--- id: sgkb.cpf-social-security.self-employed-cpf kind: article title: "Self-Employed CPF" url: https://ik.sg/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.cpf-social-security.self-employed-cpf language: en evidence_status: verified last_verified: 2026-10-14 collection_as_of: 2026-10-16 --- # Self-Employed CPF Self-employed persons in Singapore must contribute to MediSave when annual net trade income exceeds S$6,000, excluding platform earnings from work year 2025, while Ordinary and Special Account contributions remain voluntary. # Self-Employed CPF Self-employed persons (SEPs) in Singapore are not covered by the employer-employee [CPF contribution](/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.cpf-social-security.cpf-contributions) system, because they have no employer to pay a share. Instead, the Central Provident Fund (CPF) requires an SEP to contribute to the MediSave Account when the person's annual net trade income exceeds S$6,000, so that self-employed people still build savings for healthcare costs ([medisave](/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.healthcare.medisave)). Contributions to the Ordinary and Special or Retirement Accounts remain voluntary for SEPs. Platform workers such as ride-hail drivers and delivery riders have had a separate CPF framework since 2025, covered in [platform workers](/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.business-industry.platform-workers). ## Who counts as self-employed CPF Board treats a person as self-employed if the person runs the person's own business, works for themselves and is in a position to make a business profit or loss ([CPF Board, accessed Oct 2026](https://www.cpf.gov.sg/member/growing-your-savings/cpf-contributions/saving-as-a-self-employed-person)). Sole proprietors, partners and freelancers typically fall into this group. The measure used for CPF is net trade income (NTI): gross trade income minus allowable business expenses, capital allowances and trade losses, as determined by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). An SEP does not declare NTI separately to CPF Board; it is taken from the person's IRAS income tax return ([CPF Board, accessed Oct 2026](https://www.cpf.gov.sg/member/growing-your-savings/cpf-contributions/saving-as-a-self-employed-person)). This link to the tax return means MediSave contributions for SEPs are assessed once a year after the tax assessment, rather than monthly as for employees. ## The MediSave obligation A self-employed person whose annual NTI exceeds S$6,000 must contribute to MediSave; the threshold is strictly greater than S$6,000, and the denominator is annual NTI as assessed by IRAS, not gross turnover or total income from every work arrangement. The amount depends on the person's age and NTI, and CPF Board provides a calculator rather than a single published rate ([CPF Board, accessed Oct 2026](https://www.cpf.gov.sg/service/article/do-i-still-have-to-contribute-to-my-medisave-if-i-am-a-self-employed-person-and-an-employee-and-or-a-platform-worker)). The obligation applies even if the person also has a job or does platform work. SEP MediSave contributions are payable in addition to the CPF contributions made on employment or platform earnings, in the same way that an employee with several jobs contributes on the wages from each. A person whose total income from employment (excluding Additional Wages such as bonuses) and platform work exceeds the maximum total annual income for the year can apply to limit the SEP MediSave payable ([CPF Board, accessed Oct 2026](https://www.cpf.gov.sg/service/article/do-i-still-have-to-contribute-to-my-medisave-if-i-am-a-self-employed-person-and-an-employee-and-or-a-platform-worker)). ## Platform earnings and the 2025 change From work year 2025, net earnings from platform work that a platform operator declares to CPF Board are excluded from the NTI used to calculate an SEP's MediSave contribution ([CPF Board, accessed Oct 2026](https://www.cpf.gov.sg/service/article/do-i-still-have-to-contribute-to-my-medisave-if-i-am-a-self-employed-person-and-an-employee-and-or-a-platform-worker)). The exclusion avoids double contributions: since 1 January 2025, CPF on platform earnings is handled by platform operators under the Platform Workers Act framework described in [platform workers](/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.business-industry.platform-workers). The practical result is that a person who both drives for a ride-hail platform and runs a separate business pays CPF on the platform earnings through the operator, and SEP MediSave only on the NTI from the non-platform business, if that exceeds S$6,000. A person whose only self-employed income is platform work therefore no longer pays SEP MediSave on it. ## Paying, tax relief and licence renewal An SEP's MediSave contribution is due 30 days from the date CPF Board issues the notice of contributions. The SEP can pay through PayNow or request an instalment plan ([CPF Board, accessed Oct 2026](https://www.cpf.gov.sg/member/growing-your-savings/cpf-contributions/saving-as-a-self-employed-person)). Contribute-As-You-Earn (CAYE) is an alternative arrangement in which SEPs contribute to MediSave at the point their corporate service buyers pay them, spreading the contribution through the year instead of paying it as an annual lump sum ([CPF Board, accessed Oct 2026](https://www.cpf.gov.sg/member/growing-your-savings/cpf-contributions/saving-as-a-self-employed-person)). Mandatory MediSave contributions receive full income-tax relief, while relief on voluntary contributions is capped. Unpaid MediSave can affect an SEP's business: an SEP can apply for or renew a licence only if the person has an active GIRO arrangement to pay MediSave by instalments or has settled the amount in full ([CPF Board, accessed Oct 2026](https://www.cpf.gov.sg/member/growing-your-savings/cpf-contributions/saving-as-a-self-employed-person)). Because the compulsory SEP contribution goes only to MediSave, a self-employed person's retirement savings depend on voluntary contributions and top-ups such as those in [cpf top up schemes](/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.cpf-social-security.cpf-top-up-schemes); the wider adequacy question is covered in [cpf retirement adequacy](/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.cpf-social-security.cpf-retirement-adequacy). ## Sources - [CPF Board — Saving as a self-employed person](https://www.cpf.gov.sg/member/growing-your-savings/cpf-contributions/saving-as-a-self-employed-person) — Accessed 2026-10-14 - [CPF Board — Do I still have to contribute to my MediSave if I am a self-employed person and an employee and/or a platform worker?](https://www.cpf.gov.sg/service/article/do-i-still-have-to-contribute-to-my-medisave-if-i-am-a-self-employed-person-and-an-employee-and-or-a-platform-worker) — Accessed 2026-10-14 ## Explore connections - Articles: [CPF Contributions](https://ik.sg/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.cpf-social-security.cpf-contributions) - Articles: [CPF Top-Up Schemes](https://ik.sg/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.cpf-social-security.cpf-top-up-schemes) - Articles: [Healthcare Financing](https://ik.sg/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.healthcare.healthcare-financing) - Articles: [MediSave](https://ik.sg/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.healthcare.medisave) - Articles: [Platform Workers and Platform Work Protections](https://ik.sg/en/knowledge/article/sgkb.business-industry.platform-workers) - Topics: [CPF and social security](https://ik.sg/en/knowledge/topic/sgtopic.social-security) - Topics: [CPF for self-employed persons](https://ik.sg/en/knowledge/topic/sgtopic.social-security.self-employed-cpf) - People & organisations: [Central Provident Fund Board](https://ik.sg/en/knowledge/entity/sg.agency.cpf-board) - People & organisations: [Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore](https://ik.sg/en/knowledge/entity/sg.agency.iras) Dates describe this record’s own period and applicability. A verification date does not mean a rule is currently in force. An expanding collection. Published counts show available knowledge, not complete coverage of Singapore.