Tax deductible donations up 13% to S$1.1b in 2014

TAX deductible donations to Singapore Institutions of a Public Character (IPC) rose by 13 per cent in 2014 to S$1.1 billion, compared to S$970 million received in 2013, said the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) in a press release on Wednesday.

"This upward trend in charitable giving reflects strong public support for local charitable causes," MCCY said.

MCCY was citing a statistic in the 2014 annual report released on Wednesday by the Office of the Commissioner of Charities (COC).

The increase was mainly due to increased giving to the social and welfare sector after the government announced a S$250 million matching programme in January 2014, said the report.

Contributions to the arts and heritage sector also nearly doubled from a year ago due to the launch of the Cultural Matching Fund, it said.

IPCs are registered charities dedicated to serving the needs of the Singapore community. There were 612 approved IPCs as at end-2014.

Donations to IPCs got a tax relief of 250 per cent in 2014. This means that for every S$100 of tax deductible donations made during the period Jan 1, 2014, to Dec 31, 2014, S$250 of the donors' assessable income would not be taxed.

This year, the tax relief is 300 per cent to encourage giving during Singapore's 50th anniversary celebrations. Meanwhile, the 250 per cent deductibility will resume from 2016 to 2018.

The report can be accessed here:

https://www.charities.gov.sg/Publications/Pages/Publications.aspx