Singapore Amazon sellers: the 9% GST on your Amazon ads

Every Singapore seller without a GST number pays 9% on top of every dollar of Amazon ads, on amazon.sg as on amazon.com, and never gets it back. A GST-registered seller claims it back. But a small seller who registers only for that must charge 9% GST on every sale in Singapore, and consumers cannot claim it: registering then usually costs more than it saves. It pays when you sell to GST-registered businesses.

For FBA and FBM sellers based in Singapore, from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) and Amazon's own pages, checked in October 2026.

Work out your figures with our free calculator, Singapore preselected

In short

Who bills your ads, and what it adds

• amazon.sg ads: Amazon Asia-Pacific Holdings Private Limited, a Singapore company, the "Amazon Contracting Party" when the country is Singapore (Amazon Advertising Agreement). Amazon's fees "are exclusive of all Goods and Services Tax", and "where Singapore GST applies, Amazon will provide a valid tax invoice" (Seller Central, Singapore tax policies). A service supplied in Singapore is standard-rated at 9%.
• amazon.com and the other foreign marketplaces: Amazon bills you from abroad. Amazon's "Tax on Remote Services FAQ" counts advertising fees as remote services, and its row for Singapore is plain: tax ID given, fees not taxed; no tax ID, taxed. IRAS: "If you are not GST-registered and buy remote services from a GST-registered overseas provider, you must pay GST at the prevailing rate of 9%."

Already registered: is your GST number with Amazon?

1. Add it in Seller Central: Settings, Account Info, Tax Information, "Value Added Tax (VAT)/Goods and Services Tax (GST) Registration Numbers".
2. amazon.com ads then carry no GST. IRAS: you "provide your GST registration number to the vendor so that the vendor will not charge you GST on your business purchases". You have nothing to reverse charge either: the reverse charge applies only to businesses "not entitled to full input tax claims".
3. amazon.sg ads keep their 9%, which you claim as input tax with Amazon's tax invoice. Invoices are in Seller Central, Reports, Tax Document Library, Seller Fee Tax Invoices.

Charged GST on amazon.com ads by mistake? Ask Amazon for a refund: Seller Support, "Selling on Amazon", "My issue is not listed" (Tax on Remote Services FAQ). Amazon needs proof that your registration "was active during the billing period" (Amazon Ads help, "Tax refunds").

Forgot to claim GST on amazon.sg ads? IRAS wants a valid tax invoice "addressed to you"; if details are missing, ask the supplier to re-issue it. A refund of GST you under-claimed is made "within the time limit of five years from the end of the relevant accounting period(s)" (IRAS, correcting errors in GST returns, GST F7).

Small sellers: should you register just for the 9%?

Below S$1 million of taxable turnover a year, registration is not compulsory (IRAS, "Do I need to register for GST"). You can register voluntarily, under conditions that "have the force of law" (IRAS e-Tax Guide, January 2026):

• the e-Learning course "Overview of GST" and its quiz, before you apply;
• GIRO for GST payments and refunds, and a guarantee if IRAS asks for one;
• at least 2 years of registration;
• InvoiceNow: since April 1, 2026, every new voluntary registrant sends its invoice data to IRAS through InvoiceNow.

And once registered, you charge 9% on your sales in Singapore (IRAS: standard-rated supplies "you need to charge and account for 9% GST"). Your buyers are consumers: they cannot claim it back.

Example. A seller of home goods on amazon.sg, prices unchanged after registering. Each month: S$5,450 of sales, S$2,180 of stock (S$180 of it GST) and S$1,090 of ads (S$90 of it GST).

Registering costs this seller S$180 a month, S$2,160 a year, before the cost of InvoiceNow and GST returns. It recovers S$90 a month on ads and loses S$450 on sales. The GST on Amazon's own fees narrows the gap, but at this margin does not close it.

Selling to businesses (B2B)

If your buyers are GST-registered businesses, registering costs them nothing: they claim the 9% you charge. You then recover the 9% on your ads, S$1,080 a year on S$1,000 of ads a month, less the cost of being registered. In the calculator, choose "Seller to businesses (B2B)".

Frequently asked questions

Do my sales on amazon.com count toward the S$1 million?

Not when the goods go from a warehouse outside Singapore to a buyer outside Singapore: IRAS calls that "an out-of-scope supply". Exports of goods from Singapore do count: taxable turnover includes "zero-rated supplies (e.g. export of goods…)".

Can I claim GST on ads paid before I registered?

Generally no. IRAS allows pre-registration claims on services only within 6 months before registration and only if they are "not directly attributable to supplies made" before it, and ads bought before you registered mostly served sales made before it. The registration date "will not be backdated for the purpose of claiming input tax".

How do I get a binding answer for my business?

Ask IRAS for an advance ruling: "legally binding" on the Comptroller, from S$660 (GST included) for the first four hours of work.

Check your figures

Use the free Amazon Ads tax calculator, Singapore preselected, then take the figure to your tax adviser.

Spending less on clicks that never sell cuts the 9% too: see how negative keywords work and what happens to your ads when you run out of stock. Authors have their own case: Singapore KDP authors and the 9% GST.

Sources

• Do I need to register for GST, IRAS
• e-Tax Guide: Conditions for GST Voluntary Registration, IRAS, January 30, 2026
• GST InvoiceNow Requirement, IRAS
• Responsibilities of a GST-registered business, IRAS
• Conditions for claiming input tax, IRAS
• Claiming GST incurred before GST registration, IRAS
• Correcting errors made in GST return (GST F7), IRAS
• Purchasing remote services from overseas service providers, IRAS
• GST and digital economy: local businesses, IRAS
• Advance Ruling System for GST, IRAS
• Amazon Advertising Agreement ("Amazon Contracting Party"), Amazon Ads
• Tax refunds, Amazon Ads help
• Tax on Remote Services FAQ and Singapore tax policies, Amazon Seller Central

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