International Headquarters Award (IHQ)

What does it support?

Qualifying headquarters functions can include group management and coordination, sourcing and procurement, supply-chain management, marketing control and planning, human resources, legal and finance services, and brand management.

The focus is the headquarters activity undertaken in Singapore, rather than the presence of a Singapore entity alone.

Who can apply?

The entity must be registered and operating in Singapore and undertake qualifying global or regional headquarters activities. There is no local ownership requirement. Standard EDB exclusions apply, including certain regulated financial and maritime entities unless referred by the relevant regulator.

How does the support work?

The award can apply a concessionary corporate tax rate of 5%, 10% or 15% to qualifying income in excess of base income, subject to the approved terms and milestones. There is no fixed monetary grant cap: the benefit depends on the approved rate and qualifying income.

What expenditure can qualify?

IHQ is not a cost-reimbursement scheme. The benefit applies to qualifying headquarters income. For a cost-centre headquarters, the relevant income is the cost-plus mark-up from qualifying headquarters activities.

Employment and expenditure commitments are award conditions; they are not an expense budget reimbursed by the incentive.

Key conditions

The qualifying period is five years, with commitments linked to the concessionary rate. Total business expenditure (TBE) and skilled-employment thresholds are:

• 5% rate: at least 18 additional skilled employees and S$8 million additional annual TBE by Year 3; at least 30 additional skilled employees and S$13 million TBE by Year 5.
• 10% rate: at least 15 additional skilled employees and S$5.5 million additional annual TBE by Year 3; at least 25 additional skilled employees and S$9 million TBE by Year 5.
• 15% rate: at least eight additional skilled employees and S$3 million additional annual TBE by Year 3; at least 13 additional skilled employees and S$5 million TBE by Year 5.

The proposed hiring and expenditure plan should support the commitments for the intended award tier.

Timing and application process

Applications are considered on a rolling basis. Engage EDB before project commitment and prepare the Core Form and Supplementary Form covering the proposed headquarters activities, investment and skilled employment.

Important programme distinctions

Base income is generally the average net profit before tax from qualifying activities over the preceding 36 months. Base income does not apply to cost-centre headquarters.

Large multinational groups within Singapore's Domestic Top-up Tax scope should assess the effect of the 15% minimum effective tax rate when evaluating the award's economic benefit.

Related funding routes

• Development and Expansion Incentive for Services — for qualifying service activities outside the headquarters track.
• Refundable Investment Credit — for qualifying strategic investments.
• RIS(C) — for relevant R&D and innovation activities.