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In Singapore, both individuals and businesses practise annual (instead of monthly) tax filing. For businesses, employers have to report to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) how much their employees earned last year, from 1 Jan to 31 Dec. They make this report through the IR8A form.
Here’s a simple guide on IR8A filing for employers – from how to complete the form to when the form must be completed.
| Do prepare IR8A for | Do not prepare IR8A for |
| (a) Full-time resident employee; (b) Part-time resident employee; (c) Non-resident employee including those who are based overseas and are required to render service in Singaporeduring the year (exclude details of employment income where clearance has been filed); (d) Company director (including a non-resident director); (e) Board Member receiving Board/Committee Member fees; (f) Pensioner; and (g) Employee who has left the organisation but was in receipt of income in 2020 (e.g. stock options gains) | (a) Foreigners posted overseas after clearance has been filed and did not render any employment service in Singapore for the rest of the calendar year; (b) Foreigners who are contracted by a Singapore employer to be based overseas and rendered their employment services wholly outside Singapore for the whole calendar year; and (c) Foreigners who have left the organisation where the filing of Form IR21 is required. |
When do I need to complete the form?
You will need print out the IR8A for every employee, complete each form and give the form to each employee by 1 Mar, 2021.
NOTE: For a computer-printed Form IR8A, a signature is not compulsory. However, the name, designation, contact number of the authorised person and the date must be stated. Also, do not send the completed forms to IRAS.
As that is a lot of manual work, you may prefer the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) for convenience. The information you submit will show up on your employees’ electronic tax return, as well as in their income tax assessments. As a result, you need not issue hardcopy Form IR8A and the appendices to your employees.
What if I miss the deadline for submission?
If you fail to comply, you may face charges under Section 94 of the Income Tax Act. Upon conviction, you may meet with a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment of up to 6 months.
When do I need to complete the form?
You will need print out the IR8A for every employee, complete each form and give the form to each employee by 1 Mar, 2021.
NOTE: For a computer-printed Form IR8A, a signature is not compulsory. However, the name, designation, contact number of the authorised person and the date must be stated. Also, do not send the completed forms to IRAS.
As that is a lot of manual work, you may prefer the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) for convenience. The information you submit will show up on your employees’ electronic tax return, as well as in their income tax assessments. As a result, you need not issue hardcopy Form IR8A and the appendices to your employees.
What if I miss the deadline for submission?
If you fail to comply, you may face charges under Section 94 of the Income Tax Act. Upon conviction, you may meet with a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment of up to 6 months.
What is the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS)?
An Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) for employment income is available for employers to electronically submit the IR8A information to the tax authority (IRAS). It allows employers to declare the lump sum amounts with less effort compared to completing the hardcopy IR8A form. This also benefits employees, because they don’t need to manually update it themselves. After all, their employer has directly updated their information onto their tax portal.
As of 2021, participating in AIS is mandatory for employers with 7 or more employees. But what if you are an employer with 7 or more employees who did not receive any notification from IRAS to participate IRAS? In this case, do inform IRAS at [email protected], as they will need to send a letter to you to participate in AIS!
One-click submission via IRAS-approved HR system
You’ll want to check out the list of Supporting Payroll Software Vendors for the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) for Employment Income (as of 10 Nov 2020).
You can generate all employee income tax forms for FREE, in 3 steps and directly to IRAS with a Talenox account. Talenox is an IRAS-approved software that supports the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) for Employment Income: