GST Tax Codes
Klear automatically assigns a GST tax code to each expense based on category and merchant. These codes feed directly into your IRAS GST F5 return.
Code reference
| Code | Name | When it applies | Input tax claimable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| TX9 | Standard-rated purchase (9%) | Most business expenses purchased in Singapore | Yes |
| ZR | Zero-rated purchase | Goods/services taxed at 0% (e.g. exported services) | Yes (at 0%) |
| EP | Exempt purchase | Exempt supplies (e.g. financial services, residential property) | No |
| OS | Out-of-scope | Expenses incurred outside Singapore | No |
| NR | Non-GST registered supplier | Vendor is not GST-registered | No |
| BL | Blocked input tax | Disallowed by IRAS regulation (e.g. club memberships, family expenses, entertainment with no business purpose) | No |
How Klear assigns codes
- Category rules — Client Entertainment expenses default to BL (blocked input tax per IRAS)
- Merchant lookup — known non-GST-registered merchants are assigned NR
- Manual override — submitters and admins can change the assigned code on any expense
Common category defaults
| Category | Default code |
|---|---|
| Meals | TX9 |
| Travel (domestic) | TX9 |
| Travel (overseas) | OS |
| Software / SaaS | TX9 |
| Office Supplies | TX9 |
| Client Entertainment | BL |
| Transport (Grab, taxi) | TX9 |
BL expenses and input tax
Expenses coded BL are reported in your GST return but the input tax cannot be offset against your output tax. Klear flags these in the GST Input Tax report so you can review them before filing.
Further reading
- IRAS GST Guide for Input Tax: iras.gov.sg
- See Reports for how to export your GST input tax data