Corporate Gifts and GST in Singapore: Festive Hampers, the S$200 Rule and Staff Tax

Short answer: A GST-registered company that claimed input tax on a gift of goods must account for output tax at 9% when the gifts to one recipient for one occasion cost more than S$200 before GST. Gifts to customers for business promotion are generally tax deductible. Staff gifts up to S$200 per occasion are not taxable to the employee.

Hampers and gift boxes go out to clients and staff at year-end, and so do the tax questions. This guide explains corporate gifts GST in Singapore in practical terms: when the S$200 gift rule switches output tax on, how the “same recipient, same occasion” test works, what your company can deduct for income tax, and when a gift to an employee becomes taxable income that must be reported.

Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of experienced Singapore law firms who offer cost-effective and efficient legal service and advice. This article is general information only and is not legal advice.

When do corporate gifts attract GST in Singapore?

Corporate gifts attract GST only when three things are true: the gift is goods (not a service or voucher), you claimed input tax on buying or importing it, and the total cost of gifts to the same recipient for the same occasion is more than S$200 excluding GST. If any one of these is missing, no output tax is due.

The legal basis is paragraph 5 of the Second Schedule to the Goods and Services Tax Act 1993. Paragraph 5(1) treats goods that leave the business’s assets, whether or not for payment, as a supply by the business. Paragraph 5(2)(a) carves out a gift of goods made in the course or furtherance of the business where the cost to the donor is not more than S$200. A deemed supply is one the law taxes even though no money changes hands.

How does the S$200 gift rule work: per gift, per recipient or per year?

IRAS applies the threshold to the total cost of gifts given to the same recipient for the same occasion, excluding GST. It is not a 12-month running total, and gifts for different occasions are tested separately.

The IRAS page on gifts and samples gives examples. The points that catch companies out:

• Different departments of the same customer count as one recipient. Two S$150 New Year hampers sent to two departments of Company B are S$300 for one occasion.
• Two hampers to the same customer for New Year’s Day and Chinese New Year are two occasions, so each S$150 hamper is tested on its own.
• Gifts for one occasion that straddle two GST accounting periods are added together. Output tax is then accounted for in the period in which each gift is given.

Commercial samples are treated separately. Under paragraph 5(2)(b), samples given to actual or potential customers in a form not ordinarily available for sale to the public are not a deemed supply. IRAS expects them to be clearly marked “Not for sale” or “Sample only”.

Worked examples: corporate gifts GST and employee tax

The table applies the IRAS rules to common year-end gifts by a GST-registered company that has claimed input tax unless stated otherwise. GST is at 9% and costs exclude GST.

If you are not yet GST-registered and gift spending is growing with turnover, the GST Registration Checker on our free tools page shows whether and when you must register.

How do you account for output tax on a business gift?

You report the deemed supply in the GST return for the period in which the gift is given, either paying the GST yourself or recovering it from the recipient. You must not issue a tax invoice for a gift.

1. List every gift by recipient and occasion, with the cost excluding GST and whether input tax was claimed.
2. Group gifts to the same recipient (including different departments or branches of one customer) for the same occasion, and total them.
3. For each group over S$200 where input tax was claimed, work out the open market value. For goods bought as gifts from an unrelated supplier, the purchase price can be used. For goods that were used in the business first, such as an old laptop, use the market price of similar goods at the time of giving.
4. Calculate output tax at 9% of that value.
5. Report the value in Box 1 (standard-rated supplies) and the tax in Box 6 (output tax due) of your GST F5 return.
6. If a GST-registered recipient agrees to pay the output tax, issue a tax certificate showing the words “Tax Certificate”, the goods and GST amount, and the statement “Deemed GST on this supply is paid by the recipient”.

Some companies simply do not claim input tax on expensive gifts so no output tax arises later. On gifts bought from an unrelated supplier the amounts usually cancel out, so choose one approach and apply it consistently.

Can you claim input tax on gifts to customers and staff?

Yes, for gifts to customers made for business purposes, provided the usual input tax conditions are met. For gifts to employees, IRAS starts from the view that gifts lack a close link to the business, but allows input tax on specific categories.

The usual conditions apply: a valid tax invoice addressed to the company, for goods used for the business. Our guide to input tax claims under Singapore GST covers these in full. Only claim input tax where the supplier actually charged GST on its invoice.

Under the IRAS e-Tax Guide GST: Fringe Benefits (fourteenth edition, 30 January 2026), input tax is claimable on these employee gifts:

• Festive season gifts, such as for Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Deepavali and Christmas.
• Special occasion gifts for the employee: birthday, welcome, farewell and get-well gifts, and gifts for the employee’s wedding, the birth of a child, or a bereavement in the immediate family.
• Awards and prizes recognising work, such as long-service, good service, performance and retirement awards.
• Gifts at company events such as a dinner and dance (covered in our separate guide on staff parties).

If you claim input tax on these, the S$200 deemed supply rule still applies to each employee’s gift.

Are corporate gifts tax deductible for income tax?

Gifts to customers and business contacts are generally deductible where incurred wholly and exclusively in producing the company’s income, such as promoting the business. Gifts to employees are deductible as staff welfare and benefits.

IRAS describes deductible business expenses as those “wholly and exclusively incurred in the production of income”, revenue in nature and not prohibited by the Income Tax Act 1947. Staff welfare and benefits appear on its list of deductible expenses. Gifts that are really private are not deductible: IRAS’s checklist for family-owned companies flags “gifts to self, friends & relatives” as private expenses to be added back under section 15 of the Income Tax Act 1947.

A gift and a donation are treated differently. A donation, for example hampers or cash given to a charity, is not a business expense because it is not incurred to produce income. However, a company can claim a deduction of 2.5 times the amount for approved donations to an Institution of a Public Character (IPC) or the Singapore Government. Following Budget 2026, IRAS states this applies to donations made up to 31 December 2029.

When is a gift to an employee taxable income?

A festive or special-occasion gift to an employee is not taxable if it does not exceed S$200 per occasion and, for festive gifts, is generally available to all staff. If the gift exceeds S$200, the whole value is taxable, not just the excess.

The IRAS page on employee gifts sets the S$200 guide as an administrative concession. It applies to both cash and non-cash gifts, including red packets, and the threshold is applied per occasion. An employee who receives a S$200 wedding gift, a S$50 birthday gift and an S$80 Christmas gift in the same year has no taxable benefit, because no single gift exceeds S$200.

Awards follow a separate table on the IRAS awards page:

For awards, IRAS treats gift and shopping vouchers as cash. Where a gift or award is taxable, the employer must declare it in the employee’s employment income for the year. Our guide to tax on employee benefits and Appendix 8A explains how benefits are reported. For hiring and work passes, see our sister site Singapore Employment Agency.

What records should you keep for corporate gifts?

Keep a gift register and the supporting invoices for at least 5 years from the end of the GST accounting period. Without them, IRAS can disallow input tax claims and deductions.

• Supplier tax invoices for every gift, showing the GST charged.
• A gift register listing the recipient, their company, the occasion, the date given, the cost excluding GST and whether input tax was claimed.
• For staff gifts, the staff list and the value per employee per occasion, so taxable amounts can be reported at year-end.

See our guide to GST record-keeping and IRAS audits for the wider requirements.

Frequently asked questions

Does the S$200 limit add up over 12 months for the same client?

No. IRAS tests gifts per recipient per occasion. Two S$150 hampers to one client for New Year’s Day and Chinese New Year are two occasions, so no output tax arises. Two hampers to one client for the same occasion are added together.

Do we charge GST when we give clients gift vouchers?

No output tax is deemed when vouchers are given away free, because a voucher is a supply of a right, which is a service.

Are Chinese New Year red packets for staff taxable?

Not if each red packet does not exceed S$200 and red packets are generally given to all staff. A S$250 red packet is taxable in full, so the employee is taxed on S$250, not S$50.

Can a company deduct a hamper sent to a director’s relative?

No. IRAS treats gifts to the owners’ friends and relatives as private expenses that must be added back in the tax computation. They are not business gifts, so the GST on them should not be claimed as input tax.

Last reviewed: 20 October 2026. The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services.