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Three hundred dollars a month versus sixty. That’s the full gap between the standard foreign domestic worker levy and the concessionary rate, and plenty of eligible households are still paying the higher amount simply because nobody completed the one small administrative step that unlocks the lower one.
What the Levy Actually Costs, by Situation
Households that need to pay maid levy bills each month fall into one of three brackets. The standard rate for a first helper is $300 a month, rising to $450 for a second or subsequent helper in the same household. The concessionary rate, available to households meeting specific eligibility criteria, drops that to just $60 a month, a difference of $240 that compounds every single month a qualifying household isn’t actually enrolled.
Levy Concession: Common Questions
Who actually qualifies for the concessionary rate?
A household qualifies through a Singapore citizen child under 16, a Singapore citizen aged 67 or above, a permanent resident aged 67 or above with a citizen family link, or a person with disabilities who needs help with at least one daily living activity and has a recommendation letter from the Agency for Integrated Care.
Do I need to submit a separate application?
In most cases, no. The concession applies automatically once the eligibility criteria are met and the relevant step is completed, such as adding a qualifying household member through the FDW eService portal. A person with disabilities is the exception, since that case also requires a separate application through AIC.
How many helpers can one household get the concession for?
The concession is capped at one helper per eligible person in the household, and at two helpers per household overall, regardless of how many qualifying people live there.
What if the concession isn’t showing up on my bill?
A check form exists for exactly this situation, one version for a child-based claim and another for an elderly or disability-based claim, with a response on the outcome typically arriving within two working days.
How the Lower Rate Actually Shows Up
Once the qualifying step is completed, the concession doesn’t apply instantly to the very next bill. It typically appears within the next two billing cycles, and includes a backdated adjustment covering the gap between when the household became eligible and when the lower rate actually took effect. Checking the next two levy bills carefully, rather than assuming the correction happened automatically, is worth the five minutes it takes.
Paying the Bill Itself, Whichever Rate Applies
Regardless of which rate a household ends up paying, the maid levy subsidy doesn’t change how the bill gets settled. GIRO remains the simplest method, deducting the amount automatically on the due date, which falls on the 17th of the following month. If a GIRO application hasn’t gone through yet, PayNow QR covers the gap in the meantime. Either way, the bill becomes viewable online from the third working day of each month, well before payment is actually due.
Why the Second Helper Costs More Than the First
The jump from $300 to $450 for a second or subsequent helper isn’t an administrative quirk, it reflects a deliberate policy design meant to moderate overall demand for foreign domestic workers at the household level. A household weighing whether to bring on a second helper should factor that higher rate into the real monthly cost from the outset, rather than assuming it simply mirrors whatever the first helper’s levy already costs.
What Changes When a Qualifying Member Leaves the Household
Eligibility for the concessionary rate isn’t locked in permanently once granted. If the qualifying household member, a young child who turns 16, an elderly relative who moves out, moves out or no longer meets the criteria, the levy reverts to the standard rate from that point onward. It’s worth updating FDW eService promptly when a household’s composition changes, since the system has no way of knowing a qualifying member has left unless it’s told.
A Related Support Worth Knowing About
Separately from the levy concession itself, households supporting a family member who needs help with three or more daily living activities may also qualify for a Home Caregiving Grant of up to $400 a month, administered through the Agency for Integrated Care. It isn’t the same scheme as the levy concession, but the two are often relevant to the same household at the same time.
Not sure which bracket a household actually falls into, or whether a concession should already be showing on the bill? Contact Eden Grace Maid Agency for a check.
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