If i invest in the US do I have to pay taxes in Singapore?

Singapore investors are not subjected to capital gains tax on investments made in the US. However, we are subjected to withholding tax on dividends paid out by these investments by the US government, and this tax is 30%. Meaning to say, if your dividend payout of a US stock you hold is $100, you only get $70, with the $30 automatically deducted by your brokerage.

If you are buying ETFs however, top US ETF providers such as Vanguard also domicile their ETFs in Ireland, which are then traded on the London Stock Exchange. If you buy an Irish-domiciled ETF, the withholding tax on US securities falls from 30% to 15%, as Ireland has a tax treaty with the US, and does not add on any local withholding tax on UCITS funds (UCITS funds are funds under a regulatory framework by the EU that allows for the sale of cross-Europe mutual funds).

So for example, rather than buying VOO, a popular ETF by Vanguard that tracks the S&P500 index, you might wanna consider its Ireland-domiciled counterpart: VUSD, for a higher dividend payout since you are taxed 15% less for the dividend payouts.

Cheers and all the best in your investment journey! :)

- Jeffrey (jeffreyleezq.com)

Singapore investors are not subject to capital gains tax on investments made in the US. However, we are subjected to withholding tax on dividends paid out by these investments. For the US, this tax will be 30%. Fortunately, this is automatically deducted by the broker and the amount that is reflected in your broker account will be the net dividend payout already.