Quick Guide to Singapore Personal Income Tax [Income Tax]

Personal Income Tax Rebate for Resident Individuals For 2008 and 2009

To help cushion the effects of the economic downturn on individuals, all tax residents will be granted an income tax rebate of 20%, up to a maximum cap of $2,000, for Year of Assessment 2009.

The 20% tax rebate is calculated based on the tax payable after double taxation relief (DTR) and other credits but before set-off of the Parenthood Tax Rebate.

If you are a tax resident, IRAS will compute this rebate automatically. You do not need to apply for it.

Are You Tax Residents or Tax Non-residents

Different tax rates apply for tax residents and non-residents. You will be treated as a tax resident for a particular Year of Assessment (YA) if you are a:

• Singaporean; or
• Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) if you have established your permanent home in Singapore; or
• Foreigner who stayed/worked in Singapore for 183 days or more in previous year (excludes director of a company).

Otherwise, you will be treated as a non-resident for a particular YA for Singapore tax purposes.

Tax Rates for Resident Individuals

“X” denotes the total income you receive.

1. If X < SGD 20,000, you pay NO income tax.
2. 20,000 < X < 30,000, you pay “(X-20,000)*3.5%”
3. 30,000 < X < 40,000, you pay “350 + (X-30,000)*5.5%”
4. 40,000 < X < 80,000, you pay “900 + (X-40,000)*8.5%”
5. 80,000 < X < 160,000, you pay “4,300 + (X-80,000)*14%”
6. 160,000 < X < 320,000, you pay “15,500 + (X-160,000)*17%”
7. 320,000 < X, you pay “42,700 + (X-320,000)*20%”

For example, if your total income is SGD 60,000, you apply it to formula (4), “900 + (60,000 – 40,000)*8.5%”, which is SGD 2,600. Or, you can download the income tax return calculator here (Excel file)

Tax rates for Non-resident Individuals

Employment income
Your employment income is taxed at 15% or resident rate, whichever gives rise to a higher tax amount.

Director’s fees, consultation fees & all other income
The director’s fees, consultation fees and all other income that you received will be taxed at 20% from YA 2005 onwards.

Tax Exemption of Foreign – Sourced Income Received in Singapore

Tax exemption will be granted to all foreign-sourced income earned/ accrued outside Singapore on or before 21 Jan 2009 to resident non-individuals and resident partners of partnerships in Singapore and received in Singapore during the period from 22 Jan 2009 to 21 Jan 2010.

Total Deductions And Reliefs

Tax deduction will be increased for donations made in 2009 to Institutions of a Public Character and other approved recipients (such as approved museums, prescribed schools etc.) from double to 2.5 times. Find out more about deductions to save tax here.

• Expenses
• Donations & tax deductions
• Reliefs
• Parenthood tax rebate
• One-off personal tax rebate (for YA 2009)
• Highlights of Enhanced Marriage & Parenthood Tax Measures

You may claim the following expenses incurred for official duties which were not reimbursed by your employer:

• Traveling expenses other than expenses incurred on cars
• Entertainment expenses
• Subscriptions paid to professional bodies

You do not have to make any claim for Earned Income Relief as it is allowed automatically in your assessment based on your eligibility.

If your CPF contributions are $5,000 or more, no deduction will be allowed for any life insurance premiums paid.

Working outside Singapore / Overseas Income Tax

Generally, overseas income received in Singapore on or after 1 Jan 2004 is not taxable. This includes overseas income paid into a Singapore bank account. You do not need to declare overseas income that is not taxable. Overseas income is taxable in Singapore if:

• It is received in Singapore through partnerships in Singapore.
• Your overseas employment is incidental to your Singapore employment. That is, as part of your work here, you need to travel overseas.
• You are employed outside Singapore on behalf of Government of Singapore.

You need to declare the taxable overseas income and your Singapore income (if any) under ‘employment income’ and ‘other income’ (whichever applicable) in your tax form.

If you do not have any income in the previous year, you still need to declare zero income in your tax form and submit it to us by 15 Apr.

Income Tax Return e-Filing

IRAS adopts a service-oriented approach and has introduced many initiatives that benefit taxpayers. One of these initiatives is e-Filing, a hassle-free method to fulfil your tax obligations. Please click here to log in to myTax Portal to e-File your tax return by 15 Apr.

How to Make Income Tax Payment

You can make payment for income tax via:

• Pay via eNETS Debit (DBS/POSB, UOB or Citibank only)
• Pay via eNETS Credit (MasterCard or VISA debit / credit card only)
• Pay via Internet Banking (Log in via DBS, UOB, HSBC, MayBank or Standard Chartered Bank)
• Sign up for GIRO (You can also apply for GIRO online if you have an Internet banking account with DBS or OCBC)
• AXS
• ATM
• S.A.M
• Singapore Post
• Phone-Banking
• Cheques/ Cashier’s Order
• vPOST

To defer your income tax payment for Year of Assessment (YA) 2009, please see information on DeferGIRO.

If you cannot submit your form by 15 Apr

All you have to do is select the type of tax matters (for this case, “individual income tax”) you are logging in for and click your preferred log-in method (SingPass/IRAS PIN) and e-File by 15 April. To apply, you need to email IRAS or fax to them on 6351 3636 the following:

• your full name and tax reference number
• reason for your request
• an estimate of your chargeable income

Penalties for Income Tax Filing Late or Not Filing

A Letter of Composition will be issued:

• If your Income Tax Return is not filed by the filing due date, 15 Apr.
• If your Income Tax Return is filed after the filing due date, 15 Apr.

To settle the Letter of Composition, you can file the Income Tax Return and pay the composition fee by the due date as stated in the letter. If IRAS does not receive your Income Tax Return and the composition fee by the due date as stated in the letter, a summons will be issued to you to attend Court. We have observed that the fine imposed by the Court is usually higher than the amount of composition fee we offer.

A summons is a written notification that prosecution action has commenced against you. You will be required to attend Court on a date fixed by the Court. A Warrant of Arrest may be issued:

• If you did not file your Income Tax Return AND
• Pay the composition fee AND
• Attend court on the date fixed by the Court.

A Warrant of Arrest is a court order authorising the police to bring you into custody because of the offence you have committed. The police may either arrest you or you may be asked to surrender yourself at the Warrant Enforcement Unit to execute the warrant.

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