The Singapore government will be spending S$1.1 billion in doling out the Bicentennial Bonus for its citizens, as announced in Budget 2019. The cash perks are on top of regular GST vouchers.

Why a bicentennial bonus?

As Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat noted, 2019 marks 200 years since the British declared Singapore as a free port, and it's an opportune time to reflect on our history.

Here's a break down of the bonuses to be given out.

1) Bicentennial bonus, on top of existing GST vouchers

The bonus is either $150 or $300 for Singaporeans.

To qualify, you must be:

• A Singaporean aged 21 and above in 2019.
• Have an annual home value of less than S$21,000 as of Dec. 2018
• Have a maximum of S$28,000 of assessable income for Year of Assessment 2018

To define assessable income:

“Assessable income” translates to the total amount of money you earn from your work in the course of a given year, as well as any rental income you might have earned, after deducting donations that are tax-deductible.

The cash vouchers are given out based on your annual home value.

• Annual home value of S$13,000 or less: S$300
• Annual home value of S$13,001 to S$21,000: S$150

2) Workfare Bicentennial Bonus

To qualify, you must be:

• At least 35 years old in 2018
• Be eligible for the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS)

An additional 10 per cent of WIS for work done in 2018 will be given out in cash, with minimum payment of S$100.

Here's the amount for employees and the self-employed respectively (ages as of 2018):

• Aged 35-44: S$100 - S$150 / S$100
• Aged 45-54: S$100 - S$220 / S$100 - S$147
• Aged 55 - 59: S$100 - S$290 / S$100 - S$194
• Aged 60 and above: S$100 - S$360 / S$100 - S$240

Persons with disabilities below age 35 eligible for the WIS scheme will receive S$100 - S$150

3) Income tax rebate

To qualify, you must be:

• Middle-income

There will be a 50 per cent rebate on your personal income tax in YA 2019, capped at S$200.

4) Edusave and PSEA top-up

Young Singaporeans (7-20 years old) will not miss out on the bicentennial party.

Here's the relevant amount for each account:

4.1 Edusave (between seven to 16 years old in 2019)

• S$150

4.2 PSEA, which stands for Post-Secondary Education Account (between 17 to 20 years old in 2019)

• Annual home value of s$13,000 or less: S$500
• Annual home value of more than S$13,000: S$250

5) CPF top-up

There is also additional support for older Singaporeans, of which 300,000 Singaporeans will benefit.

To qualify, you must be:

• Between 50 - 64 years old in 2019
• Have less than S$60,000 in your combined CPF ordinary and special account OR retirement account (as of Dec. 31 2018)
• Assessable income for YA 2018 not more than S$28,000
• Annual value of property not more than S$21,000 as of Dec. 21, 2018

Here's the relevant amount:

• Aged between 50 - 54 (in 2019)

  • Less than S$30,000 in account: S$500
  • Above S$30,00 - less than S$60,000 in account: S$300

• Aged between 55 - 64 (in 2019):

  • Less than S$30,000 in account: S$1,000
  • Above S$30,000 - less than S$60,000 in account: S$600

6) S&CC Rebate

To qualify, you must:

• Be the owner of a HDB flat, including executive and multi-generation flats
• Not have any household member owning or having any interest in a private property, or any household member who has rented out a whole flat.

The Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) rebate will be extended for another year. It will cost the government S$132 million and benefit about 930,000 households.

Here's the relevant amount for FY2019:

• 1 and 2-room flats: 3.5 months' rebate
• 3 and 4-room flats: 2.5 months' rebate
• 5-room flats: 2 months' rebate
• Executive/multi-generation flats: 1.5 months' rebate

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Top image adapted from Visitsingapore.sg