of their parents who are 55 years old or more, or are physically or mentally handicapped.

It is however not meant to compensate the individual in full for the expenses incurred in caring for his/her parents.