This article was written in collaboration with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore. All views expressed are the independent opinion of DollarsAndSense.sg. It was updated on 3 Mar 2024 to reflect the YA2024 information.
While the deadline for personal income tax submission in 2024 is 18 April, you can (and should) file your taxes earlier if you can. In fact, individuals can start to e-file their personal income tax via e-Filing from 1 March onwards.
Before getting started on your income tax filing, it’s important to understand which group you fall under, based on the classification from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS).
Group 1: You receive a notification from IRAS informing you that you do not need to file your income tax return (No-Filing Service)
For self-employed persons filing Form B, you may receive a different SMS containing the following text:
| SMS for SEPs newly selected for No-Filing Service | SMS for SEPs already under No-Filing Service |
| <SXXXX567A>: We have implemented No-Filing Service (NFS) for selected self-employed taxpayers for 2023. You do not need to file a 2023 tax return under NFS, unless you wish to claim for actual business expenses or you received commission income exceeding $50,000 in 2022. From 1 Mar to 18 Apr, you can verify your income and relief claims at IRAS myTax Portal.
|
<SXXXX567A>: You are under the No-Filing Service (NFS) for selected self-employed taxpayers for 2023. You do not need to file a 2023 tax return under NFS, unless you wish to claim for actual business expenses or you received commission income exceeding $50,000 in 2022. From 1 Mar to 18 Apr, you can verify your income and relief claims at IRAS myTax Portal. |
If you are not required by IRAS to file your income tax, you will receive a notice via letter or SMS informing you that you do not need to file income tax for the year. You should check the income and tax reliefs that IRAS has prefilled in your tax return and amend any information that is incorrect. For example, if you have additional income to declare other than your auto-included employment income/ pre-filled trade/business income, or if you no longer qualify for certain reliefs due to changes in your personal circumstances, you’ll need to make the relevant changes and file your income tax return via myTax Portal .
Check out the IRAS website for more details on No-Filing Service. For selected self-employed persons under the Pre-filling of Income scheme, please refer to the No-Filing Service (NFS) for Self-Employed Persons (SEPs) under the Pre-filling of Income scheme for more information.
However, if all the information in your tax return is correct after you have checked them and you need not make any adjustments, you can simply wait for your Notice of Assessment (NOA) or tax bill (in digital or paper format), which will be sent to you from late April onwards.
Do check your tax bill to ensure that it is in order. Otherwise, please inform IRAS of any discrepancy through the “Object to Assessment” e-Service in myTax Portal within 30 days from the date of your tax bill.
Group 2: You receive a notification from IRAS informing you to file your income tax
This means you are required to file your income tax return, which you can do so via myTax Portal from 1 March to 18 April 2024.
If your employer participates in the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) for Employment Income, information regarding your salary will be auto-included. If you are a self-employed commission earner or taxi/private hire car driver participating in the Pre-filling of Income scheme, your commission/driving income will be pre-filled. More details can be found at Pre-filling of income for self-employed persons initiative. However, you will still need to verify the pre-filled income and complete the rest of the tax return (additional income outside your employment, relief claims, etc.) and submit it.
Check if your employer is participating in the AIS here.
Check if your commission agency has submitted commission income records to IRAS here.
Group 3: You did not receive any form of notification from IRAS
If you didn’t receive any filing notification from IRAS, you will still be required to file a tax return if your:
1) Total personal income (including salaries and rental income) from 1 January to 31 December 2023 is more than $22,000, or
2) Net business income for the accounting year ending in 2023 is more than $6,000.
You can also use the Filing Checker on the IRAS website to check if you need to file.
This year, selected taxpayers on the No-Filing Service will receive a Direct Notice of Assessment (D-NOA), meaning they will not receive a notification from IRAS during tax filing season but will instead receive their tax bill directly from mid-March onwards. The D-NOA initiative will be extended to more taxpayers progressively over the next few years.
How To File Your Income Tax In 2024
There are three main components to personal income tax filing that you need to know about. The 1) income you earn; 2) deductions that you qualify for; and 3) reliefs you are eligible for.
#1 Income that you earn
All income earned in or derived from Singapore is chargeable to income tax. Generally, overseas income received in Singapore is not taxable, except in some circumstances. It’s important to understand this because you do not want to pay taxes on non-taxable income, or commit an offence by not reporting taxable income.
Types of taxable income include employment income, business income (including income from gig work, online activities and freelance work), property income (e.g. rental).
Types of non-taxable income include interest income from approved banks and financial institutions, dividend income from Singapore resident companies, capital gains from properties, shares or financial instruments, annuity income.
Do note the listed items above are not an exhaustive list. You can find out more about what’s taxable and what’s not from the IRAS website.
#2 Deductions that you qualify for
Deductions refer to any allowable expenses you incurred or approved donations you made during the year.
Types of deductions include deductions for employees if they incur expenses because of the nature of their work, for example, if they use their own money to pay for business expenses.
If you were working from home in 2023, you can claim expenses incurred for work purposes, such as electricity charges and telecommunication charges, that were not reimbursed by your employer. There are also deductions for rental expenses and donations to approved Institutions of a Public Character.
For self-employed persons, deduction can be claimed on allowable business expenses incurred in the course of running the business. Check out the IRAS website for more details on the allowable and disallowable business expenses.
#3 Reliefs that you qualify for
To encourage certain social and economic objectives, tax reliefs are offered to certain groups of taxpayers in Singapore.
Types of reliefs include course fees relief, CPF Cash Top Up Relief, CPF Relief, Earned Income Relief, Handicapped Brother/Sister Relief, Life Insurance Relief, NSman (Self) Relief, Parent/Handicapped Parent Relief, Supplementary Retirement Scheme Relief.
You can find the full list of reliefs on the IRAS website. It’s important to understand all the different types of reliefs because you want to make sure you do not miss out on any reliefs that you qualify for or claim reliefs that you do not qualify for (which may attract penalties!).
Make Your Declaration And Save A Copy Of The Acknowledgement
Once you declare that all the information you provided in the tax return form is correct and click the submit button, you’re done. You should see an Acknowledgement Page, which you can save or print for your own records. You may also retrieve a copy of the Acknowledgement Page from the “View Individual Tax Notices” e-Service at myTax Portal.
If you would like to check if IRAS has received your tax returns, you can click on the Individuals tab again and then View Filing Status.
Wait For Your Tax Bill, And Pay Promptly!
Once you have filed your taxes for YA2024, you will receive your tax bill, from late April onwards.
As soon as you receive your tax bill, check it carefully. Do note that it is your responsibility to ensure that your NOA is accurate, even if you have received the No-Filing Service (NFS) letter or SMS from IRAS and hence are not required to file income tax.
Income tax is payable within 1 month from the date of your tax bill. You may pay your tax via GIRO, AXS station or Internet Banking. Find out more about the different payment modes from the IRAS website.
If you see any mistakes or discrepancies, please make your amendments within 30 days through the “Object to Assessment” e-Service in myTax Portal. This has happened to us before because silly mistakes (on our part) do happen and IRAS will revise the assessment accordingly.
Do pay your tax bill on time to avoid unnecessary fines. Sign up for GIRO payment, and enjoy up to 12 interest-free monthly instalments. If you experience difficulties in paying your taxes, you can arrange for a longer payment plan with GIRO.
On behalf of Singapore, we want to thank you for doing your part to contribute to nation-building!
