News

GST Rebates Available to 950,000 Households in October

Shawn Ambrose

2021-10-01 , 2:10 pm

There’s been nothing much to shout about lately.

In the past few months, we’ve been hit by wave after wave of bad news thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Infections have swelled in the past week, with daily cases surpassing 2,000 for three days in a row.

But there’s no bad news in this article.

Yes, after what seems like decades, I finally have some news that might put a smile on your face.

GST Rebates Available to 950,000 Households in October

Around 950,000 households in Singapore will receive their goods and services tax (GST) rebates next month.

The news came from the Ministry of Finance today (1 Oct).

The quarterly rebate will be doled out through the GST Voucher (GSTV) – U-Save initiative, meaning that eligible households won’t receive their rebate in cash, but will have their utility bills offset.

The amount, of course, depends on the type of apartment you live in:

one and two-room HDB flats will receive rebates of S$100
three-room flats will receive rebates of S$90
four-room flats will get S$80
five-room flats will get S$70
executive apartments and multi-generation flats will get S$60

But that’s not all.

U-Save Special Payment

In addition to the U-Save initiative, some households would also have received a one-off GST Voucher – U-Save Special Payment.

These rebates would have been credited to the HDB flat’s utilities account in April and July this year, and amounts to 50% of their regular U-Save rebates.

With this additional payment, those living in one- and two-room HDB flats will receive rebates amounting to about four-and-a-half months to six months of their utility bills this year.

As for residents of three- and four-room flats, they will receive support equivalent to about one-and-a-half to three months of their utility bills.

That’s pretty damn good.

Eligibility

Reader: That’s great, but who’s eligible?

I’m glad you asked, dear reader.

Only HDB households are eligible for the scheme, and only if they fulfil the following conditions:

If they own and live in an HDB flat, there must be at least one Singapore citizen owner or occupier in the flat; or
If they partially rent out the HDB flat that they own and live in, there must be at least one Singapore citizen owner or occupier in the flat; or
If they rent an entire flat, there must be at least one Singapore citizen tenant

Those who own more than one property are not eligible for GST Voucher – U-Save.

What’s more, immediate family members living in the same flat must not own or have any interest in more than one property.

The GST Voucher – U-Save will be disbursed over four quarters in April 2021, July 2021, October 2021, and January 2022.

In total, S$460 million in rebates will be handed out this financial year to help households with their household expenses.

To know more about GST Voucher, watch this video to the end:

GST Rebates Available to 950,000 Households in October

GST Rebates Available to 950,000 Households in October

U-Save Special Payment

Eligibility

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