Tax Relief Support Equivalent to Working Mother's Child Relief for Working Fathers as Sole Caregivers

Ms Elysa Chen asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) how many current working fathers are the sole caregivers of a child following the death of, or divorce from the mother; and (b) what tax reliefs are available to them that are equivalent to the Working Mother's Child Relief.

Ms Indranee Rajah: Based on the Department of Statistics' household survey estimates between 2023 and 2025, there were about 8,200 employed resident males on average per year who were widowed, divorced or separated, and living with dependent children 1 in their household. We do not collect data on whether they were the sole caregivers of these children.

The objective of the Working Mother's Child Relief is to encourage married women to remain in the workforce after having children. To support and encourage parenthood, working fathers are eligible for Qualifying Child Relief and Parenthood Tax Rebate.

Note(s) to Question No(s) 10:

1 Dependent children refer to children aged below 16, or aged 16 and above and studying full-time.