What happened to Section 13R in Singapore?

Section 13R of the Singapore Income Tax Act was renamed to Section 13O effective from year of assessment 2019, following a renumbering of the Income Tax Act. The substantive requirements (S$20M+ AUM, 2 investment professionals, S$200k business spend) remained materially the same at the time of the rename but have since been tightened — see the current 13O detail page for current thresholds.

What happened to Section 13X in Singapore?

Section 13X was renamed to Section 13U as part of the same 2019 renumbering. The substantive requirements (S$50M+ AUM, 3 investment professionals with at least one non-family member, S$500k+ business spend) remained materially the same at the time of the rename but have since been tightened. See current 13U detail.

Should I still use the names 13R / 13X?

Most Singapore tax and family-office advisors now use the current names 13O and 13U. The legacy names 13R and 13X are still used in older client materials and articles, and in academic citations referring to pre-2019 cases. For any new application, MAS and IRAS reference the current section numbers.

Were any substantive changes made when 13R/13X became 13O/13U?

No. The 2019 renumbering was an Income Tax Act consolidation, not a policy change. Substantive tightening of the regimes happened later — particularly in 2022 when MAS announced higher business-spend thresholds, the non-family-member requirement under 13U, and explicit local-investment requirements.

Is there still a Section 13R or 13X in the Income Tax Act?

No. The section numbers 13R and 13X have been retired from the Income Tax Act since the 2019 renumbering. Any guidance citing 13R / 13X should be read as referring to the current 13O / 13U.

13R and 13X are legacy section numbers.

Renamed in the 2019 Income Tax Act consolidation. The active schemes are now Section 13O (formerly 13R) and Section 13U (formerly 13X). See 13O vs 13U comparison for current thresholds.

Sections 13R and 13X — Legacy Reference

Older Singapore family-office tax-scheme references still cite 13R and 13X. This page maps the legacy names to the current sections + flags what changed after the rename.

Name change at a glance

Legacy name	Current name	What it is
Section 13R	Section 13O	Resident family-office tax exemption — smaller AUM (S$20M+)
Section 13X	Section 13U	Resident family-office tax exemption — larger AUM (S$50M+)
Section 13CA	Section 13D (offshore fund exemption)	13D — non-resident fund vehicles managed in SG

What changed (and what didn't)

The 2019 rename was administrative

The Income Tax Act was consolidated effective year of assessment 2019. Old section numbers were retired and new numbers issued. The substantive requirements of the family-office tax exemptions at the time of the rename — AUM minimums, professional-headcount minimums, business-spend minimums — were materially unchanged.

2022 tightening was substantive

MAS materially tightened the 13O and 13U regimes in 2022. The biggest changes that affect anyone still relying on legacy 13R / 13X paperwork:

Higher business-spend minimums. 13O minimum lifted to S$200,000/year. 13U minimum lifted to S$500,000 and tiered upward by AUM band.
Explicit non-family-member rule under 13U. Now at least one investment professional must be a non-family member.
Explicit local-investment requirement. ≥10% AUM or S$10M (whichever lower) must be deployed into local SG investments.
Annual compliance review. Both regimes are reviewed annually for ongoing substance.

If you have older client materials or sales decks that quote 13R / 13X thresholds without the post-2022 tightening, treat the numbers as out of date.

Where to go next

13O vs 13U comparison

Side-by-side table, decision tree, migration timeline.

13O scheme detail

Full current requirements + application path.

13U scheme detail

AUM tiers, non-family-member rules, business-spend.

Last updated: 7 June 2026

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