Want to top up Medisave for tax relief, but my monthly pay varies for me to calculate how much exactly. How should I do so? MA then SRS and SA or simultaneously?

Hi anon,

Whether or not you should top up MA, MA and SA, MA/SA/SRS or a mixture is really a matter of how much tax relief you need.

If for example, you are just a top up of $5000 shy to push you out of, say, the 11.5% tax bracket (i.e. you estimate your assessable income to be $85K), then you just need to top up $5000 to any of the accounts.

Personally I'd take SA to help myself reach FRS faster, but if FRS is already reached, I'll go for SRS. You already have mandatory contributions from work and if you are going to exceed the CPF annual limit, you wouldn't be able to top up CPF MA directly anyway if you do so at the end of the year. If you pre-emptively top up but end up exceeding annual limit, they'll refund the excess without interest.

If exceed, surplus will be refunded. If you objective is just for tax relief, then go with SA then MA first.