You have to pay a levy for your helper every month. Find out the levy rates, how you can pay and the penalties for non-payment or late payment.
What is the foreign worker levy
The foreign worker levy, commonly known as “levy”, is a pricing mechanism to regulate the number of foreigners in Singapore.
As an employer, you don’t have to pay Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions for your helper. However, you must pay a monthly levy for her.
For first-time helpers, the levy will begin on the
5th day of their arrival (including the arrival date). Otherwise, the levy will begin the next day after the helper arrives.
The levy ends when the Work Permit is cancelled or expires.
Levy rate
The levy rate for helpers is as follows:
|
Type of levy
|
Monthly rate
|
Daily rate
|
| Normal (1st helper) |
$300 |
$9.87 |
|
Normal (Subsequent helpers) |
$450 |
$14.80 |
|
Concessionary
|
$60
|
$1.98
|
Note:
- The daily levy rate only applies to helpers who did not complete a full calendar month. The daily levy rate is calculated as follows: (Monthly levy rate x 12) / 365 = rounding up to the nearest cent.
- The concessionary rate applies to families with a young child, elderly member or person with disability. Find out if you qualify for levy concession.
- When you are no longer eligible for levy concession or your number of helpers changes, the levy rate may be adjusted. The new rate takes effect immediately.
When and how to pay levy
You must pay the levy for each month by the 17th of the following month (or the next working day if it falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday). The payment due date is stated in your levy bill.
Your levy bill for May 2024 will be due on 17 June 2024.
For a convenient and hassle-free payment, you can apply for GIRO. If you do not have an existing GIRO arrangement to pay levy, you can pay using PayNow QR.
| After GIRO is approved |
- The levy for each month will be deducted from your bank account on the 17th of the following month (or the next working day if it falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday).
- To ensure your GIRO deduction is successful, you should maintain enough funds in your account by 6pm one working day before the deduction date. If the GIRO deduction is unsuccessful, your bank may charge you a failed transaction fee. Your next deduction may also be affected if you have set a deduction limit, and deduction amount exceeds that limit.
|
| If you need to pay levy using PayNow QR |
You must pay the levy for each month by the 17th of the following month (or the next working day if it falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday).
|
View levy bills online
You can view your latest levy bill on the 3rd working day of every month.
You will receive the printed levy bill on the following month if:
- You have not set up a GIRO account.
- Your GIRO account has changed.
- Your helper details have changed.
- The amount payable is different from the earlier month.
Penalties for not paying levy
If you do not pay the full levy on time, you may face the following penalties:
- You will be charged a late payment penalty.
- Your helper's Work Permit will be revoked.
- You will not be allowed to apply for or issue a new Work Permit, or renew an existing Work Permit.
- You may face legal action to recover the unpaid levy.