Should home service prices include GST?

GST on home services: do prices have to include it?

Yes, when the company is registered for GST. The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) sets out the rule on its page about buying from a GST-registered business. Prices displayed by a GST-registered business should be the final prices, with GST already included. The business may not display, quote, advertise or publish prices without GST. If it shows both, the GST-inclusive price must be at least as prominent as the price without GST.

For a home service job, this means a registered company's quote should already have GST in it, whether you are booking aircon servicing, a plumbing repair, electrical work, a handyman visit or a cleaning job. You should not have to add GST yourself to work out the price. Because the rule covers advertised and published prices too, it applies to a registered company's online price list as well as its written quotes.

The rule is about registered businesses. Not every company is registered, and IRAS says only GST-registered businesses may charge GST. On GST, then, a quote should be one of two things: a GST-inclusive price from a registered company, or a price with no GST from a company that is not registered.

How to check a quote

Work through these four steps before you agree to the job.

1. Look for a GST registration number. Check the quote or invoice for the company's GST registration number. If you cannot find one and the quote shows GST, ask the company whether it is registered.
2. Check the number with IRAS. IRAS has an e-Service, the GST registered business search, for this check. See its page about buying from a GST-registered business.
3. Confirm the total includes GST. If the company is registered, the quoted total should already include GST. If the quote only gives a figure without GST, or shows that figure more prominently than the total, ask about it.
4. Ask for a restated price. If GST has been added to the quoted price rather than included in it, ask the company to restate the price with GST included before you agree to the work.

When you compare companies, a registered company's total should already include GST and an unregistered company's price should have none, so neither needs GST added first. For the other points to look at, see how to compare home service quotes.

Before-GST and nett prices

Some quotes give a figure "before GST" or "excluding GST" and add the tax as a separate line. A GST-registered business may not quote a price without GST on its own, as the IRAS page for buying from a GST-registered business explains; it may show the figure before GST as well, but the GST-inclusive total must be shown at least as prominently. If a quote does not show the GST-inclusive total at least as prominently, ask the company to restate it.

Not every business is registered for GST, as the same IRAS page notes. A company that is not registered may not charge GST, so a "before GST" label on its quote is a reason to ask what it means.

Quotes also use the word "nett". The nett price meaning on a quote is usually that no further charges will be added to that figure. It does not tell you what the figure covers. Ask whether it includes GST, materials, transport and the disposal of old parts.

Unregistered businesses

Only GST-registered businesses may charge GST, according to the IRAS guidance for consumers. Not every home service company is registered, and an unregistered company's price simply has no GST in it. If a company that is not registered adds GST to your quote or bill, ask about the charge and check its registration with IRAS's GST registered business search before you pay.

The current GST rate is 9%, according to IRAS. A business must register for GST when its taxable turnover is more than S$1 million in a calendar year, or is expected to be in the next 12 months, as IRAS explains, so many smaller home service businesses are not registered.

For renovation businesses, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) published a guide on fair trading practices for the renovation industry in 2022. One of its areas is transparent pricing with no hidden costs: quotes should be accurate, clear and itemised, with mandatory charges stated at the outset. The guide treats misleading pricing as an unfair practice, and the CCCS release says consumers who meet unfair practices can approach the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE).

For other warning signs, see home service scams.

Published prices on HomezyPro

HomezyPro shows each company's published price as the company publishes it, with a link to the source. HomezyPro does not add GST to any price. Whether a listed price includes GST depends on how the company published it, so check with the company before you book.

If the company is GST-registered, its published prices should already include GST under the IRAS display rule. If the source page does not make this clear, ask the company to confirm the GST-inclusive total.

Prices also depend on the job and on how a company charges. To see where listed prices come from, read how HomezyPro sources prices. If one company quotes per hour and another per job, hourly rate vs fixed price can help you compare them.

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