SINGAPORE – Apple paid US$3.25 billion (S$4.16 billion) in income taxes to Singapore in its 2026 financial year (FY), benefiting from the Republic’s lower tax rates and incentives.
The payment, disclosed in the iPhone maker’s annual report for the year ended Sept 26, accounted for about 9.4% of its worldwide cash income tax payments of US$34.59 billion.
Apple’s annual report also showed that Singapore’s tax rates and incentives reduced its tax expense by US$5.49 billion, compared with applying the US federal statutory rate of 21%.
However, the American company’s tax savings was partly offset by a separate US$2.51 billion top-up tax expense arising from Singapore’s implementation of a 15% 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%.
While Singapore’s standard corporate income tax rate is 17%, 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%.
Apple did not disclose its exact effective tax rate in Singapore.
After including the top-up tax and another US$311 million in other Singapore tax adjustments, the net reduction in Apple’s tax expense attributable to the Republic was about US$2.67 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$34.59 billion from US$43.37 billion in FY2026.
For context, Singapore collected $34.4 billion in corporate income taxes in fiscal year 2025, referring to the period from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026. The Republic has forecast corporate income tax collections of $37.77 billion for fiscal year 2026.
Globally, Apple’s net profit rose 18% to US$132.18 billion in FY2026, from US$112.01 billion a year earlier, on the back of a 15% increase in revenue to US$478.83 billion.
Growth was led by stronger demand for the iPhone Pro models, with total iPhone sales climbing 21% year on year to US$254.1 billion. Services revenue rose 13% to US$123.3 billion, driven mainly by advertising and cloud services.
Revenue from Greater China rose by 28% in FY2026 after falling 4 per cent in FY2025. Apple attributed the recovery mainly to higher iPhone and Mac sales, with a stronger renminbi also helping.
Apple also unveiled its Siri AI and new products, including the iPhone Duo and MacBook Neo, in FY2026.
However, Apple said higher component costs, including memory, partly offset gains. Research and development spending rose 32% to US$45.77 billion, driven mainly by infrastructure costs, including investments in AI, and staff-related expenses.
