Qualifying Child Relief (QCR) / Handicapped Child Relief (HCR)

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Qualifying Child Relief (QCR) and Handicapped Child Relief (HCR) are the reliefs given to recognise the efforts of families in supporting their children.

How do you qualify for Relief?

You may claim QCR / HCR for the Year of Assessment (YA) 2016 if you are a parent maintaining an unmarried child who satisfies all these conditions:

QCR and HCR Claim Criterea
Qualifying Conditions	Qualifying Child Relief (QCR)	Handicapped Child Relief (HCR)
Is the child born to you and your spouse /ex-spouse or child is a stepchild or child is legally adopted.	Yes	Yes
Is the child below 16 years old or studying full-time at any university, college or other educational institution at any time in 2015	Yes	Not applicable
Child does not earn an annual income exceeding $4,000 in 2015	Yes	Not applicable
Child is mentally or physically handicapped	Not applicable	Yes

Annual income includes the following:

Taxable income, for example employment, National Service Allowances, trade and rental
Tax exempt income for example bank interest, dividends and pensions
Foreign-sourced income, regardless of whether it has been remitted to Singapore
Income from internship and attachment.

Income of your child does not include scholarships, bursaries and similar allowances.

Example

The child is below 16 years in 2015 and received employment income exceeding $4,000.

Mr Hon's daughter, Marie is 15 years old in 2015. She did some part time work from Feb to May 2015 and received an income of $5,000 for that period.

Mr Hon will not qualify for QCR in respect of Marie as her income for 2015 is above $4,000.

Example

The child completed NS in 2014 and started full-time studies in 2015.

Mr and Mrs Lee have a son, Ryan, who completed National Service in 2014. Ryan commenced his full-time university studies in 2015. Ryan did not have income exceeding $4,000 in 2014 or 2015.

Mr and Mrs Lee don’t qualify for QCR for YA 2015 as Ryan is above 16 years of age and was not studying full-time in 2014.

Mr & Mrs Lee qualify for QCR for YA 2016 as Ryan was studying full-time in 2015 and did not have income exceeding $4,000.

Determining Child Order

The order of your child in the family unit is based on the following:

QCR and HCR Child Order
For a child born to you and your spouse / ex-spouse	This is based on the date of birth shown in your child's birth certificate.
For a child born to you and your spouse / ex-spouse before you are married to your spouse/ex-spouse	This is based on the date of marriage.
For a step-child	This is based on the date of birth shown in your child's birth certificate.
For a legally adopted child	This is based on the date of legal adoption as shown in the adoption papers.

A deceased child is taken into account in determining the order of children, but not a stillborn child (a child for whom no birth certificate has been issued).

Amount of Relief

QCR and HCR Relief
Year of Assessment (YA)	Qualifying Child Relief (QCR)	Handicapped Child Relief (HCR)
From YA 2015	$4,000 per child	$7,500 per child
From YA 2009 to YA 2014	$4,000 per child	$5,500 per child
QCR/HCR + WMCR is capped at $50,000 per child^#

#QCR / HCR, regardless of whether it is claimed by the father or mother, will be allowed first. WMCR will be limited to the remaining balance.

Claiming Other Reliefs on the Same Child

You can only claim either QCR or HCR on the same child.

If you are a working mother and have met all the conditions for working mothers child relief (WMCR), you may claim QCR / HCR and WMCR on the same child.

Sharing Relief on the Same Child

You may share the QCR / HCR on the same child with your spouse / ex-spouse based on an agreed apportionment.

When you share the QCR / HCR with your spouse / ex-spouse, the total claim amounts cannot exceed $4,000 (QCR) and $7,500 (HCR) for each child.

Example

Sharing HCR on a handicapped child

Mr and Mrs Goh have a handicapped child who is 11 years old in 2015. For YA 2016, Mr and Mrs Goh have agreed to share the HCR of $8,500.

Based on their agreed apportionment, Mr Goh and Mrs Goh will claim $4,500 and $4,000.

Example

Claiming QCR and WMCR, capped at $50,000 per child

Mr and Mrs Chan have an only child who is 9 years old in 2015. Mrs Chan has an earned income of $320,000 for that year.

For YA 2016, she is eligible for WMCR of $48,000 (15% of her earned income).

However, as Mr Chan has claimed QCR of $4,000 on his child, Mrs Chan's WMCR claim is capped at the remaining $46,000.

Example

Claiming Parenthood Tax Rebate (PTR) and WMCR

Mr and Mrs Koh's first child was born in 2015. They are both 35 years old when the child was born. Mrs Koh was working and had an earned income of $80,000 for that year.

They decided that Mrs Koh would claim the full amount of QCR of $4,000

Mr and Mrs Koh are also entitled to parenthood tax relief of $5,000 for their first child. They have agreed to share the amount of PTR equally.

Mrs Koh is a Singapore tax resident for the Year of Assessment (YA) 2016 and her tax computation for YA 2016 is as follows:

QCR and HCR Example
Employment Income of Mrs Koh	$80,000
Less: Personal Reliefs
- Earned Income Relief	$1,000
- QCR	$ 4,000
- WMCR	$12,000 (15% X $80,000)
- CPF Relief	$16,000
Chargeable Income	=$47,000 ($80,000 - $33,000)

Computation of Mrs Koh's Tax Payable for YA 2016

QCR and HCR Example
Chargeable Income for Mrs Koh	$47,000
First $40,000	$550
Next $7,000 @ 7%	$490
Gross Tax Payable	$1,040
Less: PTR	$1,040
Net Tax Payable	0

Notes

$550 - Based on the income tax rates for Singapore tax resident for YA 2016.

$1,040 - Both Mr and Mrs Koh are entitled to PTR of $5,000 for their first child born in 2015.

Any unutilised amount of PTR will be carried forward to offset against the income tax payable for subsequent years until the rebate has been fully utilised.