Investing as an Expat in Singapore: What EP Holders Get Wrong

By Ciprian Bratu, Chartered MCSI · October 26, 2026

Singapore taxes almost none of your investment returns, and that is exactly why so many expats invest badly here. With no tax bill to prompt a second look, the structure of the portfolio gets ignored. If you hold an Employment Pass, you also have no CPF doing the saving for you, so whatever you build is down to you. This guide covers what Singapore does and does not tax, why US-listed funds carry risks that local brokers rarely mention, when the Supplementary Retirement Scheme is worth using as a foreigner, and what to settle before you eventually leave.

Key Takeaways

Singapore generally does not tax individuals on gains from shares or on overseas income received here, so the real risks for expat investors sit in other countries’ tax rules.
CPF contributions are only payable for Singapore citizens and PRs. As a foreign employee, your retirement saving is entirely self-directed.
US-listed ETFs expose you to 30% US withholding on dividends and to US estate tax on US assets above $60,000, because Singapore has no income tax treaty with the US.
SRS gives foreigners a $35,700 yearly contribution limit, but leaving before ten years can turn the tax relief into a tax cost.

What Does Singapore Tax When You Invest?

Very little. IRAS states that gains from selling shares and financial instruments in Singapore are generally not taxable, and overseas income you receive here is generally not taxable either. The main exceptions are trading activity and income that comes through a Singapore partnership.

For a typical expat investor, that covers most of what a portfolio does. Selling a fund at a profit, receiving dividends from an overseas holding, or moving money from a European account into your Singapore bank account does not create a Singapore tax bill in the usual case. IRAS sets this out on its page on income received from overseas.

Your salary is a different matter. Resident rates rise to 24% on chargeable income above $1,000,000, so your employment income carries most of your tax. You can check the bands in our Singapore tax quick reference.

The practical result is that tax drag on your portfolio comes from outside Singapore. A German manager in Singapore holding US shares pays US tax on the dividends. A French director with a property portfolio at home still answers to France on the rent. Singapore’s light touch does not switch off the rules of the countries where your assets sit.

Why Is There No CPF If You Hold an Employment Pass?

CPF contributions are only payable for Singapore citizens and PRs. The CPF Board has exempted foreign employees since 1 January 2003 and points them to the Supplementary Retirement Scheme instead.

This matters more than most new arrivals realise. A Singaporean colleague on the same salary has a large part of their pay pushed into a forced savings account every month. You receive that money as salary, and nothing stops it from being spent.

What does that mean for your savings rate?

It means you need your own system. A fixed monthly transfer into an investment account on payday does the job CPF does for locals. Without it, Singapore’s cost of living tends to absorb the difference, especially once school fees start. Our school fees comparison for KL, Singapore and Bangkok shows how fast that line grows.

What if you become a Permanent Resident?

The position changes once you get PR status. CPF contributions become payable from that date, and you gain a forced savings account with its own rules on withdrawal. Our guide to CPF for expats covers that switch.

Why Are US-Listed ETFs a Problem for Expats in Singapore?

Because Singapore has no income tax treaty with the United States, US dividends paid to you face 30% withholding, and US shares count towards US estate tax once your US assets pass $60,000.

The IRS lists Ireland among its treaty partners. Singapore does not appear on the list. That gap shapes two costs.

The dividend cost

The IRS tells US payers to withhold at “30% or lesser tax treaty rate” on dividends to non-resident aliens. With no treaty to reduce it, you lose 30% of every US dividend at source. An Irish-domiciled fund holding the same US shares is covered by the US-Ireland treaty, where portfolio dividends are generally taxed at 15%. That is paid inside the fund, before anything reaches you.

The estate tax cost

The IRS requires an estate tax return when a non-resident, non-citizen dies holding US-situated assets above $60,000, and it names stock in US corporations as US-situated property. You can read the rule on the IRS page for non-residents with US assets. A US-listed ETF is a US company. An Irish-domiciled UCITS fund is not, so it does not fall into that IRS category. Confirm how this applies to your own estate with a tax adviser before you restructure.

	US-listed ETF	Irish-domiciled UCITS ETF
US tax on US dividends	30% withheld from you	15% paid at fund level (treaty rate)
US estate tax exposure	Yes, above $60,000 of US assets	Not a US corporation
Singapore tax on gains	Generally none	Generally none

Our longer comparison of UCITS and US ETFs goes through fund selection and currency share classes.

Is the SRS Worth It for a Foreigner?

Only if you expect to stay around ten years or more, or you pay tax at a high marginal rate. Otherwise the tax charged when you withdraw on leaving can cancel out the relief you received.

The Supplementary Retirement Scheme lets foreigners contribute up to $35,700 a year, against $15,300 for citizens and PRs, according to the Ministry of Finance. Contributions earn tax relief in the following year of assessment, provided you are a tax resident for that year. The relief counts towards the $80,000 cap on all personal reliefs.

How do withdrawals work for foreigners?

IRAS sets out two outcomes that matter to you:

The ten-year route. A one-time full withdrawal, from an account held at least ten years from your first contribution, is 50% taxable with no penalty.
The early route. Withdrawals before the prescribed retirement age are 100% taxable and carry a 5% penalty that is not refunded.

When a foreigner withdraws, the SRS bank withholds tax at the non-resident rate of 24%. Now compare that with the relief. If your marginal rate while contributing was well below 24% and you leave after four years, the exit can cost you more than the relief saved.

Who does it suit?

It suits someone on a high marginal rate who is likely to stay a decade, or who plans to hold the account until the prescribed retirement age. For a three-year posting, a plain investment account is usually the cleaner choice.

What Do We See in Practice?

The mistake we see most often is simple. Expats in Singapore buy US-listed ETFs through a local broker without knowing about the 30% dividend withholding or the US estate tax exposure.

The pattern is familiar. Someone opens a brokerage account in their first month, buys the funds a colleague recommended, and adds to them every quarter. Five years later the portfolio has passed $60,000 of US assets without anyone noticing. The markets may have been kind, but the structure was wrong from the first trade.

The second point we raise with clients is the exit. Singapore does not tax the gain on your portfolio, but the next country might. Before you sell, move or restructure anything ahead of a move, settle where you will be tax resident next. A gain realised in Singapore is generally untaxed. The same gain realised a month later, after you become resident in France or Spain, may not be. Our guide to leaving Singapore and IR21 tax clearance covers the exit in detail.

The third is the SRS. We only recommend it to foreigners who are likely to stay around ten years or more, or who are paying tax at a high marginal rate.

How Should You Check Who Is Advising You?

Check the firm on the MAS Financial Institutions Directory before you hand over any money. It lists every licensed financial institution and what each one may do.

MAS points consumers to the Financial Institutions Directory to confirm whether a company is a licensed financial adviser. MAS also publishes a separate register of individual representatives. Check both the firm and the person before you transfer money.

Then ask how the adviser is paid. A product that pays the adviser a large commission up front tends to be the product that gets recommended. A fee you can see and calculate is easier to judge against the value you receive.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do expats pay capital gains tax in Singapore?

Generally no. IRAS states that gains from selling property, shares and financial instruments in Singapore are generally not taxable for individuals. Gains from trading activity can be taxed. Your home country or your next country of residence may still tax the gain, so check those rules before you sell. See our Singapore expat finance guide for the wider picture.

Can an Employment Pass holder contribute to CPF?

No. CPF contributions are only payable for Singapore citizens and PRs, and foreign employees have been exempt since 1 January 2003. The CPF Board suggests the Supplementary Retirement Scheme for foreigners who want a retirement savings account. If you later become a Permanent Resident, CPF contributions become payable once you obtain that status.

What is the SRS contribution limit for foreigners?

Foreigners can contribute up to $35,700 a year to SRS, compared with $15,300 for Singapore citizens and PRs. Those limits have applied since 1 January 2016. Relief is given in the following year of assessment if you are a tax resident, and it counts towards the $80,000 cap on total personal reliefs.

Are US ETFs taxed for Singapore residents?

Singapore generally does not tax the dividends or gains, but the US does. With no US-Singapore income tax treaty, US dividends paid to you face 30% withholding. US shares also count towards US estate tax above $60,000 of US assets. Our UCITS vs US ETFs comparison explains the alternative.

Is overseas income taxed if I bring it into Singapore?

Generally no. IRAS states that overseas income received in Singapore, including money paid into a Singapore bank account, is generally not taxable for individuals. The exceptions include income received through a Singapore partnership and overseas work that is part of your Singapore job. Holding a multi-currency account does not change that treatment.

Should I invest in Singapore or keep my money at home?

That depends on where you will retire, which currencies you will spend in, and how your home country taxes you after you leave. Singapore’s low tax on investment returns helps while you live here. The decision that matters most is the structure and currency of the portfolio, which travel with you when you move.

If you have built a portfolio in Singapore and are not sure the structure still fits your plans, a short review will show where the risks sit. We look at the funds, the domicile, the currency and your likely next move.

Book a no-obligation call with Ciprian

This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute personalised financial, investment, or tax advice. By reading this post, you agree to our disclaimer.