About 1.5 million eligible adult Singaporeans will receive up to S$850 in cash under the enhanced GST Voucher (GSTV) scheme, said the Ministry of Finance in a Jul. 4 press release.

The disbursement, which will take place in August 2024, was first announced in the 2023 Budget delivered by then-Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

Eligible Singaporeans will receive either S$850 or S$450, depending on the Annual Value (AV) of their homes.

To be eligible, Singaporeans will need to fulfil the following criteria:

• Be aged 21 years old and above in 2024
• Have an assessable income of up to S$34,000 in 2023

You can check if you're eligible at the govbenefits website here.

GSTV - Cash

If you haven't signed up for the GSTV Scheme, you can do so at the govbenefits website by Jul. 9, 2024 to receive your payments in August.

The cash will be paid out to your NRIC-linked PayNow account (if you have one), or your valid bank account if you don't.

If you have neither, you'll receive payment via GovCash. You can withdraw this at OCBC ATMs islandwide by entering your Payment Reference Number (retrievable from govbenefits website), your NRIC, and passing the facial verification.

You do not need an OCBC bank account to withdraw this payment.

GSTV- MediSave

There's also a second component to the GSTV scheme that will be disbursed this August: MediSave top-ups.

About 650,000 eligible adult Singaporeans aged 65 and above in 2024 will receive up to S$450 in top-ups.

This will be credited directly to their CPF MediSave accounts in August 2024.

As with the cash disbursement, you can check your eligibility through the govbenefits website linked above.

This comes after a S$1,100 MediSave top-up last month, for members of the Pioneer Generation.

What is the GSTV Scheme?

Announced in Budget 2012, the GSTV Scheme is a permanent initiative to help lower- and middle-income Singaporeans offset some of their GST expenses.

There are four components: cash, MediSave, U-Save, and S&CC rebate.

In this year's Budget, PM Wong announced a S$6 billion top-up to the GSTV fund to help defray GST expenses for lower- and middle-income households.

Take note however: to safeguard against scams, SMS notifications regarding the GSTV scheme will only be for informational purposes and will not require any replies, link clicks, or additional information provided.

Messages regarding the GSTV will also not be disseminated via WhatsApp or any other mobile app messaging platforms.

Top image from Canva