MTBLY

[SINGAPORE] Apple paid US$3.3 billion in income tax to Singapore in its 2026 financial year, benefiting from the Republic’s lower tax rates and incentives.

The payment, disclosed in the iPhone maker’s annual report for the year ended Sep 26, accounted for about 9.4 per cent of its worldwide cash income tax payments of US$34.6 billion.

Apple’s annual report also showed that Singapore’s tax rates and incentives reduced its tax expense by US$5.5 billion, compared with applying the US federal statutory rate of 21 per cent.

However, the American company’s tax savings were partly offset by a separate US$2.5 billion top-up tax expense arising from Singapore’s implementation of a 15 per cent global minimum tax.

In its Budget 2024, Singapore announced the tax for financial years beginning on or after Jan 1, 2025, as part of an international framework to ensure large multinational companies operating in the Republic pay a minimum effective tax rate of 15 per cent.

While Singapore’s standard corporate income tax rate is 17 per cent, incentives and exemptions can reduce companies’ effective rates. The top-up tax applies when the effective rate calculated under the minimum tax rules falls below 15 per cent.

Apple did not disclose its exact effective tax rate in Singapore.

Including the top-up tax and another US$311 million in other local tax adjustments, the net reduction in Apple’s tax expense attributable to the Republic was about US$2.7 billion compared with the US benchmark.

Its 2025 annual report did not separately disclose Singapore cash tax payments or the tax benefits arising here. The reports therefore do not establish whether Apple’s Singapore tax payments rose or fell in FY2026.

The tech giant’s worldwide cash income tax payments fell to US$34.6 billion in FY2026 from US$43.4 billion a year earlier.

For context, Singapore collected S$34.4 billion in corporate income tax in FY2025/26, referring to the period from Apr 1, 2025, to Mar 31. The Republic has forecast corporate income tax collections of S$37.8 billion for FY2026/27.

Corporate income tax is the largest source of Singapore’s revenue collection, accounting for 35.4 per cent of total collections. It collected S$97.3 billion in tax revenue in FY2025/2026 to support Singapore’s growth.

Globally, Apple’s net profit rose 18 per cent to US$132.2 billion in FY2026, from US$112 billion a year earlier, on the back of a 15 per cent increase in revenue to US$478.8 billion.

Growth was led by stronger demand for the iPhone Pro models, with total iPhone sales climbing 21 per cent year on year to US$254.1 billion. Services revenue rose 13 per cent to US$123.3 billion, driven mainly by advertising and cloud services.

Revenue from Greater China rose 28 per cent in FY2026 after falling 4 per cent in FY2025. Apple attributed the recovery mainly to higher iPhone and Mac sales, aided by a stronger yuan.

Apple also unveiled its Siri AI and new products, including the iPhone Duo and MacBook Neo, in FY2026.

However, Apple said higher component costs, such as memory, partly offset gains. Research and development spending rose 32 per cent to US$45.8 billion, driven mainly by infrastructure costs, including investments in artificial intelligence, and staff-related expenses.

Shares of Apple traded on Nov 9 at US$350.69, up by more than 7 per cent since the US midterms.