Going Home This Year? The Singapore Maid Levy Rule That Shapes Your Leave

If you work as a kasambahay in Singapore and you are counting the months until your next trip home, one MOM rule is worth understanding before you book your ticket. Your employer pays a monthly levy to keep you on a Work Permit. When you take home leave, that levy can be waived. Knowing how it works helps you plan a longer, smoother bakasyon, and it gives you something concrete to raise with your employer.

How the levy waiver works

Every month your employer pays a levy for your Work Permit. Households that qualify for the concession pay S$60 a month. Households without the concession pay S$300. The concession applies when the family has a Singapore citizen child under 16, an elderly citizen aged 67 or older, or a person with disabilities in their care.

When you leave Singapore for a continuous stretch of at least seven days, MOM waives that levy for the days you are away. The rule counts calendar days, so a two-week trip home clears the seven-day floor with room to spare. The waiver is capped at 60 calendar days per calendar year. Past that cap, your employer pays the full levy even while you are overseas.

That cap matters when you plan. If you split your leave into a few short trips, the days add up against the same 60-day ceiling. One longer trip and one shorter one usually sit inside the cap without trouble.

Your employer claims it, not you

Here is the part many helpers miss. The waiver is not automatic, and you do not file it yourself. Your employer applies after you return, through MOM's Check and Pay Levy e-service. They log in, select the overseas leave option, enter your departure date and your actual return date, and submit.

No documents are uploaded. MOM cross-checks your dates against ICA arrival and departure records, so the dates on the form must match your real travel. Your employer has up to one year from the levy bill date to apply, and MOM usually issues a decision within 12 working days.

Because the claim depends on your exact travel dates, keep your own record. Note the day you fly out and the day you land back in Singapore. If your employer forgets to apply, a friendly reminder with those dates makes the whole thing easy.

Why this is worth a conversation

A waived levy is money your employer does not spend while you are home. For a household on the S$300 rate, two weeks of waiver trims a real amount off the monthly bill. That saving does not land in your pocket, but it changes the math when you ask for leave.

Some employers hesitate to approve longer trips because they still picture paying full levy for an empty room. Once they know the levy pauses after seven days away, a two-week or three-week visit home looks lighter on their budget. You can raise the point without pressure: a longer trip costs them less than they might assume, as long as it stays inside the 60-day yearly cap.

Frame it around planning, not demands. Agree on your dates early, confirm they clear the seven-day mark, and remind your employer to file the waiver through Check and Pay Levy once you are back. A short, clear plan protects both sides and keeps your Work Permit in good standing.

What to do before you book

Check whether your household pays the S$60 or S$300 rate, since that sets how much the waiver is worth to your employer. Plan a trip of at least seven full days so it qualifies. Keep the total under 60 days across the year if you want every day covered.

Write down your exact departure and return dates and share them with your employer. After you fly back, remind them to log in to the Check and Pay Levy e-service and file the claim within the one-year window. Confirm any detail you are unsure about on the MOM website before you rely on it, since agencies and rules can shift.

The short version: a home leave of a week or more can pause the levy your employer pays, up to 60 days a year. Plan the dates, keep the record, and turn a rule most helpers never hear about into a smoother trip home.