Personal Income Tax
in Singapore
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Personal Tax Singapore Information You Must Know
Personal income tax rates in Singapore are one of the lowest in the world. In order to determine the Singapore income tax liability of an individual, you need to first determine the tax residency and amount of chargeable income and then apply the progressive tax rate to it. Key points of Singapore’s income tax for individuals include:
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Singapore follows a progressive tax rate starting at 0 percent and ending at 20 percent (above S$320,000).
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There are no capital gains or inheritance taxes.
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Individuals are taxed only on the income earned in Singapore. The income earned by individuals while working overseas is not subject to taxation (barring a few exceptions).
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Tax Singapore rules differ based on the tax residency of the individual.
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Income tax is assessed on a preceding-year basis.
Income tax rates for details about the personal income tax rate.
Kindly take note of the following key dates which related to the filing of personal tax.
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Preparation of IR8A by the employer no later than 1st March each year
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The deadline for filing Form B, B1 by the employee is 15 April. If you e-File, you have up to 18 April to do so.
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The deadline for filing Form P by a partnership is 15 April. If you e-File, you have up to 18 April to do so.
Employers’ Responsibilities
As an employer, you must prepare Form IR8A and Appendix 8A, Appendix 8B or Form IR8S (where applicable) by 1st Mar each year for all your employees who are employed in Singapore.
Form IR8A
To be used to declare remuneration of ALL employees.
Appendix 8A
To be completed if employee is provided with benefits-in-kind.
Appendix 8B
To be completed if employee has derived gains or profits either directly or indirectly from the exercise, assignment or release of any share option right or benefit, or right or benefit from other forms of Share Ownership Plans where such right or benefit was obtained by reason of any office or employment. To be completed and submitted to Comptroller of Income Tax for employees who are Singaporeans or Singapore Permanent Residents and who have ceased employment or were posted overseas in year 2011.
Form IR 8S
To be completed if excess CPF contributions are made by the employer.
From Year of Assessment (YA) 2016, employers who had 11 or more employees for the entire year or who received the “Notice to File Employment Income of Employees Electronically” must submit their employees’ income information to the IRAS electronically.
The IRAS encourages all employers to join the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) for Employment Income. Under this scheme, employers submit their employees’ income information to IRAS electronically. The employment income information will be shown on the employees’ electronic tax return and automatically included in their income tax assessments. If you participate in the AIS for Employment Income, you do not need to issue Form IR8A to your employees.
For more information, please see e-Submission of Employment Income.
For enquiries on the AIS for Employment Income, please contact the IRAS on 1800 356 8015 or email ais@iras.gov.sg.
You may refer to e-Submission of Employment Income to learn how to complete the form for your employee.
Please refer to Quicklinks for a downloadable copy of the forms (Microsoft Word format).
Employees’ Responsibilities
As an employee, you must submit your personal paper-based tax return by 15 April (If you e-File, you have up to 18 Apr to do so) each year.
You may file your tax return using any of the following modes:
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e-Filing:
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You can e-File via myTax Portal with your SingPass/IRAS PIN. An instant acknowledgement will be sent to you after you have e-Filed successfully.
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Guides/ FAQ on e-Filing
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Please e-File by 18 Apr using SingPass/IRAS PIN.
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IRAS recommend that you obtain a SingPass. A SingPass is a common password for transacting with all Government e-services. You may apply for a SingPass online. You should receive your SingPass within four working days. Click here for more about SingPass FAQ.
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If you are not eligible for a SingPass, you may apply for an IRAS PIN online. The IRAS will send you the IRAS PIN mailer within five working days.
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You will require Form IR8A if your employer is not participating in the Auto-Inclusion Scheme for Employment Income. Employees may check whether your company is in the Auto-Inclusion Scheme and whether your employer has submitted the information at e-Services – Participating Organizations
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Filing using a paper-based tax return:
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If you need to file a tax return, the IRAS will send you the appropriate paper-based tax return during February or March. If you are certain you have to file but do not receive a notification by 15 Mar, please contact IRAS for assistance.
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Please remember to SIGN on Page 1 of the paper tax return and send to the IRAS by 15 Apr.
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Types of paper-based tax returns:
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1) Tax Singapore resident individuals should receive Form B1
2) Self-employed (may be a sole-proprietor or a partner in a partnership) should receive Form B
3) Non-resident individuals should receive Form M
You may be interested in finding out about common filing mistakes and how to report income not previously reported.
Partnerships’ Responsibilities
Filing income Tax
While a partnership does not pay tax, it still has to file an annual income tax return (called the Form P) to show all income earned and business expenses deducted by the partnership during the year. The partnership is required to file Form P if it has received the paper Form P or an invitation to e-File, even if it has not commenced business in the year.
The Form P is usually sent to the precedent partner by mid-March every year for the precedent partner to file on behalf of all the partners. The precedent partner is required to inform all the partners of their share of income from the partnership to enable them to declare it in their Individual income tax returns.
Form P is not available for downloading from the IRAS website. If you require a copy of the Form P, please call the Individual Income Tax Helpline at 1800-356 8300.
See the Explanatory Notes on Form P for more details on how to complete Form P.
You also have to report the four-line statement for the different periods concerned showing clearly the various partners’ allocation of profit/loss, and complete Pages 3 and 4 of the Form P with respect to all the partners concerned for each relevant period. If the business revenue is S$500,000 or more, you must also send in the Certified Statement of Accounts for the different periods concerned.
‘Certified’ means signed by you (partner), indicating that the accounts are true and correct.
The ‘Statement of Accounts’ comprises the Trading and Profit and Loss Account and the Balance Sheet
The deadline for filing Form P is 15 April. If you e-File, you have up to 18 April to do so.
Allocation of profit and loss to partners
After the IRAS processes Form P, it will send the ‘Allocation of Profit/Loss to Partners’ to the precedent partner.
The precedent partner is obliged to inform the other partner(s) of their share of profit or loss. The share of profit and loss to each partner will be taxed under each individual partner’s name.
Objection to the allocation of profit/ loss to partners
If you object to the allocation of profit and loss to partners, you must lodge your objection through the precedent partner. The precedent partner must write to us stating clearly the grounds of objection within 30 days from the date of the allocation notice.
If your partnership consists of non-resident partners
See details on how does Section 45 withholding tax apply to partnerships.
For a new partnership
Please fill in the Registration Form for New Partnership. You may download this form or you may call the Business Income Tax Help-Line at 1800-356 8300 to request the form be sent to your fax number.
The IRAS will post Form P to the precedent partner when IRAS receives your registration form.