Everything About the Budget 2019 ‘Bonus’ That S’poreans Will Receive

So, yesterday, our Finance Minister gave the highly anticipated Budget 2019 speech, and let’s face it: for many of us, we might not be looking at how much money is being allocated to Education, or how many new grants would be provided to companies.

Instead, as Minister Heng spoke, we’re all waiting to hear these words: GST voucher, bonus or simply “Singaporeans will receive…”

And this year, we’re not disappointed—unless you’re looking at a higher payout, that is.

Here’s what we Singaporeans would be receiving.

But before anything…

Why Government give money arh?

For a start, you’d have to understand why the Government would give money to Singaporeans.

It’s not that this year, money suddenly rain from the sky and the Government has decided to give some of them to us. You see, countries, just like companies, need money to run, and in order to get that money, they’ll also receive money.

Companies generate income through sales or investments, while countries generate cash inflow through a few means like taxes, exports or tourists’ spending.

According to the minister, when finances allow, the Government would share the surpluses (extra money) with Singaporeans while providing more help for those in need.

And this year, with Singapore being “200 years old” (kind of lah, since Raffles found the country in 1819), the minister hoped that through this bonus, “Singaporeans, young and old, will join us to commemorate this significant moment in Singapore’s history.”

So, how much are we getting?

GST Voucher – Cash (Bicentennial Payment)

We all know about the GST vouchers, don’t we? It’s to offset the GST and comes in cold, hard cash.

For this year’s special GST voucher, which is called the Bicentennial Payment, not everyone will get anything. Firstly, you must be above 21 in 2019, and your annual income in 2017 must be less than $28,000 (which means your monthly income in 2017 must be less than $2,333).

Even so, you’ll need to have a certain home annual value. If your home annual value in the end of 2018 was less than $13,000, you’ll receive $300. If it was between $13,000 to $21,000, you’ll receive $150.

A total of 1.4 million Singaporeans will receive this payout, which will be disbursed at the end of this year.

Now, do note that this Bicentennial Payment is different from the regular GST Voucher that will be disbursed in August this year.

WIS Payment

People who qualify for Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) payments (if you don’t know what that is, you’re probably not eligible or you didn’t apply for it. Check it out here) will also receive an additional 10% of WIS payment for 2018, with a minimum of $100 in cash.

So, you’re not a low-income Singaporean; do you still get any benefits?

Well, yes, though they don’t come in cold, hard cash. At least no directly.

50% Personal Income Tax Rebate

If you’re a working adult, you should be used to paying that few hundreds of dollars every year to the Government for your personal income tax.

This year, it’s going to be a tad different.

As part of the Bicentennial Bonus, all working adults who need to pay personal income tax will have 50% rebate for last year’s income, or up to a cap of $200.

In other words, if your income tax is $300, you’ll just need to pay $150.

If your income tax is $3,000, then you’ll just need to pay $2,800, though I’m pretty sure that if you’re taxed that amount, then $200 is just small change to you.

It’s unknown if the rebate is after all the other rebates factored in (those NS rebates lah, kids rebates lah, etc) or before that, but it’s still a considerable amount, for it’ll cost the Government about $280 million.

Kids & the Elderly will Receive Something, Too

For kids between aged 7 to 16, they’ll get $150 in Edusave top-ups. Ah, who still remember this fund that helped us enjoy all the exclusion trips and enrichment programmes without forking out a single cent?

For people between 17 and 20, they’ll get $500 Post-Secondary Education Account top-ups if their home’s annual value is up to $13,000 at the end of 2018, or top-ups of S$250 if their home’s annual value is higher than $13,000.

For the elderly, people between 50 to 54 in 2019 will get $300 or $500 (depending on how much they’ve in their account) in their CPF account, and people between 55 to 64 will get $600 to $1,000.

So yeah; in summary, here’s what you need to know:

Low-income people = Receive cash payment of $150 to $300 + WIS payment
Working adults = Tax rebate of 50% or up to $200 for last year’s returns
Kids & Elderly = Top up of Edusave / PSEA for kids and CPF for elderly

In other words, there’s something for everyone, though not all might be direct cash.