As announced by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam in the Budget Statement 2015, the Government will grant a one-year road tax rebate for petrol vehicles to ease the transition towards higher petrol duties.

2.      The road tax rebates will be applicable for one year, from 1 August 2015 to 31 July 2016, at the following rates – 20% rebate for cars, 60% rebate for motorcycles, and 100% rebate for commercial vehicles (taxis, buses and goods vehicles including goods-cum-passenger vehicles). Non-petrol vehicles will not get the rebate.

Road Tax Rebates for Different Vehicle Types

Petrol-driven, Petrol-CNG and Petrol-Electric Cars

3.      The road tax for petrol-driven and petrol-CNG cars will be reduced by 20% for the one-year period from 1 August 2015 to 31 July 2016, as shown in Table 1 below. For a typical 1,600cc car using intermediate grade petrol, the one year road tax rebate of $149 will offset about two-thirds of the increase in petrol duty.

   Table 1: Road Tax Rates for Cars

4.      Similarly, the road tax for petrol-electric cars will be reduced by 20% during this period. The road tax payable for petrol-electric cars continues to be based on either the engine capacity of the conventional engine, or the maximum motor power rating of the electric motor, whichever is higher. The road tax for petrol-electric cars from 1 August 2015 to 31 July 2016 is as shown in Table 2 below.

   Table 2: Road Tax Rates for Petrol-Electric Cars

5.      With this 20% rebate, the minimum road tax payment per year for petrol and petrol-hybrid Off-Peak Cars (OPCs) and revised OPCs^[1] will be reduced from $50 to $40 and $70  to $56 respectively during this period.  Similarly, the road tax of petrol and petrol-hybrid Classic cars will be reduced from $280 to $224 a year during this period.

Petrol-driven Motorcycles

6.      The road tax for petrol-driven motorcycles will be reduced by 60% for the period from 1 August 2015 to 31 July 2016, as shown in Table 3 below.

   Table 3: Road Tax Rates for Motorcycles

7.      Petrol-driven Classic motorcycles will also be granted the 60% road tax rebate and the revised road tax payable will be $112 a year during this period.

Petrol-driven and Petrol-Hybrid Taxis and Commercial Vehicles (Buses and Goods Vehicles including Goods-cum-Passenger Vehicles)

8.      The road tax for petrol and petrol-hybrid taxis and commercial vehicles will be reduced by 100%. Hence, commercial vehicles will not need to pay road tax during this one-year period. The revised tax rates are shown in Annex A (see Tables 4 to 6). To ensure that their road-tax is renewed automatically, vehicle owners should still ensure that road-tax renewal requirements, such as having valid motor insurance and passing vehicle inspections, are met. Upon successful auto-renewal, vehicle owners will receive an updated road tax disc. LTA would like to remind all vehicle owners that using a vehicle without satisfying these requirements is an offence chargeable under the Road Traffic Act and liable to a maximum fine of $2,000 upon conviction in Court.

Implementation of Road Tax Rebates

9.      Vehicle owners will be informed of the road tax payable one month before their current road tax expires^[2].Vehicle owners who need not pay road tax during this period will also be informed of the road tax auto-renewal dates and requirements one month before their current road tax expires.

10.     For vehicle owners who have already paid for road tax beyond 1 August 2015 based on current road tax rates, the excess road tax paid will automatically be offset against the road tax payable at the next renewal. If the vehicle is transferred before its next road tax renewal, the excess road tax paid will be offset against the transfer fee payable, and any remaining excess road tax paid will be transferred along with the vehicle to the new registered owner. For road tax renewals that extend beyond 31 July 2016, the above-mentioned rebates will only be applied to the road tax payable up to 31 July 2016.
 

^[1] OPCs are currently given an annual road tax discount of $800 from that payable by normal cars, subject to a minimum payment of $50 a year, while revised OPCs are given an annual road tax discount of $500 from that payable by normal cars, subject to a minimum payment of $70 a year.  There is no change to the road tax discount given to OPCs and revised OPCs.

^[2] Some vehicle owners receiving the renewal notices from LTA before June/July 2015 may still receive the road tax payable based on the old rates. LTA will inform these vehicle owners of any overpayment and rectify it subsequently.