Explore Themes

The presentation of the annual Government Budget is based on the financial year (FY) of the Government, which runs from 1 April of the year to 31 March of the following year.

Under Singapore’s Constitution, a distinction is made between the reserves accumulated by the Government during its current term of office, and Past Reserves, which refer to the reserves not accumulated by the Government during its current term of office. The Government is expected to balance the budget within its term and can only draw on Past Reserves with the approval of the President. This Constitutional framework protects past reserves by enforcing fiscal prudence, while allowing the Government to draw on them in times of need.

The Overall Budget Balance that is published by the Ministry of Finance and presented to the Parliament is based on revenues that the Government of the day can spend under the Constitution, offset against total expenditure, special transfers and top-ups to endowment and trust funds made by the Government. Not all Government revenues and receipts collected constitute revenue available for spending. Cash receipts that are not considered revenue available for direct Government spendings, such as cash receipts from land sales, accrue to Past Reserves.

Singapore separately publishes a set of Government finance data that follows the International Monetary Fund’s presentation format for Government finance statistics. This set of data includes all receipts, including items not available for spending by the Government of the day under Singapore’s Constitution.

Data

Please click on the topic to view the available data tables.

View latest data:

Key Indicators
Item Unit Latest Period Latest Data % Change
(Y-o-Y)  1/
Previous
Period Data
% Change
(Y-o-Y)  2/
Government Finance            
Cash surplus/deficit 3/ S$m Jul-23 1,577.2 64.4 2,705.8 223.9
Net cash inflow from operating activities S$m Jul-23 1,404.5 -9,921.7 2,807.4 354.5
Cash receipts from operating activities S$m Jul-23 8,348.7 4.9 9,585.4 7.8
Cash payments for operating activities S$m Jul-23 6,944.2 -12.9 6,778.0 -18.1
Net cash outflow from investments in nonfinancial assets S$m Jul-23 -172.7 -82.3 101.6 -146.6
Purchases of nonfinancial assets S$m Jul-23 775.1 121.5 963.5 55.6
Sales of nonfinancial assets S$m Jul-23 947.8 -28.4 861.9 3.0
Net cash inflow from financing activities 4/ S$m Jul-23 1,998.9 -71.9 11,218.9 1,285.2
Net incurrence of liabilities S$m Jul-23 2,604.2 -64.8 11,555.0 1,009.4
Domestic S$m Jul-23 2,604.2 -64.8 11,555.0 1,009.4
Foreign S$m Jul-23 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Net acquisition of financial assets other than cash S$m Jul-23 605.3 114.2 336.1 45.1
Domestic excluding cash S$m Jul-23 605.3 114.2 336.1 45.1
Foreign excluding cash S$m Jul-23 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
             
Item Unit Latest Period Latest Data % Change
(Y-o-Y)  1/
Previous
Period Data
% Change
(Y-o-Y)  2/
Government Debt            
Central Government Debt 12/ S$m Q2/23 1,102,454.3 11.6 1,081,495.3 23.7
External Debt S$m Q2/23 0.0 na 0.0 na
Domestic Debt S$m Q2/23 1,102,454.3 11.6 1,081,495.3 23.7
Issued for Non-Spending Purposes S$m Q2/23 1,095,554.4 11.2 1,074,595.4 23.3
Issued for Spending Purposes S$m Q2/23 6,900.0 165.4 6,900.0 165.4
Domestic Debt (Excluding Advance Deposits) S$m Q2/23 1,089,212.8 12.0 1,073,650.9 24.5
1 year maturity or less S$m Q2/23
119,661.5 7.6 112,273.8 -1.4
More than 1 year maturity S$m Q2/23 969,551.3 12.5 961,377.1 28.4
             
Item Unit Latest Period Latest Data % Change
(Y-o-Y)  1/
Previous
Period Data
% Change
(Y-o-Y)  2/
Overall Fiscal Position 5/            
Operating Revenue 6/ S$m FY 2022 90,278.4 9.4 82,486.5 22.4
Total Expenditure S$m FY 2022 106,947.7 12.8 94,796.2 9.8
Operating Expenditure 7/ S$m FY 2022 86,318.9 9.9 78,542.9 7.7
Development Expenditure 8/ S$m FY 2022 20,628.9 26.9 16,253.4 21.0
Primary Surplus/Deficit S$m FY 2022 -16,669.3 35.4 -12,309.6 -35.2
Special Transfers 9/ S$m FY 2022 9,162.8 34.2 6,828.3 -86.6
Special Transfers Excluding Top-ups to Endowment and Trust Funds  S$m FY 2022 2,912.8 -57.3 6,828.3 -79.6 
Basic Surplus/Deficit 10/ S$m FY 2022 -19,582.1 2.3 -19,138.0 -63.5
Top-ups to Endowment and Trust Funds S$m FY 2022 6,250.0 na - na
Net Investment Returns Contribution 11/ S$m FY 2022 21,610.8 6.1 20,364.9 11.6
Overall Budget Surplus/Deficit S$m FY 2022 -4,221.3 -444.0 1,227.0 -102.4
Capitalisation of Nationally Significant Infrastructure S$m FY 2022 2,278.4 248.6 653.5 na
Depreciation of Nationally Significant Infrastructure S$m FY 2022 - - - -
SINGA Interest Costs and Loan Expenses 12/ S$m FY 2022 93.2 na - na
Overall Fiscal Position S$m FY 2022 -2,036.0 -208.3 1,880.4 -103.6

Government Revenue and Expenditure

Title : Overall Fiscal Position, Annual

Million Dollars

Data Items

2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021

Operating Revenue * Operating Revenue excludes the repayment of loans and advances, interest income, investment income and capital receipts.

60,838.2
64,823.2
68,964.4
75,815.7
73,738.3
74,273.8
67,376.5
82,486.5

Corporate Income Tax

13,371.5
13,815.1
13,602.2
14,944
16,032
16,731.9
16,111.9
18,195.9

Personal Income Tax

8,926.7
9,234.9
10,526.2
10,724
11,705.8
12,367.7
12,747.8
14,222.5

Withholding Tax

1,126
1,402
1,474.1
1,531.6
1,589.9
1,637.3
1,618.3
1,858.6

Statutory Boards' Contributions * From FY2019 onwards, Statutory Boards' Contributions (SBC) from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in a given financial year are calculated as the average of 'Contribution to Consolidated Fund' (in lieu of corporate income tax) reported in MAS' financial statements for the preceding three years. This is to reduce the volatility in MAS' annual contributions. MAS' SBC in FY2019 should thus comprise one-third of 'Contribution to Consolidated Fund' reported in MAS' financial statements for FY2016/17, FY2017/18 and FY2018/19. As MAS' 'Contribution to Consolidated Fund' for FY2016/17 and FY2017/18 have been paid in full in FY2017 and FY2018 respectively, MAS' SBC in FY2019 comprises only one-third of MAS' 'Contribution to Consolidated Fund' for FY2018/19.

515.9
438.3
775.4
4,865.8
1,490.5
1,798.1
2,519.1
2,855.3

Assets Taxes

4,340.6
4,455
4,359.5
4,439.7
4,649.1
4,761.7
3,127.8
4,672.2

Customs, Excise And Carbon Taxes

2,539.7
2,833
2,730
3,132.9
3,075
3,263.5
3,581.8
3,749.7

Goods And Services Tax

10,215
10,345.1
11,078.3
10,959.5
11,137.1
11,163.7
10,345.7
12,627.7

Motor Vehicle Taxes

1,602.9
1,759.7
2,148.4
2,152.5
2,623.4
2,418.9
2,133.1
2,225.7

Betting Taxes

2,591
2,719
2,682
2,688.2
2,663.9
2,619.9
1,721.7
2,313.3

Stamp Duty

2,783.6
2,768.9
3,278.5
4,905.1
4,606.9
4,199
3,895.7
6,762.3

Other Taxes * Includes the foreign worker levy, annual tonnage tax, water conservation tax and development charge.

6,097.1
5,876.2
6,044.5
6,019.3
6,628.9
6,683.2
3,605.6
5,277.7

Vehicle Quota Premiums

3,394.1
5,424.8
6,550.6
5,796.1
3,616.4
2,865.4
2,297.2
3,217.8

Fees And Charges (Excluding Vehicle Quota Premiums) * Includes revenue from Licenses, Permits, Service fees, Sales of goods, Rental of Premises, Fines and Forfeitures and Reimbursements.

3,010.5
3,248.8
3,208.9
3,279.1
3,489.7
3,409.4
3,181.4
3,610.3

Others * Excludes repayment of loans and advances, interest income, investment income and capital receipts.

323.8
502.2
505.7
377.8
429.6
353.9
489.4
897.5

Total Expenditure * Comprises Operating Expenditure and Development Expenditure. Development Expenditure excludes land-related expenditure items.

56,648.3
67,447
71,044.9
73,556.2
77,823.9
75,337.2
86,365.8
94,796.2

Social Development

27,206.8
31,292.6
33,839.4
36,468.1
35,819.7
36,607.3
44,516.3
47,049.6

Security And External Relations

17,196.1
18,451.6
19,541
20,462.5
21,410.7
21,276.4
20,523.9
23,733.5

Economic Development

10,146.8
15,540.7
15,300.5
13,871.9
17,780.9
14,374
18,720.6
20,713.4

Government Administration

2,098.6
2,162.2
2,363.9
2,753.8
2,812.6
3,079.5
2,605
3,299.6

Primary Surplus/(Deficit)

4,189.9
-2,623.9
-2,080.4
2,259.4
-4,085.7
-1,063.5
-18,989.3
-12,309.6

Special Transfers * Special Transfers refer to discretionary transfers made by the Government and these include one-off direct transfers to businesses and households, as well as top-ups to endowment and trust funds created by the Government for specific expenditure objectives.

12,356.2
10,369.2
6,372.3
6,122.4
8,988.6
15,129.4
50,821.7
6,828.3

Special Transfers Excluding Top-Ups To Endowment And Trust Funds

3,856.2
4,369.2
2,772.3
2,112.4
1,688.6
1,561.4
33,501.7
6,828.3

Basic Surplus/(Deficit) * Refers to before Top-ups to Endowment and Trust Funds, Net Investment Returns Contribution, Capitalisation and Depreciation of Nationally Significant Infrastructure and SINGA Interest Costs and Loan Expenses.

333.7
-6,993
-4,852.7
147
-5,774.3
-2,624.9
-52,491
-19,138

Top-Ups To Endowment And Trust Funds

8,500
6,000
3,600
4,010
7,300
13,568
17,320
0

Net Investment Returns Contribution * Prior to FY2009, up to 50% of Net Investment Income (NII) could be taken into the annual Government Budget for spending. With effect from FY2009, under the Net Investment Returns (NIR) framework, up to 50% of the expected long-term real returns on the relevant assets specified in the Constitution can be taken in for spending. For the other assets, up to 50% of NII can continue to be used for spending in the annual Government Budget. Refers to contributions from investment returns on reserves, where Net Investment Returns Contribution is the sum of: (1) up to 50% of the expected long-term real rate of return on the relevant assets specified in the Constitution; and (2) up to 50% of the net investment income on the remaining assets.

8,737.8
8,943.3
14,577.5
14,723.9
16,412.7
17,037.5
18,244
20,364.9

Overall Budget Surplus/ (Deficit)

571.5
-4,049.7
6,124.8
10,861
3,338.5
844.7
-51,567
1,227

Capitalisation Of Nationally Significant Infrastructure

Na
Na
Na
-
-
-
-
653.5

Depreciation Of Nationally Significant Infrastructure

Na
Na
Na
-
-
-
-
0

Singa Interest Costs And Loan Expenses

Na
Na
Na
-
-
-
-
0

Overall Fiscal Position

Na
Na
Na
10,861
3,338.5
844.7
-51,567
1,880.4
SOURCE : ACCOUNTANT-GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT

Definitions

Visit Glossary Page

Other References

Public Finance
Ministry of Finance View
Singapore’s Budget View
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore View
Singapore Customs View