Calculating and Understanding the Skills Development Levy in Singapore
SDL or Skills Development Levy in Singapore is a compulsory levy that employers have to pay for their employees who are working in Singapore. Employers who are on top of FWL and CPF contributions have to pay this. The employees can be working as part-time, casual, temporary basis and permanent. Even you have to pay SDL for the foreign employees who are on work permit. In the case of a foreign employee, the SLD should be added with FWL or Foreign Worker Levy. The SDL is payable to the Ministry of Manpower. This fund is used for supporting workforce upgrading programs. It is also used for providing training grants to those employers who send the employees to train in supervision of the National Continuing Education Training system.
How To Calculate The SDL?
The SDL payable for each employee is based on the total wage of that particular employee for a calendar month. The total wage is inclusive of salary, commission, leave pay, bonus, overtime pay and allowances. So, the amount of SDL may vary from one employee to another. Under the Skills Development Levy Act, an employer must contribute the SDL for all the employees based on:
- For employees with a total wage of $800 or less, SDL payable is a minimum of $2.00.
- For an employee who has salary of $2000, SDL payable is $5.00.
- For the employees whose salary is $4,500 or more, total SDL payable is $11.25.
Thus, you can calculate the total SDL of all your employees based on this. In case you need further assistance, there are many reliable websites where you can find a Skills Development Levy calculator. You have to fill in some important information such as the number of employees and their wages etc. Then the calculator will be able to provide you with the exact SDL amount you have to pay. This will be really handy for you to calculate the overall SDL that you must pay to the Ministry of Manpower.
How To Pay SDL?
You can pay the Skills Development Levy in Singapore for your employees along with the Central Provident Fund contribution. For that you have to log in with the help of your CorpPass or SingPass. If you do not have it, then you need to complete your registration by applying a form. You can fill up the form and fax or send it to their official address. Your form will be screened and then your request will be processed. You will receive a main acknowledging the same. Once this is done, you can use the CorpPass or SingPass to pay your SDL. Meanwhile, you can continue to submit it with any of the current submission mode.
Things To Know Before Filing SDL
Before filing the Skills Development Levy, you need to know and understand some of the important things. These are:
- The SDL must be paid within the 14th day of a month for the previous month. For example: If you want to pay the SDL of June, then you have to pay it by July 14.
- You will be penalized with an extra of 10% per annum on the total outstanding amount of SDL for late payment.
- On behalf of SSG (Skills Future Singapore Agency), the Central Provident Fund Board collects the Skills Development Levy.
- In case you have only foreign based employees, then you can pay this levy directly to the Skills Future Singapore Agency by issuing a cross cheque which is payable to SSG or GIRO.
5. Do not forget to include your details, such as Unique Entity Number, contact person, business name, business address and period of payment, when you are paying.
Conclusion
Skills Development Levy in Singapore is something compulsory and must be paid on time. Being an employer, you have to pay it on behalf of every employee you have. It is also important to take the help of a reliable calculator online to calculate the exact amount of Skill Development Levy that you have to pay. Also, check the rules and regulations very carefully before you proceed to pay the SDL. You can also check the past SDL payments you have made by log in to your account. This makes the process easier for you to keep a track too.