Companies planning to expand overseas can benefit from the Double Tax Deduction Scheme for Internationalisation (DTDi), with a 200% tax deduction on eligible expenses for international market expansion and investment development activities.
As announced at Budget 2018, the expenditure cap for Automatic DTDi will be raised from S$100,000 to S$150,000, effective from the Year of Assessment 2019.
DTDi supports activities across key stages of a company's overseas growth journey, including:
Please refer here for a full list of qualifying activities and expenditure available for DTDi.
The examples below illustrate potential tax savings through DTDi when an eligible expense is not an Allowable Business Expense1 under the Income Tax.
Note: From year of assessment 2019: Automatic DTDi expenditure cap will be raised from $100,000 to $150,000.
1 Allowable expenses generally relate to expenses incurred and related to the specified business. For more details please refer to IRAS website.
You can automatically claim 200% tax deduction on the first S$150,000 of eligible expenses for four activities per year of assessment. No prior approval from Enterprise Singapore is required for the following activities:
Eligible expenses on qualifying activities outside the four areas, and expenses exceeding S$150,000 will require Enterprise Singapore's approval.
Note: This does not apply to the extended scope of eligible expenses announced during Budget 2020. Companies will need to apply to Enterprise Singapore for the enhancements announced during Budget 2020.
For more information on Automatic DTDi, please click here.
Companies should meet the following criteria:
Projects should meet the following key objectives:
Applications must be submitted on the DTDi portal prior to starting the project.
2 Discretionary incentives refer to those under, (a) ITA - Sections 13A, 13F, 13S, 13V, 43C, 43E, 43G, 43J, 43P, 43Q, 43W, 43ZA, 43ZB, 43ZC, 43ZF, 43ZG, 43ZI or (b) Economic Expansion Incentives (Relief from Income Tax) Act - Part II, III, IIIB or X.
If you are a new DTDi user, register here.
Click here for a detailed step-by-step guide.
After completing the project, you should submit the Evaluation Form for Enterprise Singapore to issue the Letter of Support for your claims with IRAS.
Companies are not required to submit upfront documentation to IRAS for expenditure not exceeding S$150,000. You will, however, need to produce documentation as proof of expenditure and purpose, should IRAS request. These include purpose and itinerary of the trip, list of companies met, invoices and receipts of the qualifying expenses.
Click here for frequently asked questions on DTDi.
Click here for frequently asked questions on Employee Overseas Posting.
For assistance, kindly contact us at +65 6898 1800 or email us here.