Singapore expands pilot to speed up income tax payment process

Singapore expands pilot to speed up income tax payment process
15 Mar 2018

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) is expanding its pilot project to make it quicker for taxpayers to receive finalised tax bills.

Taxpayers, including sole proprietors and partners, are permitted to begin filing their income tax returns from 1 March but are also being reminded to do so by 18 April to avoid late penalties. About 200,000 taxpayers with an assessable income of S$100,000 (US$75,712) or less will receive their finalised tax bill or Notice of Assessment immediately upon filing.

According to Channel News Asia, about 70,000 taxpayers - with an assessable income of S$40,000 (US$30,285) or less – took part in a pilot to this end last year, which the IRAS intends to scale up progressively.

Taxpayers on the No-Filing Service (NFS) scheme - of whom there are around 1.5 million – will be able to preview their bill on the myTax portal from this month. Should there be no changes to their pre-filled income and relief claims, they can also request an early assessment and their tax bill will be available on the portal for viewing by the next working day. IRAS said 40,000 taxpayers requested an early assessment last year.

The tax authority has also extended the pre-filling of income service to Grab and Uber drivers. Around 9,000 have opted to participate in the pilot service this year.

Some 96% of taxpayers filed their income tax returns on time in 2017, maintaining the record high set the previous year, IRAS said.

 Emma Woollacott

Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.

 

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) is expanding its pilot project to make it quicker for taxpayers to receive finalised tax bills.

Taxpayers, including sole proprietors and partners, are permitted to begin filing their income tax returns from 1 March but are also being reminded to do so by 18 April to avoid late penalties. About 200,000 taxpayers with an assessable income of S$100,000 (US$75,712) or less will receive their finalised tax bill or Notice of Assessment immediately upon filing.

According to Channel News Asia, about 70,000 taxpayers - with an assessable income of S$40,000 (US$30,285) or less – took part in a pilot to this end last year, which the IRAS intends to scale up progressively.

Taxpayers on the No-Filing Service (NFS) scheme - of whom there are around 1.5 million – will be able to preview their bill on the myTax portal from this month. Should there be no changes to their pre-filled income and relief claims, they can also request an early assessment and their tax bill will be available on the portal for viewing by the next working day. IRAS said 40,000 taxpayers requested an early assessment last year.

The tax authority has also extended the pre-filling of income service to Grab and Uber drivers. Around 9,000 have opted to participate in the pilot service this year.

Some 96% of taxpayers filed their income tax returns on time in 2017, maintaining the record high set the previous year, IRAS said.

 Emma Woollacott

Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.

 

Leave a Reply

All blog comments are checked prior to publishing