Short answer: your S Pass quota is 10% of your total workforce in the services sector and 15% in manufacturing, construction, process and marine shipyard, and your total workforce is built from local staff who earn the Local Qualifying Salary (LQS) of S$1,800 a month. This S Pass quota calculator applies the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) published method step by step, so you can see how many more S Pass and Work Permit holders you can hire and what the levy will cost.
Figures checked 3 Oct 2026 against MOM's quota and levy pages, its LQS page and its guide on computing a company's quota balance. MOM's own quota balance in its online services is the final word; this tool shows you how that number is reached.
S Pass and Work Permit Quota Calculator
Uses MOM's published method: Local Qualifying Salary of S$1,800 (from 1 July 2026), rounded down at every step.
Key Takeaways
- The S Pass sub-quota is 10% of total workforce in services and 15% in the other four sectors, rounded down.
- Total workforce means locals counted under the LQS, plus S Pass and Work Permit holders. Employment Pass holders are left out.
- Since 1 July 2026 a local earning S$1,800 or more counts as one, and a local earning S$900 to S$1,799 counts as half. Below S$900 does not count.
- S Pass and Work Permit holders together also have to fit under the sector's Dependency Ratio Ceiling, 35% in services and up to 83.3% in construction and process.
- The S Pass levy is S$650 a month in every sector since 1 September 2025. Work Permit levies depend on sector, skill level and, in services and manufacturing, how far into the quota you are.
How MOM Works Out Your S Pass Quota
MOM's guide on computing a company's quota balance sets out the same steps for every firm. The calculator above follows them in order, and you can check any result by hand with the table below.
- Count your locals. Singapore citizens and PRs employed under a contract of service, directors included, count as 1 if they earn at least S$1,800 a month and 0.5 if they earn S$900 to S$1,799. MOM takes the average of the last three months of salaries and CPF contributions declared.
- Find the most foreign workers you can hold. Multiply the local count by the sector multiplier and round down. This is the ceiling for S Pass and Work Permit holders combined.
- Work out total workforce: the local count plus issued Work Permit holders plus issued S Pass holders. EP holders and people still on an in-principle approval are not counted.
- Apply the S Pass sub-quota to total workforce plus one (the extra one is the person you want to hire), then round down. If the result is higher than the S Pass holders you already employ, and step 2 still has room, you can hire.
| Sector | Dependency Ratio Ceiling | S Pass sub-quota | Max foreign workers per local |
|---|---|---|---|
| Services | 35% | 10% | 0.538462 |
| Manufacturing | 60% | 15% | 1.5 |
| Construction | 83.3% | 15% | 5 |
| Process | 83.3% | 15% | 5 |
| Marine shipyard | 75% | 15% | 3 |
The Rounding Rule Catches Small Firms
Every figure is rounded down, never up. A services firm with 9 qualifying locals gets 9 x 0.538462 = 4.8, so it can hold 4 foreign workers, not 5. If those 9 locals are its whole workforce, the S Pass test is 10% x (9 + 1) = 1, so one S Pass holder fits. Add a second S Pass candidate and the test becomes 10% x 11 = 1.1, still 1. That is why small firms often find the S Pass quota full long before the combined ceiling.
Who Counts as a Local Under the LQS
The Local Qualifying Salary decides how much each local employee adds to your quota. MOM raised it for full-time locals from S$1,600 to S$1,800 from 1 July 2026, and the half-count floor moved from S$800 to S$900 with it.
| Monthly pay of a citizen or PR employee | Counts towards quota as | Example from MOM |
|---|---|---|
| S$1,800 or more | 1 local | S$4,500 and S$1,800 each count as 1 |
| S$900 to S$1,799 | 0.5 local | S$1,000 and S$900 each count as 0.5 |
| Below S$900 | Not counted | A S$400 part-timer is not counted |
Sole proprietors and partners of their own business, and platform workers, are not counted. A local employee can count towards the quota of up to two companies.
Half-Count Staff Have a Second Rule
Separately from the quota, MOM requires any firm that hires Work Permit, S Pass or EP holders to pay all local employees at least the LQS, unless a Progressive Wage Model already sets their pay. For full-time staff that is S$1,800 a month; for part-timers working under 35 hours a week it is S$10.50 an hour. In practice the half-count band is for part-timers. A full-time local paid S$1,700 is not just a half count, it is a breach of the LQS condition.
Worked Examples
A Services Firm With 24 Local Staff
A restaurant group has 20 locals earning S$1,800 or more and 4 part-timers earning S$900 to S$1,799. It employs 1 S Pass holder and 4 basic-skilled Work Permit holders.
- Local count: 20 + (4 x 0.5) = 22.
- Foreign worker ceiling: 22 x 0.538462 = 11.8, rounded down to 11. It uses 5, so 6 places remain.
- Total workforce: 22 + 1 + 4 = 27.
- S Pass test for one more hire: 10% x 28 = 2.8, rounded down to 2. With 1 S Pass holder today, it can hire 1 more. A second extra hire fails, because 10% x 29 = 2.9 is still 2.
- Levy: the first tier holds 10% of 27, rounded down, so 2 places. The S Pass holder takes one, so 1 Work Permit holder pays S$450 and the other 3 pay the Tier 2 rate of S$600. With S$650 for the S Pass holder, the monthly bill is S$2,900.
A Manufacturer With 30 Local Staff
A factory has 30 locals earning S$1,800 or more, 3 S Pass holders and 30 basic-skilled Work Permit holders. The ceiling is 30 x 1.5 = 45 foreign workers, and it uses 33. Total workforce is 63. It can add 7 more S Pass holders: at 10 S Pass holders the test is 15% x 70 = 10.5, rounded down to 10, which still fits, while an eighth extra hire would need 11 against a cap of 10. The factory pays S$1,950 a month in S Pass levy and S$13,260 in Work Permit levy at today's tier rates.
Foreign Worker Levy Rates in 2026
The S Pass levy was harmonised at S$650 a month across all sectors and tiers from 1 September 2025. It replaced the old S$550 Tier 1 rate. Work Permit levies differ by sector. In services and manufacturing, levy tiers are filled in a fixed order: S Pass holders first, then higher-skilled Work Permit holders, then basic-skilled ones, so your S Pass hires push Work Permit holders into dearer tiers.
| Services tier (share of total workforce) | Basic-skilled | Higher-skilled |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1: up to 10% | S$450 | S$300 |
| Tier 2: above 10% to 25% | S$600 | S$400 |
| Tier 3: above 25% to 35% | S$800 | S$600 |
| Manufacturing tier (share of total workforce) | Basic-skilled | Higher-skilled |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1: up to 25% | S$370 | S$250 |
| Tier 2: above 25% to 50% | S$470 | S$350 |
| Tier 3: above 50% to 60% | S$650 | S$550 |
| Sector without tiers | Basic-skilled | Higher-skilled |
|---|---|---|
| Construction, Malaysia, NAS or PRC | S$700 | S$300 |
| Construction, Non-Traditional Sources | S$900 | S$500 |
| Process, Malaysia, NAS or PRC | S$450 | S$200 |
| Process, Non-Traditional Sources | S$650 | S$300 |
| Marine shipyard | S$500 | S$350 |
These are monthly rates. A worker employed for part of a month is charged a daily rate, worked out as the monthly rate x 12 / 365 and rounded up to the cent, which is S$21.37 a day for an S Pass holder. Construction firms must also keep at least 10% of their Work Permit holders higher-skilled, and workers without the required certification pay S$900 whatever their source.
What Is Changing in 2027 and 2028
- S Pass qualifying salary: new applications from 1 January 2027, and renewals of passes expiring from 1 January 2028, need at least S$3,600 a month (S$4,000 in financial services), up from S$3,300 and S$3,800 today. It rises with age to S$5,100 at 45 and above.
- Work Permit levy: from 2028, services and manufacturing merge Tiers 1 and 2. Services moves to S$600 basic-skilled and S$400 higher-skilled for the merged tier, and manufacturing moves to S$470 and S$300. Basic-skilled levies rise in process and marine shipyard. MOM has said it will give the exact date later.
- The S Pass sub-quota (10% and 15%) and the S$650 S Pass levy have no announced change as of 3 Oct 2026.
MOM's Committee of Supply 2026 factsheet also says the S Pass qualifying salary is expected to reach around S$4,000 to S$4,500 by about 2030, so hiring plans that rely on S Pass holders near today's floor should budget for further increases.
Ways to Open More S Pass Room
There are three levers, and each has a lag. Hiring locals at S$1,800 or more raises both the ceiling and total workforce, but MOM uses a three-month average, so a new hire counts in full only after three months of CPF contributions. Moving part-timers above S$1,800 a month turns a half count into a full one. If a role pays enough for an Employment Pass, an EP holder sits outside the quota altogether, though the candidate must then pass COMPASS. Our guide to the Dependency Ratio Ceiling covers the sector rules in more depth, and the EP vs S Pass comparison helps you decide which pass a role should use.
Frequently Asked Questions About S Pass Quota
How is the S Pass quota calculated?
MOM counts your locals (1 for each earning S$1,800 or more, 0.5 for S$900 to S$1,799), adds your S Pass and Work Permit holders to get total workforce, then caps S Pass holders at 10% (services) or 15% (other sectors) of total workforce plus the person you want to hire, rounded down. The total of S Pass and Work Permit holders must also fit under the sector's Dependency Ratio Ceiling.
What is the S Pass quota for the services sector?
10% of total workforce, inside a Dependency Ratio Ceiling of 35% for S Pass and Work Permit holders together. In manufacturing, construction, process and marine shipyard the S Pass sub-quota is 15%.
Do Employment Pass holders count towards the S Pass quota?
No. MOM tells employers not to include EP holders in the total workforce figure, and EPs have no quota or levy. They are assessed on salary and COMPASS instead.
What is the Local Qualifying Salary in 2026?
S$1,800 a month for full-time local employees from 1 July 2026, up from S$1,600, and S$10.50 an hour for part-timers. For quota counting, a local earning S$900 to S$1,799 a month counts as half.
Why does my quota look lower than this calculator shows?
MOM uses a three-month average of locals declared to CPF, refreshed every Saturday, so a recent hire or a late CPF submission lowers the figure. Salaries declared by the 14th of a month are included in the next month's calculation.
How much is the S Pass levy?
S$650 a month for each S Pass holder in every sector since 1 September 2025, or S$21.37 a day for a part month. No change has been announced as of 3 Oct 2026.
Can I combine two companies to get a bigger quota?
No. MOM states that a business owner with firms in different sectors cannot combine their total workforce to calculate quota. A local employee can, however, count towards the quota of up to two companies.
What happens if my company is over its quota?
You cannot hire more S Pass or Work Permit holders until the numbers fit again, either by adding qualifying locals or by reducing foreign headcount. A firm can fall over quota without hiring anyone, for example when locals leave or the LQS rises.
Official Sources and References
- S Pass levy and quota requirements (MOM)
- Guide on computing your company's quota balance (PDF, updated 1 July 2026) (MOM)
- Local Qualifying Salary (MOM)
- How to count local employees for quota (MOM)
- Services sector Work Permit requirements (MOM)
- Manufacturing sector Work Permit requirements (MOM)
- S Pass eligibility (MOM)
- Foreign workforce policy announcements at COS 2026 (PDF) (MOM)
Explore Catalyst Immigration’s other services:
- Dependency Ratio Ceiling in Singapore
- EP vs S Pass in Singapore
- Minimum Salary for Work Permit in Singapore
- Fair Consideration Framework
- Work Pass Application Service
Talk to Catalyst Immigration
Quota maths is the easy part. The harder questions are whether a role should be an S Pass or an EP, how to time hires around the three-month average, and what to do when a renewal lands while you are over quota. Catalyst Immigration handles S Pass and Work Permit applications for Singapore employers and can check your numbers before you apply. MOM makes every decision; we make sure your application gives it the right facts.