SME Cash Grant 2026

The SME Cash Grant 2026 is a one-off business-support measure in the second package announced on 29 July 2026 in response to the Middle East situation. IRAS says eligible businesses will be notified and paid in November 2026, subject to being active at disbursement; no application is required because eligible businesses are assessed automatically (IRAS, accessed 29 Aug 2026; gov.sg, Budget 2026, accessed 29 Aug 2026).

Amount and cap

Eligible businesses with local qualifying employees during April–June 2026 receive S$500 per local qualifying employee, capped at S$2,500 per business. The amount is based on the highest number of qualifying local employees in any month in that period, provided CPF contributions were made on time (IRAS, accessed 29 Aug 2026). The grant is paid to the business, not directly to each employee.

Sole proprietorships and partnerships with no local qualifying employees may receive a flat S$500 if at least one local business owner meets IRAS's net-trade-income condition. For partnerships, IRAS says the relevant test uses the partner with the lowest net trade income. Individuals employing workers under their NRIC are not eligible (IRAS, accessed 29 Aug 2026).

The business must be active and registered in Singapore, and must meet at least one size test: annual revenue of no more than S$100 million for YA 2025 assessed by IRAS as at 31 August 2026, or no more than 200 employees as at 30 June 2026. IRAS says companies, sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability partnerships and limited partnerships can be assessed; the precise employee and owner conditions still apply to the relevant business form (IRAS, accessed 29 Aug 2026).

The grant is separate from other measures in the same package, including the enhanced Enterprise Financing Scheme, which raises the Government risk-share to 70% for specified loans from September 2026 to March 2027. It is also separate from the first package's Corporate Income Tax rebate and Energy Efficiency Grant changes; those measures have different eligibility tests and timelines (gov.sg, Budget 2026, updated 10 August 2026).

Timing and interpretation

IRAS says payment will be made through GIRO or PayNow Corporate in November 2026, with notification sent to the business's registered address and myTax Portal. The IRAS page says an eligibility checker is expected from mid-October 2026 and that appeal details will be published nearer to disbursement. The grant should therefore be treated as a computed, business-level payment under the IRAS tests, not as an automatic maximum for every SME (IRAS, accessed 29 Aug 2026).