Singapore · Tax regime
Fund Tax Exemption Schemes for Single Family Offices (sections 13O and 13U)
Open, and administered by MAS. Conditions were tightened in 2023 and have been refreshed since. MAS updates the conditions periodically, so the figures below should be re-confirmed with MAS before structuring.
This is the real reason most large families set up in Singapore. 13O and 13U exempt specified income from designated investments, meaning the fund's investment returns, from Singapore tax. Combined with no capital gains tax and no estate duty, a properly structured SFO can hold a global portfolio at close to zero Singapore tax leakage. The catch is that MAS now prices this in substance, not paperwork.
Qualifying routes
Requires a Singapore-incorporated fund vehicle, with a minimum fund size of SGD 20m at application and throughout. Minimum local business spending and investment professional headcount conditions also apply.
Requires a minimum fund size of SGD 50m, with higher local spending and headcount requirements. There is no restriction on the fund vehicle's jurisdiction.
The facts
- Minimum
- 20M SGD
- Total landed cost
- Setup and the MAS application typically run SGD 150k–400k. Ongoing audit, compliance, tax and administration commonly add SGD 200k+ per annum, before the mandated local business spending.
- Route type
- Tax regime, not a visa
- Timeline
- 3–9 months (Subject to MAS review. Timelines lengthened materially after the 2023 tightening.)
- Physical presence
- The family office must have real substance in Singapore. That means local investment professionals and genuine local spending.
- Family
- This is not a residence programme on its own. Principals and staff obtain Employment Passes, and the SFO also underpins GIP Option C
- Permanent residency
- No direct path. It is commonly paired with Employment Passes or GIP Option C.
- Citizenship
- No direct path.
- Language test
- None
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted. You would have to renounce.
- Requirements
- A single family office structure, with the fund beneficially owned by one familyMinimum AUM maintained (SGD 20m for 13O, SGD 50m for 13U)A minimum number of investment professionals employed in SingaporeA minimum annual local business spend, scaled to AUMThe Capital Deployment Requirement, a mandated allocation to Singapore-linked investmentsMAS approval
- The 2023 tightening raised the minimum AUM, the local investment professional headcount (including a requirement for non-family-member professionals) and local business spending. It also added a mandatory allocation to local investments through the Capital Deployment Requirement. Any adviser still quoting pre-2023 conditions is out of date.
- MAS conditions change with some regularity and apply both at the point of approval and on an ongoing basis. Breaching a condition can cost you the exemption retroactively.
- This is a tax exemption, not a residence permit. It does not give the principal the right to live in Singapore. That requires a separate pass.
- Singapore is a full CRS participant. The SFO gives no confidentiality from your home tax authority, and families from CFC jurisdictions may find the fund attributed back to them anyway.