GST Voucher 2022: Cash payout, date, eligibility and more

The GST Voucher is something that many Singaporeans look out for every year. But many don’t know how much they’ll get from the government, and when the GST Voucher payout date is.

Some of us don’t even know if we qualify. It’s time to keep track of how much you’re due to receive from the GST Voucher payout. What with electricity prices going up and inflation having reached new highs, we could use all the help we can get.

This year, there will be additional payouts on top of the regular GST Voucher (cash of up to $400 that was announced earlier in 2022). Here’s what you need to know.

We answer the most frequently asked questions below:

What is the GST Voucher scheme?

The permanent GST Voucher scheme was introduced in Budget 2012 as a way to help lower-income Singaporeans ease the pain of — you guessed it! — the forthcoming GST hike and the rising cost of living.

Now, where it gets confusing is what the components are. There are 4 parts:

• GST Voucher — Cash (cash voucher)
• GST Voucher — U-Save (utilities rebates, given 4X a year in Jan, Apr, Jul and Oct)
• GST Voucher — Medisave (Medisave top-up in Aug)
• GST Voucher — S&CC (service & conservancy charges rebates, paid in Jan, Apr, Jul and Oct)

 But also, just for 202, there will be additional free money on top of the usual GST Voucher packages. These comprise:

• GST Voucher — Cash Special Payment (an extra payout on top of the usual GST Voucher)
• GST Voucher — U-Save Special Payment (extra utilities rebates by September)
• One-off relief for taxi drivers and private car hires

So let’s summarise all the GST Voucher freebies for 2022, in chronological order:

 There are different eligibility requirements, payout amounts and payout dates for each one. Details in the following sections.

Who is eligible for GST Voucher in 2022?

There are five main criteria to meet before you are eligible for GST Voucher – Cash in 2022.

In summary, you’ll have to tick all of the following boxes to be eligible: 

1. You are a Singapore Citizen, residing in Singapore
2. You are aged 21 years old and above in 2021
3. You earned $34,000 or less in 2021
4. Your home (as indicated on your NRIC) as at 31 December 2021 must not exceed $21,000 in Annual Value
5. You must not own more than one property

You will be notified in August 2022 after the payment has been made to your account. If you are a kan cheong spider and want the information immediately, you can log in to the Govt Payout website (SingPass needed) to check.

Never received a previous GST Voucher payout before?  You will need to sign up at the website first.Do it by 17 July 2022 to be amongst the early batch of people to receive your payout. If you’re in no rush, you have all the way until 30 Apr 2023 to sign up. 

If you needed a visual aid of how to do this, you know you can trust MoneyTok to deliver. Here: A visual explainer for you.

What is the Annual Value of my property?

According to IRAS, the Annual Value of a property is the estimated gross annual rent if it were to be rented out, excluding furniture, furnishings and maintenance fees.

For example, if you’re staying in a 5-room HDB flat, and your neighbour who also owns a 5-room HDB flat is renting out their flat for $1,500 a month, then your property Annual Value is around $1,500 x 12 = $18,000.

Unfortunately, simply knocking on your neighbours’ doors does not tell you the actual Annual Value of your home, because it’s calculated by IRAS.

But there’s a quick and easy way to check the Annual Value of your property. Log in to IRAS MyTax Portal and go to “View Property Portfolio” and you can see the current AV of your property.

If you need to check the Annual Value of someone else’s property, you can also do so via IRAS website’s Check Annual Value of Property. There’s a $2.50 fee per search.

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When is the GST Voucher 2022 payout date? 

The two separate GST Vouchers will be given out at the same time. Woohoo! It’s like Christmas came early. Here are the GST Voucher payout dates for 2022.

To get your GST Voucher — Cash payouts ASAP, make sure that you have set up your PayNow and linked it to your NRIC. Check with your bank if you have linked up your NRIC to your preferred bank account.

Otherwise, your GST Voucher — Cash payments might be delayed.

If you don’t have PayNow (or haven’t linked it to your NRIC) you will receive a direct bank credit to your DBS/POSB, OCBC or UOB bank account.

In place of cheques, the government has introduced the new GovCash service. Wait, what’s that?

Basically, it allows you to withdraw your payments in cash from 500 OCBC ATMs across Singapore even if you don’t have an OCBC account. You can easily do so with the help of digital ambassadors at the bank branches. Alternatively, you can also choose to transfer the money to a bank account of your choice using PayNow via the LifeSG app and by logging in with your Singpass.

How much will I get this GST Voucher 2022? 

As for the amount you get, it depends on the Annual Value of your home.

 If the Annual Value of your home is $13,000 or less, you will get $300 + $400 = $700.

If the Annual Value of your home is between $13,001 and $21,000, you will get $100 + $250 = $350.

Other than GST Voucher – Cash, what else can I get?

Most HDB households are eligible for GST Voucher – U-Save, a quarterly subsidy for utilities bills. There is no income requirement, but you must not own more than one property. 

Elderly Singaporeans are eligible for GST Voucher – Medisave, an annual top up to their Medisave Account.

Do I qualify for GST Voucher – U-Save in 2022?

Only HDB households are eligible for the GST Voucher – U-Save.  GST Voucher – U-Save is given to 3 groups:

• Those who own and live in the HDB flat
• Those who own and live in the flat, and also rent out one or more of the rooms 
• Those who rent the entire HDB flat

In all cases, there must be at least one Singapore citizen owner/occupier/tenant. Also, immediate family members living with you in the same HDB flat must not own any other property.

If you qualify, you will automatically receive the U-Save rebates in your utility bills. There’s no need to sign up or register.

How much U-Save rebates will I get?

On top of the regular U-Save rebates, households are also privy to additional rebates under the Household Support Package (HSP) and the Assurance Package (AP).

The amount of U-Save rebates depends on your HDB flat size — the bigger the flat, the less you get (because you are presumably more affluent that those living in small flats).

U-Save rebates will be automatically credited to the utilities account of the HDB household every quarter. You’ll see it reflected in your April 2022, July 2022, Oct 2022 & Jan 2023 utility bills. Both the regular U-Save and HSP U-Save rebates will be provided in the same months.

The additional AP-Save rebates under the Assurance Package will be provided from Jan 2023 onwards till Jan 2026 in the usual four quarters. The additional AP-Save rebates are as follows:

 Should the U-Save rebate actually be higher than your utility bill for that month, the unused portion won’t disappear — it’ll simply be rolled over to the next month(s) bill. There’s no expiry date for the rebates. It will only lapse if you close your utilities account.

Do I qualify for GST Voucher – Medisave in 2022?

There are four main criteria to meet before you are eligible for GST Voucher — Medisave:

1. You are a Singapore Citizen, residing in Singapore
2. You are aged 65 years old and above in 2022
3. Your home (as indicated on your NRIC) as at Dec 31, 2021 must not exceed $21,000 in Annual Value
4. You must not own more than one property

As with GST Voucher — Cash, you’ll be credited automatically on Aug 1, 2022 if you are eligible. You can log in to the Gov Payouts website from June 1, 2021 to check.

If you have previously received any sort of GST Voucher or government payout, there’s no need to sign up. Your Medisave will be topped up automatically.

Otherwise, you can sign up for the GST Voucher scheme online. The sign-up process is for the Cash and Medisave components together, so no need to sign up twice. Sign-up opens from July 18, 2022 to April 30, 2023.

How much do I get from the GST Voucher – Medisave payout?

You can get between $150 to $450, depending on your age and the annual value of your home.

This amount will be credited to your Medisave Account. You can use your Medisave for your own medical needs, or for the needs of your immediate family, regardless of their nationality.

Other than GST Voucher, what other freebies can I get?

The GST Voucher scheme is permanent. But in certain years, like this one, the government gives extra payouts. The extra payouts for 2022 are under a wider budget called the Household Support Package and Assurance Package, which includes:

• GST Voucher — Cash Special Payment
• GST Voucher — U-Save Special Payment
• AP U-Save rebate
• $100 credit for household utilities
• One-off relief of $150 for taxi drivers and private hire car drivers
• $200 EduSave account top-up for Singaporeans between seven-16 years old studying in a MOE-funded primary or secondary school

Now, we’ve already covered the two GST Voucher Special Payments and AP U-Save rebate above. But what about the rest?

$100 credit for utilities: ALL Singaporean households will get $100 credit to offset their utilities bill by September 2022.

One-off relief for taxi drivers and private car drivers: To qualify, private hire car drivers need to have completed an average of 200 trips/month from March 1 to May 31 this year.

They must also be a part of must be of the National Private Hire Vehicles Association, while delivery drivers and motorcycle riders must be part of the National Delivery Champions Association to qualify for the relief. Applications can be done with the NTUC Freelancers and Self-Employed Unit Relief Scheme.

$200 top-up for Singaporean kids: All Singaporean kids between age seven-16 years old will receive a one-off top up on $200 into their Edusave, PSEA or CDA account. This was already disbursed in May 2022 (Edusave or PSEA).

This article was first published in MoneySmart.