About 950,000 Singaporean households living in Housing Board flats will receive rebates in January to defray the scheduled hike in goods and services tax (GST), carbon tax and price of water in 2024.

In January, lower- and middle-income households will get double their regular U-Save rebates, as well as an additional S$20, to offset their utility bills, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said in a statement on Dec 29.

This additional disbursement will be given quarterly from January 2024 to December 2025 – amounting to S$160 over two years – as announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong when the government rolled out details of a S$1.1 billion Cost-of-Living Support Package in September.

MOF said that on average, U-Save rebates for 2023 amounted to about eight to 10 months of utility bills for households living in one- and two-room flats.

For three- and four-room HDB flats, the rebates covered about four to six months of utility bills.

The disbursement of U-Save rebates in January is the fourth and final distribution for 2023.

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MOF added that eligible households will also receive an additional half-month service and conservancy charges (S&CC) rebate in January 2024.

On Dec 29, it was also announced that gas and electricity tariffs will go up for the next three months due to higher carbon tax, a scheduled hike in GST and rising energy costs.

Singapore’s GST will rise from 8 per cent to 9 per cent from Jan 1.

The U-Save rebates will be credited directly into households’ utilities accounts with SP Services, while the S&CC rebates will be credited directly by town councils.

Households do not need to take any action to benefit from these schemes. THE STRAITS TIMES