A portfolio over a whole horizon, after fees, tax and withdrawals
Choose the allocation, the horizon and what the family takes out each year. The simulator projects the portfolio year by year under the tax system that applies to you, and shows where the gap to the untaxed reference goes.
By Eldar Edmond Grady, CEO, PPLI.com. Research checked 27 September 2026.
Singapore law as at 27 September 2026, Year of Assessment 2026, for an individual resident in Singapore who holds the portfolio or policy personally. Home-country rates are the 2026 figures stated on the page.
PPLI.com is a research publisher, not an insurer, broker or financial adviser, and is not licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Nothing here is an offer of insurance. To buy a policy, deal with an insurer or adviser licensed or exempted by MAS and check it on the MAS Financial Institutions Directory.
Withdrawals, liquidity and the tax that applies
Withdrawals sell a slice of the whole portfolio, and any tax on the gain embedded in what is sold is paid out of the sale. For a resident taxed only in Singapore that tax is 0.
Under the UK-return preset the simulator applies no tax for the years you remain in Singapore and UK rates from the year of return, carrying base cost forward, so gains built up in Singapore are taxed if they are realised after return.
Private market classes are treated as not allocable below S$10,000,000 of wealth and at half the profile weight between S$10,000,000 and S$25,000,000. The liquidity panel shows how many years of spending the daily-dealing assets would cover.
S$10,000,000 of bonds over 20 years
Hypothetical. Bonds yielding 4.5%, all interest, no fees and no withdrawals.
Singapore only 10,000,000 x 1.045^20 = S$24,117,140
US person 10,000,000 x (1 + 4.5% x 59.2%)^20 = S$16,918,569
China domicile 10,000,000 x (1 + 4.5% x 80%)^20 = S$20,285,939The difference between the first line and the second, S$7,198,571, is the tax a US person pays along the way and what that tax would have earned. The simulator shows the same split for any allocation.
What the simulator applies
Projection
Each class earns its gross return; fees are taken first; income is taxed as it arises; growth is taxed only when turnover realises it. The portfolio is rebalanced each year, with base cost moved in proportion.
Withdrawals
A pro-rata sale, grossed up so the withdrawal arrives in full after tax on the embedded gain. Withdrawals grow at the rate you set.
Diagnosis
Observations on which classes carry the drag, from the figures entered. They describe the arithmetic and are not recommendations.
Common questions
Are the returns forecasts?
No. They are illustrative starting assumptions, not forecasts and not figures from a dataset. Every figure can be changed.
How is the return to the UK modelled?
The direct portfolio pays nothing for the years you set as years in Singapore, then UK rates from the year of return. Base cost is carried forward, so gains built up in Singapore are taxed if realised after return. The drag figures in the tiles describe the years after return.
Instruments and related reading
Tax drag calculatorThe tax layer on its own, row by rowOpen →Portfolio intelligenceTwo allocations side by sideOpen →PPLI break-evenWhether a policy pays for its chargesOpen →Wealth Intelligence profileYour own figures, carried into every instrumentOpen →PPLI.com is a research publisher, not an insurer, broker or financial adviser, and is not licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. This page is general information about how tax systems treat a portfolio and a life insurance policy. It is not an offer of insurance and not advice on any product. A policy from an insurer not licensed in Singapore is outside the Policy Owners' Protection Scheme and outside Singapore statutory nominations.
The authorities this page relies on
Income Tax Act 1947 s 13(7A), s 13(1)(za) and s 13(1)(zd)
Foreign-sourced income received in Singapore by a resident individual is exempt, except income received through a partnership in Singapore (s 13(7A)(b)). Dividends paid by Singapore-resident companies under the one-tier system are exempt (s 13(1)(za)), as is interest on deposits with approved banks (s 13(1)(zd)). sso.agc.gov.sg, ITA 1947 s 13
IRAS, gains from sale of property, shares and financial instruments
Gains from the sale of shares and financial instruments are generally not taxable, and gains from trading can be. IRAS lists "payouts from insurance policies as they are capital receipts" among gains that are generally not taxable. iras.gov.sg, gains
Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and 26 USC 1411
For 2026 the 37% rate applies above US$640,600 of taxable income for a single filer and the 20% rate on long-term gains and qualified dividends above US$545,500. The 3.8% net investment income tax (s 1411) does not apply to nonresident aliens, so it does apply to US citizens abroad. Top combined rates: 40.8% and 23.8%. irs.gov, Rev. Proc. 2025-32
gov.uk, tax rates on property, savings and dividend income
For 2026/27: savings income at 20, 40 or 45%, dividends at 10.75, 35.75 or 39.35% from 6 April 2026. Savings rates rise to 22, 42 and 47% from 6 April 2027. gov.uk, rate changes
gov.uk, capital gains tax rates
Gains of higher and additional rate taxpayers are taxed at 24%. gov.uk, CGT rates
PRC Individual Income Tax Law, arts 1, 3 and 4
A person domiciled in China, meaning habitually resident there because of household registration, family or economic ties, is a resident taxed on worldwide income (art 1). Interest, dividends and property-transfer income are taxed at 20% (art 3). Insurance compensation is exempt (art 4). chinatax.gov.cn, IIT Law
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