Gender-neutral Working Parent's Child Relief to Support Diverse Caregiving Arrangements

Ms Valerie Lee asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance whether the Government will consider introducing a gender-neutral Working Parent's Child Relief claimable by either working parent, particularly for families where the mother stays home to care for multiple children and the father is the sole breadwinner, so that tax support better reflects different caregiving arrangements.

The objective of the Working Mother's Child Relief (WMCR) is to encourage married women to remain in the workforce after having children. This objective remains relevant as women are still more likely than men to exit the workforce to care for their children.

To support and encourage parenthood, we also have other measures, such as the Qualifying Child Relief and Parenthood Tax Rebate, which are available to both mothers and fathers.

We will continue to review how to better support Singaporeans in their marriage and parenthood journey. The Government has set up a Workgroup to drive a Marriage and Parenthood Reset, which will release its findings in early 2027.