Party and campaign finance
Candidates pay a deposit, may spend up to a fixed sum per voter, must account for every dollar within 31 days, and may take donations only from Singaporeans and Singapore entities.
S$5spending limit per elector, GE2025
S$13,500deposit per candidate
27deposits lost in 2025 (S$364,500)
S$5,000cap on anonymous donations
PEA s.69 · Third Schedule · from 28 March 2025
$5 per elector in the constituency, divided among the candidates in a GRC team (PEA Third Schedule, from 28 March 2025; it was $4). Spending over the limit is an illegal practice. The biggest budget in 2025 was Ang Mo Kio (S$807,495 for the team); the smallest, Kebun Baru (S$111,315).
Spending limit calculator · GE2025 registers
Whole teamS$721,490
Each of 5 candidatesS$144,298
Per electorS$5
S$5 × 144,298 electors = S$721,490, ÷ 5 candidates.
Everything spent on the campaign, before, during or after the election: flyers and videos made before the writ, volunteers' food and transport, fundraising events. Not counted: the candidate's personal expenses, an election agent's fee up to $500, and cybersecurity.
All payments go through the election agent. The party may pay with the agent's written authority; in a GRC one agent can act for the team. Bills are due within 28 days of the results being gazetted.
Each candidate and agent file a return of expenses and donations with the Returning Officer within 31 days of the result being gazetted. GE2025's returns were open to inspection on ELD's website for six months from 27 June 2025; that window has closed, so this page shows no spending totals.
30 cents per elector or $600,000, whichever is greater (PrEA s.50(1)). In 2023: S$812,822.10 per candidate.
Electors and votes: contains information from Parliamentary General Election Results by Candidate and Registered Electors, Rejected Votes and Spoilt Ballots accessed on 6 November 2026 from data.gov.sg which is made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0.
PEA s.28 · PrEA s.10
Every candidate deposits a sum equal to an MP's fixed monthly allowance, rounded to the nearest $500: S$13,500 in 2025. A losing candidate, or a whole GRC team, with one-eighth (12.5%) of the valid votes or less forfeits it to the Consolidated Fund. A presidential candidate pays three times as much: S$40,500 in 2023.
| Constituency | Party | Share | Candidates | Forfeited |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ang Mo Kio | PPP | 10.20% | 5 | S$67,500 |
| Ang Mo Kio | SUP | 10.85% | 5 | S$67,500 |
| Potong Pasir | PAR | 8.33% | 1 | S$13,500 |
| Radin Mas | PAR | 7.36% | 1 | S$13,500 |
| Sembawang | NSP | 2.32% | 5 | S$67,500 |
| Tampines | PPP | 0.43% | 5 | S$67,500 |
| Tampines | NSP | 0.18% | 5 | S$67,500 |
| Total | 27 | S$364,500 | ||
Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act 2021 · Part 4
The Political Donations Act 2000 was repealed on 29 December 2023 and its rules carried into the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act 2021 (FICA). They bind every “politically significant person” (PSP).
Singapore citizens aged 21 and over, and Singapore-controlled companies, partnerships and associations. Donations from foreigners are banned, even if channelled through a permissible donor.
PSPs may not accept anonymous donations beyond $5,000 in a calendar year; a candidate's limit runs from 12 months before the pre-election declaration to the post-election declaration.
A single donation of $10,000 or more, or several from one donor adding up to that in a calendar year, must be reported. PSPs keep a separate bank account for political donations and disclose foreign affiliations.
By law: political parties, political office-holders, party executive members, MPs (including NCMPs and NMPs), election candidates and their agents. Others can be designated if their activities are directed to a political end.
The list published by the Ministry of Home Affairs, updated on 22 April 2025.
A designated PSP must disclose political donations and foreign affiliations; the competent authority can add further countermeasures. Candidates and agents report to the Registrar of Political Donations at ELD; all other PSPs to the Registrar of Foreign and Political Disclosures at MHA.
What MPs are paid
MPs receive an allowance; office-holders such as ministers are paid separately. The allowance also fixes the election deposit.
S$192,500 a year, including the 13th month and variable components, as reported before the 2026 review.
S$259,000 a year. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced the rise in Parliament on 8 September 2026, after a review of political salaries; the monthly allowance is reported to rise from S$13,750 to S$18,500 from 15 October 2026.
These figures come from press reports of the parliamentary debate (Mothership, 10 September 2026; Malay Mail, 8 September 2026), not from an official text: Parliament's Hansard could not be deep-linked and no PSD release was found. The next general election's deposit will follow the allowance in force at dissolution.