Updated conditions for tax exemption of qualifying funds managed or advised by family offices

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) has announced the updated conditions for family offices to receive tax incentives in Singapore, effective 18 April 2022.

Further to our Article on “Singapore Tax Implications of Funds managed by Singapore Fund Managers”, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) has recently updated the conditions for the tax incentives for certain funds managed by family offices. The stricter conditions apply to the Resident Fund Scheme under Section 13O (formerly known as Section 13R) and the Enhanced Tier Fund Scheme under Section 13U (formerly known as Section 13X) applicable to funds managed by family offices.

Current applications will not be subject to the updated conditions if (i) the applicants submitted preliminary information before 18 April 2022 and have had correspondence with the MAS in the last six months, or (ii) they submitted a formal application to the MAS via MASNET before 18 April 2022.

In addition to existing conditions, the new conditions listed below now apply to funds managed or advised directly by a family office which:

(i) is an exempt fund management company (“FMC”) who manages assets for or on behalf of the family(ies)¹; and

(ii) is wholly owned or controlled by members of the same family(ies).

The following are the updated conditions:

	Section 13O (formerly known as Section 13R)	Section 13U (formerly known as Section 13X)
Assets under management (AUM)	A minimum fund size of S$10 million is required and committing to increase it to S$20 million within a 2-year grace period	A minimum fund size of S$50 million is required
Business spending *[subject to the tiered business spending framework^]*	Minimum annual total business spending of S$200,000 is required	Minimum annual local business spending of S$500,000 is required
Investment Professionals (“IPs”)²	Singapore fund manager must employ a minimum number of investment professionals	At least one investment professional must be a non-family member with a one year grace period allowed
Local investment	Minimum local investment is required

Tiered business spending framework

AUM range	Minimum total business spending S13O	Minimum local business spending S13U
AUM < S$50 million	S$200,000	S$500,000
S$50 million ≤ AUM < S$100 million	S$500,000
AUM ≥ S$100 million	S$1 million

How can we help

At Mazars, we have the expertise in structuring new investments managed and advised by family offices, and we can assist you in identifying the right tax incentives for your funds.

Contact us today to learn more about the new conditions to Section 13O and Section 13U and how the changes will impact the family offices sector in Singapore.

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[1] “Family” refers to individuals who are lineal descendants from a single ancestor, as well as the spouses, ex-spouses, adopted children and stepchildren of these individuals.

[2]: Singapore tax resident portfolio managers, research analysts or traders.

Tax Implications of Funds managed by SG Fund

Offshore or onshore funds managed by a Singapore fund manager will cause the gains/income of the funds to be taxable in Singapore even for offshore funds. However, specified income derived by these funds from designated investments [1] can be exempt from Singapore tax provided certain conditions are met under the tax incentive schemes below.