How to save on income taxes

My philosophy of managing wealth is to maximise the income and investment returns while aggressively cutting costs. Always go for the cheapest while not compromising on quality if possible. In this case, taxes contribute to nation building which has little direct visible impact on myself.

This page is your best friend on how to reduce taxes: https://www.iras.gov.sg/irashome/Individuals/Locals/Working-Out-Your-Taxes/Deductions-for-Individuals--Reliefs--Expenses--Donations-/#title7

Parent Relief

The most common I can think of is the Parent Relief since many of us still stay with parents here in Singapore. Yes as long as your parents are no longer working (< $4,000 annual income) and staying with you, you can claim relief for it. See the page for the exact criteria. You'd have to manually submit this claim in your annual income assessment as the government won't know automatically you fulfill the criteria or not (although technically they have the means to do it).

I realised it only after a few years of working which fortunately wasn't too late as I was able to retro-claim the relief up to a few years back (i.e. IRAS giving you back your $$, rare isn't it?)

SRS Relief

You can contribute to SRS and do investment for the long-term while saving taxes. SRS contribution cannot be backdated, i.e., contribute beyond the limit now and claim back the relief retroactively. The max contribution for Singaporean Citizens and PR is $15,300.

CPF Cash Top up Relief

Instead of giving allowance to your parents as cash, you can consider topping up the SA (below 55 yrs old) or RA (above 55 yrs old). You can get tax relief for up to $7,000 contributed.  There is a way to do this sustainably I can think of but I shan't share it here.