Tax Resident Status Changes Among Singapore Citizens and Retention Rates by Age and Gender from 2014 to 2024

Parliamentary Question by Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat:

To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance for each year over the past decade (a) how many Singapore citizens have transitioned from being tax residents to non-residents and vice versa; (b) what is the breakdown (i) by gender and (ii) by five-year age groups; and (c) what proportion of Singapore citizen tax residents in 2014 have remained so in 2024, as broken down by gender and age.

Parliamentary Reply by Senior Minister of State for Finance, Mr Jeffrey Siow:

Singapore Citizens who reside in Singapore except for temporary absences are assessed as tax residents. We do not have data on Singapore Citizens who have transitioned from being tax residents to non-residents and vice versa.

There were about 1.6 million Singapore Citizens with tax filing records in the Year of Assessment (YA) 2020. Of these, about 1.4 million had tax filing records in YA 2024. Those who dropped out could have done so due to a variety of reasons, such as death, retirement, unemployment, or relocation overseas.  Of the 1.4 million, about 55% were male and 45% were female. The breakdown by age group is as follows:

Notes:
(1)  The figures are rounded to the nearest percentage point.
(2)  Age based on the tax resident’s age in YA 2024.