Singapore Car Cost Calculator (ARF, Excise, PARF Rebate)

About the Singapore Car Cost Calculator (ARF, Excise, PARF Rebate)

Work out the government charges on a car in Singapore, and what you get back when it comes off the road. From the Open Market Value (OMV) the calculator applies LTA’s tax structure: the S$350 registration fee, the Additional Registration Fee (ARF) in tiers of the OMV, the Vehicular Emissions Scheme rebate or surcharge for your car’s band, the EV Early Adoption Incentive for a fully electric car, excise duty of 20% of the OMV and GST at import, then adds the COE premium you bid.

For deregistration it works out the PARF rebate — a share of the ARF you paid that falls with the car’s age, with the cap for your COE’s bidding period — and the COE rebate for the months left on the 10-year COE, and shows both for every year of ownership, with what the taxes and COE cost you per year of use. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

Upfront taxes and fees

Every new car pays the registration fee of S$350 and the ARF, a percentage of the OMV in tiers (LTA tax structure). For cars with COEs from the 2nd bidding exercise of February 2023 onwards the ARF is 100% on the first S$20,000, 140% on the next S$20,000, 190% on the next S$20,000, 250% on the next S$20,000, 320% above S$80,000; for COEs obtained before that exercise it was 100% on the first S$20,000, 140% on the next S$30,000, 180% on the next S$30,000, 220% above S$80,000. Excise duty is 20% of the OMV, and GST at import is charged at the prevailing rate (9%) on the customs value plus the duty (Singapore Customs; IRAS GST rate/basics-of-gst/current-gst-rates)). The COE premium is the price of your Certificate of Entitlement, set by bidding and valid for 10 years (LTA; latest bidding results).

VES rebates, surcharges and the EV Early Adoption Incentive

Under the Vehicular Emissions Scheme the worst of a car’s CO₂, hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate emissions sets its band (LTA):

• Registered from 2018 to 2020: A1 S$20,000 rebate, A2 S$10,000 rebate, B nil, C1 S$10,000 surcharge, C2 S$20,000 surcharge
• Registered from 2021 to 2023: A1 S$25,000 rebate, A2 S$15,000 rebate, B nil, C1 S$15,000 surcharge, C2 S$25,000 surcharge
• Registered in 2024: A1 S$25,000 rebate, A2 S$5,000 rebate, B nil, C1 S$15,000 surcharge, C2 S$25,000 surcharge
• Registered in 2025: A1 S$25,000 rebate, A2 S$2,500 rebate, B nil, C1 S$15,000 surcharge, C2 S$25,000 surcharge
• Registered in 2026: A S$22,500 rebate, B nil, C1 S$7,500 surcharge, C2 S$22,500 surcharge, C3 S$35,000 surcharge
• Registered in 2027: A S$20,000 rebate, B nil, C1 S$15,000 surcharge, C2 S$30,000 surcharge, C3 S$45,000 surcharge

Rebates reduce the ARF, which stays at least S$5,000 except for fully electric cars registered from 2022 to 2027; surcharges are paid on top. Fully electric cars registered from 2021 to 2026 also get the EV Early Adoption Incentive: 45% of the ARF, up to S$20,000 (2021 to 2023), S$15,000 (2024 and 2025), S$7,500 (2026) by year of registration; the incentive ends after 2026.

PARF rebate

A car deregistered at no more than 10 years old, and never laid up, gets a PARF rebate: a share of the ARF paid, for the age bands up to 5 years, then 5 to 6, 6 to 7, 7 to 8, 8 to 9 and 9 to 10 years (LTA PARF and COE rebates):

• COE from the 2nd bidding exercise of February 2026 onwards: 30%, 25%, 20%, 15%, 10%, 5%, up to S$30,000
• COE from the 2nd exercise of February 2023 to the 1st of February 2026: 75%, 70%, 65%, 60%, 55%, 50%, up to S$60,000
• Earlier COEs: 75%, 70%, 65%, 60%, 55%, 50%, with no cap

For cars with VES rebates or other incentives the rebate is worked out on the net ARF paid. Imported used cars qualify if they were not more than 3 years old when registered in Singapore.

COE rebate

Deregister before the COE expires and you get back the premium paid for the time left: COE rebate = premium × unused months ÷ 120 (LTA). LTA counts full calendar months and the remaining days as a fraction of a month (30 days = 1 month); its own example is S$16,897 × 29.1 ÷ 120 = S$4,097. PARF and COE rebates can be taken in cash or used against the fees for your next car within 12 months of deregistration.

Limitations

• For private cars bought new; taxis, motorcycles, goods vehicles, Off-Peak Cars and COE renewals have other rules.
• LTA’s VES amounts are built in for cars registered from 2018 to 2027; for an earlier car enter the rebate or surcharge on its registration. LTA applies the 2021 surcharges to cars registered in July 2021 or later.
• For COEs from before the 2nd February 2023 exercise the ARF uses the tiers LTA lists for those COEs; a car registered under an earlier tier structure may have paid a different ARF, and its PARF rebate is the same share of the ARF actually paid.
• The COE rebate counts whole months of the car’s age; LTA counts the days too.
• Road tax, insurance, financing and the dealer’s own costs and margin are not included, and imported used cars’ extra surcharge is not added.
• Deregistering a Category E COE car, exporting within 2 years and other special cases change the COE rebate; LTA’s own enquiry service gives your exact figures.

Privacy

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