Will the SRS operator deduct any tax on my SRS withdrawals? How do I calculate the tax to be paid?

The SRS operator will withhold/collect an amount of tax at the prevailing non-resident tax rate for all SRS withdrawals by foreigners and Singapore Permanent Residents (SPRs). This withholding tax is in addition to the 5% premature withdrawal penalty, if applicable.

A concessionary withholding tax rate of 15% will apply to an SRS withdrawal in the form of cash/ investment if the following conditions are met:

(i) Cumulative amount withdrawn (in the form of cash/ investment) by the SPR/ foreigner SRS account holder in the calendar year in which the withdrawal is made, does not exceed $200,000; and

(ii) The SPR/ foreigner SRS member does not have any other income besides the SRS withdrawal(s) during the calendar year in which the withdrawal(s) is/are made.

To enjoy this concession, the SRS account holder must submit to his SRS operator, a declaration that he fulfills the two conditions above.

i) Withholding tax on withdrawals in cash

For example, if a SPR/foreigner withdraws the full amount of $200,000 in his SRS account by the age of 62 (the statutory retirement age) in cash at year 2016 (i.e. YA 2017), the tax withheld on the withdrawal will be computed as follows [1]:

ii) Tax imposed on withdrawal of SRS investments

Withdrawals of SRS investments are taxed at the applicable tax rate2 on 50% of the value of the investment to be withdrawn from his SRS account3. The SRS member may withdraw cash from his SRS account to settle this amount. Cash withdrawn from his SRS account is subject to a withholding tax.

Hence, the SRS member would have to withdraw a higher amount of cash to take into account the amount of tax that is payable by him to his SRS operator.

To illustrate this, if an SRS member aged 62 (i.e. he has reached the statutory retirement age), transfers his shares valued at $200,000 from his SRS account to his personal Central Depository (CDP) account, the amount of tax to be collected on the withdrawal is computed as follows:

If he wishes to pay the tax of $22,000 using cash withdrawn from his SRS account, he will need to withdraw $24,720 in order to receive a net cash withdrawal of more than $22,000. This is because the second cash withdrawal is also subjected to withholding tax.

The SRS members application to withdraw the investment from his SRS account can only be approved by the SRS operator, after such tax has been collected by the SRS operator from the SRS member.

Calculating the final tax payable

The final tax payable is determined by the actual tax rate applicable for the SRS withdrawal:

The tax withheld or tax collected on the withdrawal is a tax credit which the taxpayer can use to offset his actual tax liability. Any unused tax credit will be refunded to the taxpayer.

To illustrate this, suppose that in the example in part (i), the actual tax rate applicable for the SRS withdrawal is finally determined to be 15%. If the SRS member has no other tax liability, the amount to be refunded will be computed as follows:

[1] In the case of a full withdrawal from tfhe SRS account of an SRS member who is not a citizen, on the grounds that he is suffering from a terminal illness or disease, the amount on which tax is withheld or collected by the SRS operator is reduced by the specified amount of withdrawal that is exempt from tax, from 1 July 2016.

[2] The applicable tax rate is the applicable withholding tax rate had the SRS withdrawal been in the form of cash instead of in the form of investment.

[3] In the case of a full withdrawal from the SRS account of an SRS member who is not a citizen, on the grounds that he is suffering from a terminal illness or disease, the amount on which tax is withheld or collected by the SRS operator is reduced by the specified amount of withdrawal that is exempt from tax, from 1 July 2016.