GST for a family office: what applies to fund and management costs

How does GST apply to the costs of a family office in Singapore?

Goods and Services Tax, or GST, is the Singapore consumption tax, set at 9% since 1 January 2024 (Wikipedia, Goods and Services Tax). A family office in Singapore pays GST on many of its costs, such as rent, software and professional services, when the supplier is GST-registered. Reading each invoice shows which costs carry GST and which sit outside it, and that first reading is the base for every later decision.

Two features of the tax matter for families. Most financial services are exempt, and international services are zero-rated. Fund and management costs fall between these rules, which is why the family office keeps the entity, the fund and the manager clearly separate in its records. Each separation shows who charges GST and who may recover it.

How does GST treat the management fee that a family fund pays?

Fund management services include research, investment advice and the preparation of reports, and the manager charges a fund management fee in return (IRAS e-Tax guide for the fund management industry). When a GST-registered manager supplies these services, they are generally subject to GST rather than exempt. The fee on a family fund therefore starts as a cost that may carry GST.

The place where the client belongs changes the rate. Services to a client who belongs in Singapore are standard-rated, and services to a client who belongs outside Singapore can be zero-rated when all stipulated conditions are met. The family office asks the manager to state which treatment applies to each fund, so the invoice matches the structure.

What is the GST remission for a qualifying family fund?

A GST remission lets a qualifying fund recover the GST it incurs on expenses for its investment activities. The IRAS explanatory notes apply the remission to funds, including Variable Capital Companies, that meet all the qualifying conditions (IRAS explanatory notes to GST remission for prescribed funds). The remission gives a family fund a route to a cost base that reflects its investment activity.

A related remission covers services supplied to a qualifying fund incorporated or registered overseas that belongs in Singapore only because it relies wholly on a Singapore fund manager. The supplier reports those services as zero-rated. A Singapore fund manager here is a prescribed manager that holds a capital markets services licence or an exemption from holding one.

Which family funds meet the conditions for the GST fund remission?

A fund qualifies when it satisfies the conditions of the specific income tax concession at the end of its preceding financial year. In plain terms, last year’s status decides this year’s claims. A fund that met the concession for the financial year ending 31 December 2018, for example, could claim GST for 2019 (IRAS explanatory notes, Appendix 2).

The family office therefore ties the GST file to the income tax file. The fund’s concession position at each year-end becomes the first line of the GST review, and a short note in the minutes records it. A family that tracks both files in one calendar gains a clear answer to the question of whether claims are open this year.

Which expenses can a family fund recover GST on under the remission?

A qualifying fund can recover GST incurred on all expenses for the purpose of its qualifying investment activities, with the exception of disallowed expenses under regulations 26 and 27 of the GST (General) Regulations. The test is purpose: an expense that serves the fund’s investment activity is a candidate for recovery. The family office labels each expense with its purpose when it books the cost.

In general the fund supports each claim with a valid tax invoice that meets regulation 11 of the same regulations. A fund’s own professional and administrative costs are the first place to look, and the regulations decide each case. The labelled ledger turns a claim into a short review of invoices against the purpose test.

How does a family office handle invoices addressed to the fund manager?

Suppliers often address invoices to the fund manager, the trustee or an umbrella fund instead of the fund. As an administrative concession, IRAS considers allowing claims on such prescribed expenses, subject to conditions. The expense appears in the fund’s financial accounts, payments leave the fund’s bank accounts, and the fund holds a statement from the manager that shows its portion of the expense and the GST amount.

The statement also refers to the supplier’s tax invoice, and the fund manager completes an undertaking that confirms the same GST is claimed once, by the fund. This undertaking protects the single claim. The family office requests the statement and the signed undertaking from the manager each period.

When does the GST remission start and end for a family fund?

The remission starts on its effective date or on the date the fund receives the specific income tax concession, whichever is later, and it ends on the last day the fund qualifies for the concession. New funds and funds without a preceding year receive an administrative concession for year 1, provided they meet the concession at the end of that year.

A further concession applies when a fund misses the minimum spending condition in year 1 and meets the concession at the end of year 2. The GST incurred in year 2 becomes claimable once the fund establishes that it meets the conditions, and funds self-assess without prior IRAS approval. The GST incurred in year 1 stays outside the claim.

What should a family office keep on file for GST fund claims?

For each period of claim, keep a purchase listing with the date of the tax invoice, the invoice number, the supplier’s GST registration number, the supplier’s name, the description of the expense, the value before GST and the GST amount. IRAS asks the fund to maintain this listing and submit it on request. The date to record is the date on the tax invoice.

Add the fund’s concession status, the manager’s statement and the signed undertaking to the same folder. A 30-minute pre-diagnostic with EQOS Asia (EQOS Asia private page, 2026) can place these costs in the wider family decision. This page is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice, as of October 2026.

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About the author

Stéphane Jambu

President, EQOS Forecast Asia

Stéphane Jambu leads EQOS Forecast Asia and works as a consultant in e-commerce, search visibility, and AI. LinkedIn profile