§ 42A — Rebate for children of family

42A.—(1) Where an individual resident in Singapore has —(a)

a second child of the family born to him or her on or after 1 January 2004 who is legitimate at the time of the birth;

(b)

an illegitimate second child of the family born to him or her on or after 1 January 2004 and the individual becomes lawfully married to the other natural parent of the child before the child reaches 6 years of age;

(c)

a second child of the family adopted by him or her under any written law relating to the adoption of children on or after 1 January 2004 and before 1 January 2006; or

(d)

a second child of the family adopted by him or her under any written law relating to the adoption of children on or after 1 January 2006 and before the child reaches 6 years of age,

then there is, in respect of that child, to be allowed for the year of assessment immediately following the year of the birth in the case of paragraph (a), the year of the marriage in the case of paragraph (b), or the year of the adoption in the case of paragraph (c) or (d), a rebate of $10,000 against the tax payable by that individual.

(2) Where an individual resident in Singapore has —(a)

a third or fourth child of the family born to him or her on or after 1 January 2004 who is legitimate at the time of the birth;

(b)

an illegitimate third or fourth child of the family born to him or her on or after 1 January 2004 and the individual becomes lawfully married to the other natural parent of the child before the child reaches 6 years of age;

(c)

a third or fourth child of the family adopted by him or her under any written law relating to the adoption of children on or after 1 January 2004 and before 1 January 2006; or

(d)

a third or fourth child of the family adopted by him or her under any written law relating to the adoption of children on or after 1 January 2006 and before the child reaches 6 years of age,

then there is, in respect of that child, to be allowed for the year of assessment immediately following the year of the birth in the case of paragraph (a), the year of the marriage in the case of paragraph (b), or the year of the adoption in the case of paragraph (c) or (d), a rebate of $20,000 against the tax payable by that individual.

(2A) Where an individual resident in Singapore has —(a)

a first child of the family born to him or her on or after 1 January 2008 who is legitimate at the time of the birth;

(b)

an illegitimate first child of the family born to him or her on or after 1 January 2008 and the individual becomes lawfully married to the other natural parent of the child before the child reaches 6 years of age; or

(c)

a first child of the family adopted by him or her under any written law relating to the adoption of children on or after 1 January 2008 and before the child reaches 6 years of age,

then there is, in respect of that child, to be allowed for the year of assessment immediately following the year of the birth in the case of paragraph (a), the year of marriage in the case of paragraph (b), or the year of the adoption in the case of paragraph (c), a rebate of $5,000 against the tax payable by that individual.

(2B) Where an individual resident in Singapore has —(a)

a fifth or subsequent child of the family born to him or her on or after 1 January 2008 who is legitimate at the time of the birth;

(b)

an illegitimate fifth or subsequent child of the family born to him or her on or after 1 January 2008 and the individual becomes lawfully married to the other natural parent of the child before the child reaches 6 years of age; or

(c)

a fifth or subsequent child of the family adopted by him or her under any written law relating to the adoption of children on or after 1 January 2008 and before the child reaches 6 years of age,

then there is, in respect of that child, to be allowed for the year of assessment immediately following the year of the birth in the case of paragraph (a), the year of marriage in the case of paragraph (b), or the year of the adoption in the case of paragraph (c), a rebate of $20,000 against the tax payable by that individual.

(2C) Where more than one individual is entitled to claim the rebate mentioned in subsection (1), (2), (2A) or (2B), the rebate is to be apportioned between them in such proportion as they may agree or, in the absence of any agreement, in such manner as appears to the Comptroller to be reasonable.

(3) For the purposes of subsections (1) to (2C), where full effect cannot be given to the rebate in respect of any child by reason of an insufficiency of the tax payable by an individual for that year of assessment, the balance of the unabsorbed rebate is available for deduction against the tax payable by the individual for the year of assessment immediately following that year of assessment and any subsequent year of assessment.

(4) Where the child in respect of whom a rebate is allowable to an individual under this section is adopted by another person, the rebate or balance (if any) of the unabsorbed rebate is not available for deduction against the tax payable by the individual for any year of assessment following the year in which the child is adopted.

(5) Where, for the year of assessment 2005 or any subsequent year of assessment, an individual would have been entitled to claim any rebate or balance of the unabsorbed rebate under section 42A(1) and (2)(a) in force immediately before 1 January 2005 but for the repeal of that section, such rebate or balance is, subject to subsection (4), available for deduction against the tax payable by that individual for the year of assessment 2005 and any subsequent year of assessment; but where more than one individual is entitled to claim such rebate, the rebate is to be apportioned between them in such proportion as they may agree or, in the absence of any agreement, in such manner as appears to the Comptroller to be reasonable.

(6) Where, for the year of assessment 2005 or any subsequent year of assessment, a married woman would have been entitled to claim any rebate or balance of the unabsorbed rebate under section 42A(2)(b) and (3) in force immediately before 1 January 2005 but for the repeal of that section —(a)

such rebate or balance is, subject to subsection (4), available for deduction against the tax payable by that woman for the year of assessment 2005 and any subsequent year of assessment up to 9 years of assessment immediately following the year of birth of the third child or fourth child, as the case may be; and

(b)

where the fourth child is born within 9 years of the birth of the third child and full effect cannot be given to the rebate in respect of the fourth child by reason of an insufficiency of the tax payable by that woman for that year of assessment, the rebate or balance (if any) of the unabsorbed rebate is, subject to subsection (4), available for deduction, in the case of the fourth child, against the tax payable by that woman for up to 9 years of assessment immediately following the last year of assessment in which the rebate in respect of the third child may be allowed under paragraph (a).

(7) Where, for the year of assessment 2005 or any subsequent year of assessment, a married woman would have been entitled to claim any rebate or balance of the unabsorbed rebate under section 42A(1), (2) and (3) in force immediately before 1 January 2005 but for the repeal of that section, the rebate or balance of the unabsorbed rebate in respect of the third child or fourth child (as the case may be) under section 42A(2)(b) and (3) in force immediately before 1 January 2005 must —(a)

subject to subsection (4), first be allowed for deduction against the tax payable by that woman before the rebate or balance of the unabsorbed rebate under section 42A(1) and (2)(a) in force immediately before 1 January 2005 is allowed; and

(b)

subject to section 42A(4)(b) and (c) in force immediately before 1 January 2005, be available for deduction for the year of assessment 2005 and any subsequent year of assessment.

(8) Where a marriage has been dissolved by divorce or annulment and an individual is entitled to claim —(a)

any rebate or balance of the unabsorbed rebate under section 42A(1) or (2) in force immediately before 1 January 2005, but for the repeal of that section, in respect of any child born to the individual from that marriage; and

(b)

any rebate under section 42A(1) or (2) in force immediately before 1 January 2005, but for the repeal of that section, in respect of any child born to the individual after the dissolution of the marriage,

subsections (5), (6) and (7) only apply to any second, third or fourth child (as the case may be) born to the individual after the dissolution of the marriage.

(9) Where a marriage was dissolved by divorce or annulment before 1 January 2002 and an individual would, but for section 42A(3)(e) in force immediately before that date, have been entitled to claim any rebate or balance of the unabsorbed rebate under section 42A(1) or (2) in force immediately before 1 January 2005, such rebate or balance is, subject to section 42A(4)(a) to (d) in force immediately before 1 January 2005, available for deduction against the tax payable by that individual only on due claim by that individual after that date and only for any year of assessment from the year of the claim.

(10) No rebate is allowed under this section for the year of assessment 2008 or a preceding year of assessment, in respect of a child who at the time of his or her birth or adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), has more than 3 other siblings who are members of the same household.

(10A) No rebate is allowed under this section in respect of a child who is adopted by an individual before the individual is married.

(11) In this section —“first child of the family” means a child of the family who —(a)

is a citizen of Singapore at the time of his or her birth or adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), or within 12 months thereafter; and

(b)

at the time of his or her birth, adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), has no other sibling who is a member of the same household;

“second child of the family” means a child of the family who —(a)

is a citizen of Singapore at the time of his or her birth or adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), or within 12 months thereafter; and

(b)

at the time of his or her birth, adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), has one other sibling who is a member of the same household;

“third child of the family” means a child of the family who —(a)

is a citizen of Singapore at the time of his or her birth or adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), or within 12 months thereafter; and

(b)

at the time of his or her birth, adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), has 2 other siblings who are members of the same household;

“fourth child of the family” means a child of the family who —(a)

is a citizen of Singapore at the time of his or her birth or adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), or within 12 months thereafter; and

(b)

at the time of his or her birth, adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), has 3 other siblings who are members of the same household;

“fifth or subsequent child of the family” means a child of the family who —(a)

is a citizen of Singapore at the time of his or her birth or adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), or within 12 months thereafter; and

(b)

at the time of his or her birth, adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), has at least 4 other siblings who are members of the same household;

“sibling” means a brother or sister and includes a stepbrother, a stepsister and a brother or sister adopted under any written law relating to the adoption of children.

(12) For the purposes of subsection (11), any sibling who is deceased must be taken into account in determining the number of siblings a child has at the time of his or her birth or adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents unless otherwise determined by the Comptroller.

(12A) For the purposes of the definitions of “first child of the family”, “second child of the family”, “third child of the family”, “fourth child of the family” and “fifth or subsequent child of the family” in subsection (11), for the year of assessment 2022 or any subsequent year of assessment, any sibling of the child, being a sibling that is a stillborn child (whether issued from the child’s mother before, on or after 1 January 2022), is to be included in determining the number of siblings that the child has who are members of the same household, but only if the natural mother of the stillborn child is a member of that household.[27/2021]

(12B) To avoid doubt, subsection (12A) does not imply that a stillborn child is a child in respect of whom a rebate may be allowed under this section.[27/2021]

(12C) In subsection (12A), “stillborn child” means —(a)

a child that —(i)

has issued from the child’s mother after the twenty-eighth week of pregnancy and before 29 May 2022; and

(ii)

did not show any sign of life at any time after being completely expelled from the mother;

(b)

a child that —(i)

has issued from the child’s mother after the twenty-second week of pregnancy and on or after 29 May 2022 but before the date of commencement of section 2(c) of the Stillbirths and Births (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2024; and

(ii)

did not show any sign of life at any time after being completely expelled or extracted from the mother; or

(c)

a stillborn child as defined in section 2(1) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act 2021 that issues from the child’s mother on or after the date of commencement of section 2(c) of the Stillbirths and Births (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2024.[Act 2 of 2024 wef 16/04/2024]

(13) For the purposes of subsection (11), a child is a member of a household if —(a)

the members of the household include both the parents of the child or, if there is only one surviving parent, that parent;

(b)

in the case where the parents of the child are divorced, any member of the household is a parent of the child who has sole legal custody of the child; or

(c)

in the case where the parents of the child are divorced and neither has sole legal custody of the child, any member of the household is a parent of the child who has been given rights of care and control in respect of the child by any court.

(14) If the child is a member of more than one household by virtue of subsection (13)(c), the child is treated as such member of the household of only one parent as determined by the Comptroller (whose decision is final) having regard to the circumstances of the case, including the child’s living arrangements.

(15) In subsection (13), “parent” includes an adoptive parent and a step‑parent.

—(1) Where an individual resident in Singapore has —(a)

a second child of the family born to him or her on or after 1 January 2004 who is legitimate at the time of the birth;

(b)

an illegitimate second child of the family born to him or her on or after 1 January 2004 and the individual becomes lawfully married to the other natural parent of the child before the child reaches 6 years of age;

(c)

a second child of the family adopted by him or her under any written law relating to the adoption of children on or after 1 January 2004 and before 1 January 2006; or

(d)

a second child of the family adopted by him or her under any written law relating to the adoption of children on or after 1 January 2006 and before the child reaches 6 years of age,

then there is, in respect of that child, to be allowed for the year of assessment immediately following the year of the birth in the case of paragraph (a), the year of the marriage in the case of paragraph (b), or the year of the adoption in the case of paragraph (c) or (d), a rebate of $10,000 against the tax payable by that individual.

(2) Where an individual resident in Singapore has —(a)

a third or fourth child of the family born to him or her on or after 1 January 2004 who is legitimate at the time of the birth;

(b)

an illegitimate third or fourth child of the family born to him or her on or after 1 January 2004 and the individual becomes lawfully married to the other natural parent of the child before the child reaches 6 years of age;

(c)

a third or fourth child of the family adopted by him or her under any written law relating to the adoption of children on or after 1 January 2004 and before 1 January 2006; or

(d)

a third or fourth child of the family adopted by him or her under any written law relating to the adoption of children on or after 1 January 2006 and before the child reaches 6 years of age,

then there is, in respect of that child, to be allowed for the year of assessment immediately following the year of the birth in the case of paragraph (a), the year of the marriage in the case of paragraph (b), or the year of the adoption in the case of paragraph (c) or (d), a rebate of $20,000 against the tax payable by that individual.

(2A) Where an individual resident in Singapore has —(a)

a first child of the family born to him or her on or after 1 January 2008 who is legitimate at the time of the birth;

(b)

an illegitimate first child of the family born to him or her on or after 1 January 2008 and the individual becomes lawfully married to the other natural parent of the child before the child reaches 6 years of age; or

(c)

a first child of the family adopted by him or her under any written law relating to the adoption of children on or after 1 January 2008 and before the child reaches 6 years of age,

then there is, in respect of that child, to be allowed for the year of assessment immediately following the year of the birth in the case of paragraph (a), the year of marriage in the case of paragraph (b), or the year of the adoption in the case of paragraph (c), a rebate of $5,000 against the tax payable by that individual.

(2B) Where an individual resident in Singapore has —(a)

a fifth or subsequent child of the family born to him or her on or after 1 January 2008 who is legitimate at the time of the birth;

(b)

an illegitimate fifth or subsequent child of the family born to him or her on or after 1 January 2008 and the individual becomes lawfully married to the other natural parent of the child before the child reaches 6 years of age; or

(c)

a fifth or subsequent child of the family adopted by him or her under any written law relating to the adoption of children on or after 1 January 2008 and before the child reaches 6 years of age,

then there is, in respect of that child, to be allowed for the year of assessment immediately following the year of the birth in the case of paragraph (a), the year of marriage in the case of paragraph (b), or the year of the adoption in the case of paragraph (c), a rebate of $20,000 against the tax payable by that individual.

(2C) Where more than one individual is entitled to claim the rebate mentioned in subsection (1), (2), (2A) or (2B), the rebate is to be apportioned between them in such proportion as they may agree or, in the absence of any agreement, in such manner as appears to the Comptroller to be reasonable.

(3) For the purposes of subsections (1) to (2C), where full effect cannot be given to the rebate in respect of any child by reason of an insufficiency of the tax payable by an individual for that year of assessment, the balance of the unabsorbed rebate is available for deduction against the tax payable by the individual for the year of assessment immediately following that year of assessment and any subsequent year of assessment.

(4) Where the child in respect of whom a rebate is allowable to an individual under this section is adopted by another person, the rebate or balance (if any) of the unabsorbed rebate is not available for deduction against the tax payable by the individual for any year of assessment following the year in which the child is adopted.

(5) Where, for the year of assessment 2005 or any subsequent year of assessment, an individual would have been entitled to claim any rebate or balance of the unabsorbed rebate under section 42A(1) and (2)(a) in force immediately before 1 January 2005 but for the repeal of that section, such rebate or balance is, subject to subsection (4), available for deduction against the tax payable by that individual for the year of assessment 2005 and any subsequent year of assessment; but where more than one individual is entitled to claim such rebate, the rebate is to be apportioned between them in such proportion as they may agree or, in the absence of any agreement, in such manner as appears to the Comptroller to be reasonable.

(6) Where, for the year of assessment 2005 or any subsequent year of assessment, a married woman would have been entitled to claim any rebate or balance of the unabsorbed rebate under section 42A(2)(b) and (3) in force immediately before 1 January 2005 but for the repeal of that section —(a)

such rebate or balance is, subject to subsection (4), available for deduction against the tax payable by that woman for the year of assessment 2005 and any subsequent year of assessment up to 9 years of assessment immediately following the year of birth of the third child or fourth child, as the case may be; and

(b)

where the fourth child is born within 9 years of the birth of the third child and full effect cannot be given to the rebate in respect of the fourth child by reason of an insufficiency of the tax payable by that woman for that year of assessment, the rebate or balance (if any) of the unabsorbed rebate is, subject to subsection (4), available for deduction, in the case of the fourth child, against the tax payable by that woman for up to 9 years of assessment immediately following the last year of assessment in which the rebate in respect of the third child may be allowed under paragraph (a).

(7) Where, for the year of assessment 2005 or any subsequent year of assessment, a married woman would have been entitled to claim any rebate or balance of the unabsorbed rebate under section 42A(1), (2) and (3) in force immediately before 1 January 2005 but for the repeal of that section, the rebate or balance of the unabsorbed rebate in respect of the third child or fourth child (as the case may be) under section 42A(2)(b) and (3) in force immediately before 1 January 2005 must —(a)

subject to subsection (4), first be allowed for deduction against the tax payable by that woman before the rebate or balance of the unabsorbed rebate under section 42A(1) and (2)(a) in force immediately before 1 January 2005 is allowed; and

(b)

subject to section 42A(4)(b) and (c) in force immediately before 1 January 2005, be available for deduction for the year of assessment 2005 and any subsequent year of assessment.

(8) Where a marriage has been dissolved by divorce or annulment and an individual is entitled to claim —(a)

any rebate or balance of the unabsorbed rebate under section 42A(1) or (2) in force immediately before 1 January 2005, but for the repeal of that section, in respect of any child born to the individual from that marriage; and

(b)

any rebate under section 42A(1) or (2) in force immediately before 1 January 2005, but for the repeal of that section, in respect of any child born to the individual after the dissolution of the marriage,

subsections (5), (6) and (7) only apply to any second, third or fourth child (as the case may be) born to the individual after the dissolution of the marriage.

(9) Where a marriage was dissolved by divorce or annulment before 1 January 2002 and an individual would, but for section 42A(3)(e) in force immediately before that date, have been entitled to claim any rebate or balance of the unabsorbed rebate under section 42A(1) or (2) in force immediately before 1 January 2005, such rebate or balance is, subject to section 42A(4)(a) to (d) in force immediately before 1 January 2005, available for deduction against the tax payable by that individual only on due claim by that individual after that date and only for any year of assessment from the year of the claim.

(10) No rebate is allowed under this section for the year of assessment 2008 or a preceding year of assessment, in respect of a child who at the time of his or her birth or adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), has more than 3 other siblings who are members of the same household.

(10A) No rebate is allowed under this section in respect of a child who is adopted by an individual before the individual is married.

(11) In this section —“first child of the family” means a child of the family who —(a)

is a citizen of Singapore at the time of his or her birth or adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), or within 12 months thereafter; and

(b)

at the time of his or her birth, adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), has no other sibling who is a member of the same household;

“second child of the family” means a child of the family who —(a)

is a citizen of Singapore at the time of his or her birth or adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), or within 12 months thereafter; and

(b)

at the time of his or her birth, adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), has one other sibling who is a member of the same household;

“third child of the family” means a child of the family who —(a)

is a citizen of Singapore at the time of his or her birth or adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), or within 12 months thereafter; and

(b)

at the time of his or her birth, adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), has 2 other siblings who are members of the same household;

“fourth child of the family” means a child of the family who —(a)

is a citizen of Singapore at the time of his or her birth or adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), or within 12 months thereafter; and

(b)

at the time of his or her birth, adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), has 3 other siblings who are members of the same household;

“fifth or subsequent child of the family” means a child of the family who —(a)

is a citizen of Singapore at the time of his or her birth or adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), or within 12 months thereafter; and

(b)

at the time of his or her birth, adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents (as the case may be), has at least 4 other siblings who are members of the same household;

“sibling” means a brother or sister and includes a stepbrother, a stepsister and a brother or sister adopted under any written law relating to the adoption of children.

(12) For the purposes of subsection (11), any sibling who is deceased must be taken into account in determining the number of siblings a child has at the time of his or her birth or adoption or the marriage of his or her natural parents unless otherwise determined by the Comptroller.

(12A) For the purposes of the definitions of “first child of the family”, “second child of the family”, “third child of the family”, “fourth child of the family” and “fifth or subsequent child of the family” in subsection (11), for the year of assessment 2022 or any subsequent year of assessment, any sibling of the child, being a sibling that is a stillborn child (whether issued from the child’s mother before, on or after 1 January 2022), is to be included in determining the number of siblings that the child has who are members of the same household, but only if the natural mother of the stillborn child is a member of that household.[27/2021]

(12B) To avoid doubt, subsection (12A) does not imply that a stillborn child is a child in respect of whom a rebate may be allowed under this section.[27/2021]

(12C) In subsection (12A), “stillborn child” means —(a)

a child that —(i)

has issued from the child’s mother after the twenty-eighth week of pregnancy and before 29 May 2022; and

(ii)

did not show any sign of life at any time after being completely expelled from the mother;

(b)

a child that —(i)

has issued from the child’s mother after the twenty-second week of pregnancy and on or after 29 May 2022 but before the date of commencement of section 2(c) of the Stillbirths and Births (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2024; and

(ii)

did not show any sign of life at any time after being completely expelled or extracted from the mother; or

(c)

a stillborn child as defined in section 2(1) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act 2021 that issues from the child’s mother on or after the date of commencement of section 2(c) of the Stillbirths and Births (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2024.[Act 2 of 2024 wef 16/04/2024]

(13) For the purposes of subsection (11), a child is a member of a household if —(a)

the members of the household include both the parents of the child or, if there is only one surviving parent, that parent;

(b)

in the case where the parents of the child are divorced, any member of the household is a parent of the child who has sole legal custody of the child; or

(c)

in the case where the parents of the child are divorced and neither has sole legal custody of the child, any member of the household is a parent of the child who has been given rights of care and control in respect of the child by any court.

(14) If the child is a member of more than one household by virtue of subsection (13)(c), the child is treated as such member of the household of only one parent as determined by the Comptroller (whose decision is final) having regard to the circumstances of the case, including the child’s living arrangements.

(15) In subsection (13), “parent” includes an adoptive parent and a step‑parent.