Family Office in Singapore: Rules, Costs and Tax in 2026
Singapore lets a single family office (SFO) manage one family's money without a MAS licence, under a class exemption that requires notifying MAS. Funds run by the SFO can apply for income tax exemption under sections 13O, 13OA and 13U of the Income Tax Act 1947. MAS says more than 2,000 SFOs were receiving these incentives at the end of December 2025. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Best for: Families with at least SGD 20 million in investments who want a Singapore-managed fund with income tax exemption and an Asian base, with an optional permanent residence route for SGD 200 million or more.
At a glance
| Licence | No licence: class exemption, notify MAS within 14 days |
|---|---|
| Minimum wealth | None for the exemption; SGD 20 million (13O) or SGD 50 million (13U) for tax incentives |
| Who counts as family | Descendants of a common ancestor up to five generations back, with current and former spouses, in-laws, adopted children and stepchildren |
| Serving several families | MAS capital markets services licence for fund management |
| Law and courts | Singapore law and courts |
| Substance | Locally resident director; for tax incentives, 2 or 3 investment professionals (one non-family), SGD 200,000 to SGD 1 million local spending a year and qualifying investments |
| Holding vehicles | Company, limited partnership, LLP, variable capital company (VCC), trust; no foundation law found |
| Corporate tax | 17%, with partial exemption on the first SGD 200,000 |
| Family office tax | Funds can apply for income tax exemption under 13O, 13OA or 13U (schemes run to 31 December 2029) |
| Personal income tax | Progressive, top rate 24% |
| Inheritance tax | No estate duty for deaths on or after 15 February 2008 |
| Wills and succession | Wills and the Intestate Succession Act; Muslim estates follow Faraid |
| Residence | Permanent residence via the Global Investor Programme: SGD 200 million under management, SGD 50 million invested in Singapore |
| Time to set up | Company: most registered soon after payment, up to 15 working days if complex, 14 to 60 days if referred; no official time for 13O/13U |
| Official fees | SGD 315 to register a company; no official fee found for the MAS notice or 13O/13U applications |
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Licence and who qualifies
How is a family office licensed in Singapore?
The SFO must be incorporated in Singapore and manage money only for one family (plus limited money of key employees). It needs no licence: it is exempt under paragraph 5(1)(ba) of the Second Schedule to the Securities and Futures (Licensing and Conduct of Business) Regulations, as revised from 15 June 2026. It must notify MAS within 14 days of starting business (SFOs operating before 15 June 2026 by 15 June 2027), hold accounts with a MAS-licensed bank for itself and its fund vehicles, and file an annual return within four months of its financial year end. [1, 2, 7, 8, 9]
What is the minimum wealth for a family office in Singapore?
The licensing exemption sets no minimum family wealth; the MAS FAQs and law firm summaries mention none. The tax incentives require the fund to hold at least SGD 20 million (13O/13OA) or SGD 50 million (13U) in designated investments, tested at application and at the end of each basis period. The permanent residence route (GIP Option C) needs at least SGD 200 million in assets under management. [2, 3, 6, 10, 11]
Who counts as family?
MAS defines family members as lineal descendants of a common ancestor (living or deceased) who is no more than five generations removed from the youngest generation that set up the SFO, including current and former spouses, adopted children, stepchildren, parents-in-law and siblings-in-law. The SFO may manage money of family members (including family trusts and companies wholly owned by and for the family) and charities funded only by the family. Money of key employees (executive directors, CEO, CFO and investment professionals) may be managed up to 10% of the SFO's assets under management. [2, 12]
Can one office serve several families?
A multi-family office manages third-party money for two or more families, so it must be licensed and regulated by MAS under the Securities and Futures Act. In practice this is a capital markets services licence for fund management, required for anyone managing assets of external investors unless exempt. [1, 8]
Law, substance and vehicles
Which law and courts apply?
Singapore law and Singapore courts. Family offices fall under the Securities and Futures Act 2001, the Income Tax Act 1947 and, for trustees, the Trust Companies Act 2005. Muslim estates go through the Syariah Court, which issues inheritance certificates. [3, 8, 13, 14, 15]
What substance is required?
Exempt SFO: incorporated in Singapore, notify MAS, keep accounts with a MAS-licensed bank and file annual returns; MAS's 2024 response and law firm summaries of the final framework add a Singapore-resident employee as MAS contact. A company also needs at least one locally resident director and a Singapore registered office. For 13O/13OA (13U) funds: 2 (3) investment professionals who are Singapore tax residents paid over SGD 3,500 a month, at least one not a family member; yearly local spending of SGD 200,000, SGD 500,000 or SGD 1 million depending on fund size (for larger funds partly through eligible donations and blended finance grants); and investing the lower of 10% of AUM or SGD 10 million in qualifying investments, such as securities listed on approved exchanges or Singapore operating companies. [1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16]
Which holding vehicles are available?
Company (private limited), limited partnership, limited liability partnership and variable capital company (VCC), all registered with ACRA. Trust business is regulated under the Trust Companies Act 2005; a private trust company is exempt from licensing but must engage a licensed trust company for AML/CFT compliance. No Singapore law on private foundations was found in the sources checked; MAS lets an SFO be held through a trust, foundation or other structure if it is funded only by family members and key employees. [2, 13, 17, 18]
Tax
What is the corporate tax rate?
Corporate income tax is 17%, with partial exemption on up to SGD 200,000 of chargeable income (also available to investment holding companies). Gains of a capital nature are not taxed, but since 1 January 2024 gains from selling foreign assets that are received in Singapore are taxable for entities of groups with entities or a place of business outside Singapore that lack adequate economic substance in Singapore. The 13O/13OA/13U incentives exempt the fund vehicle, not the family office company that manages it. [3, 19, 20, 21]
Are there tax incentives for family offices?
Funds managed by an SFO can get income tax exemption under sections 13O/13OA (minimum SGD 20 million in designated investments, 2 investment professionals) or 13U (minimum SGD 50 million, 3 investment professionals), with tiered local spending, a capital deployment requirement and a private banking account with a MAS-licensed financial institution. Section 13OA extends the 13O scheme to limited partnership funds registered in Singapore from 1 January 2025, and Budget 2024 extended the schemes to 31 December 2029. MAS also runs a Philanthropy Tax Incentive Scheme for family offices, launched on 1 January 2024. [1, 3, 11, 22, 23]
Is there personal income tax?
Resident individuals pay progressive income tax with a top marginal rate of 24% on chargeable income above SGD 1 million, from Year of Assessment 2024. Non-resident individuals pay 24% on income other than employment income and certain income taxed at reduced withholding rates; their employment income is taxed at 15% or the resident rates, whichever gives more tax. [24, 25]
Is there inheritance or estate tax?
No estate duty: IRAS states it was removed for deaths on and after 15 February 2008. The official sources checked did not address gift tax. [26]
Succession and residence
How do wills and succession work?
Non-Muslims can make a will; without one, the estate is divided under the Intestate Succession Act 1967 (a spouse with children gets half, the children share the other half). The Act does not apply to Muslims: their estates follow Muslim law (Faraid) through a Syariah Court inheritance certificate, and a will (wasiat) can pass at most one third to people who are not Faraid heirs. Muslims also plan with CPF and insurance nominations, joint tenancy and lifetime gifts (hibah). [14, 15, 27, 28]
Can the family get residence?
The EDB Global Investor Programme gives permanent residence. Option C: set up a Singapore SFO with at least SGD 200 million in assets under management, of which at least SGD 50 million is moved to Singapore and invested in EDB-specified investments (equities listed on Singapore approved exchanges) within 12 months of final approval. Family office principals need at least 5 years of entrepreneurial, investment or management track record and SGD 200 million in net investible assets; spouse and unmarried children under 21 can be included (EDB factsheet, February 2025). [6, 29]
Time and fees
How long does set-up take?
Indicative (ACRA, October 2026): most company registrations are approved soon after payment, complex ones take up to 15 working days, and referrals to other agencies take 14 to 60 days. MAS must be notified within 14 days of the SFO starting business. GIP processing takes about 12 months (EDB, February 2025); no processing time for 13O/13U applications was found in official sources. [2, 6, 16]
What are the official fees?
Indicative (ACRA, January 2026): company name reservation SGD 15 and registration SGD 300 (SGD 315 in total), annual return SGD 60; VCC name reservation SGD 15. GIP application fee SGD 20,000 from 5 May 2025 (EDB), plus a non-refundable ICA processing fee of SGD 100 per applicant. No official fee for the SFO notification or 13O/13U applications was found. [16, 18, 29, 30]
Private trust company
Does a private trust company need a licence in Singapore?
A private trust company is exempt from holding a trust business licence under section 15(1)(d) of the Trust Companies Act 2005, read with regulation 4(1)(a) of the Trust Companies (Exemption) Regulations (Rg 1). Regulation 2 defines a private trust company as a corporation whose sole purpose is to provide trust business services for a specific trust or trusts where each settlor of such a trust is a connected person in relation to any other settlor of any other trust, and each beneficiary is a connected person in relation to the settlor of that trust or is a charity, and which does not solicit trust business from, or provide trust business services to, the public. For an individual, connected persons are the persons listed in the Schedule to the Regulations and any firm or corporation in which the individual or those persons together control at least 20% of the voting power; for a corporation, they include its employees and directors (current and former) and corporations in which it or they control at least 20%. No change to the private trust company exemption between 2024 and 2026 was found: its paragraph carries no amendment note, and the latest amendments shown (S 447/2016 and S 230/2023) changed other paragraphs. [31]
Who supervises it, and what must it file?
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the 'Authority' under the Trust Companies Act 2005, which publishes the Exemption Regulations. A private trust company needs no MAS licence, and the Regulations contain no notification duty for it: the Form 8 notice of commencement in regulation 5(3) applies to persons exempt under section 15(1)(a) or (b) of the Act, while private trust companies are exempt under section 15(1)(d). [31, 32]
What local requirements apply?
Under regulation 4(2), a private trust company must engage a licensed trust company to carry out trust administration services for the purpose of conducting the checks needed to comply with MAS's written directions on preventing money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism; breaching this is an offence (regulation 4(3)). Regulation 5(1) applies sections 40 to 46, 61 and 62 of the Act and regulation 16 of the Trust Companies Regulations, with the necessary modifications, to exempt persons, including private trust companies. The definition refers only to 'a corporation' and does not itself require Singapore incorporation. [31]
What are the official fees?
No official PTC fee found: the exemption involves no licence or MAS filing fee. If the private trust company is a Singapore company, ACRA's indicative fees (January 2026) are SGD 15 for name reservation and SGD 300 for registration (SGD 315 in total), and SGD 60 for the annual return. [30, 31]
Pros and cons
Pros
- No MAS licence needed for an SFO: notify MAS within 14 days, bank with a MAS-licensed bank and file annual returns, with no minimum wealth for the exemption.
- SFO funds can be exempt from income tax under 13O/13OA/13U, with the schemes extended to 31 December 2029.
- No tax on gains of a capital nature and no estate duty for deaths on or after 15 February 2008.
Cons
- Tax incentives need real substance: 2 or 3 investment professionals (one non-family), SGD 200,000 to SGD 1 million of yearly local spending and capital deployment into qualifying investments.
- Residence via GIP Option C needs SGD 200 million in assets, SGD 50 million deployed in Singapore, a SGD 20,000 application fee and about 12 months of processing.
- Top personal income tax rate is 24%, and foreign asset sale gains are taxed for members of cross-border groups that lack economic substance in Singapore.
