Singapore GST Refund 2026: Tourist Refund Scheme Guide

Singapore’s sales tax is called GST, and it is 9%. Visitors can claim it back on goods through the Tourist Refund Scheme. The whole thing is electronic: your purchases are tagged to your passport in the shop, and you claim at a self-service eTRS kiosk at the airport. There is no paper form to carry around.

Singapore GST Refund Calculator

Enter what you plan to spend to see the GST inside the price.

Shopping in

Total spend (shelf price)

GST inside your purchase · 9% rate

SGD 123.85reclaimable

Typical refund deskfees vary by shop
GoodVat app90% of the GSTSGD 111.47

Minimum spend in Singapore: SGD 100.00, same retailer, same day. Singapore refund rules

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The GoodVat app handles your tax-free claim automatically, with no refund-desk queue, and pays out 90% of the GST. 1,300+ refunds issued so far. It's in private beta, and Singapore is next. Join now to get in first.

Private beta members get their first refund fee-free. We'll only email you about the beta. Privacy

See how the app works

Estimate only. Uses the standard tax rate and a typical operator commission; your refund depends on the goods, the retailer and the refund operator.

Who Can Claim a GST Refund in Singapore?

You are 16 or older when you buy.
You are not a Singapore citizen or permanent resident, and you haven’t been working in Singapore.
You are not crew on the flight or ship you are leaving on.
You show your original passport in person at the shop. A photo or photocopy isn’t accepted.

Minimum Purchase Amount

You need to spend at least S$100, GST included. Same-day receipts from the same retailer can be combined to reach it, up to three receipts. Receipts from different retailers can’t.

Only shops in the scheme can do this. Look for a “Tax Free” sign or ask before you pay.

Step 1: Shop and Show Your Passport

Tell the cashier you want a GST refund and hand over your passport. The shop issues an electronic eTRS transaction linked to it. You won’t normally receive a paper ticket.

Step 2: Claim at an eTRS Kiosk

Where you claim depends on where the goods are travelling:

In checked luggage: use the eTRS kiosk in the Departure Check-in Hall, before you check in and before immigration.
In hand luggage: use the kiosk in the Departure Transit Lounge, after immigration.

Scan your passport, confirm your purchases and pick a refund method. The kiosk tells you whether customs wants to inspect the goods. If it does, go to the Customs Inspection Counter with the goods before you move on.

The scheme works when you leave by air from Changi or Seletar, and for some cruise departures. It does not apply if you leave by land across the Causeway to Malaysia.

Step 3: Get Your Refund

You can be refunded to a credit card, to Alipay, or in cash at the Central Refund Counter in the transit lounge. Refunds are paid by the approved refund operator, not by Singapore Customs.

How Much You Actually Get Back

GST at 9% is 8.26% of the price you pay. On a S$1,500 purchase that is S$123.85.

You’ll usually receive a little less. The shop, its refund agency or the cash counter can each deduct a handling fee, and the amount varies. The eTRS transaction shows the refund figure, so check it before you leave the shop.

Deadlines and Common Mistakes

Two months. You must take the goods out of Singapore within two months of buying them.
Twelve hours. After your refund is approved at the kiosk, you have to depart with the goods within 12 hours.
Using the wrong kiosk. Checked goods are claimed before check-in. If you check the bag first, that claim is gone.
Leaving by road. No refund on the Causeway or the Second Link.
Using the goods in Singapore. The refund is for goods you take home.