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Singapore Compliance

What is IRAS

Learn about Singapore's tax authority and your responsibilities as an employer in Officaid.

Singapore's tax authority and what it means for employers

IRAS stands for the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore. It is the government agency responsible for collecting taxes and administering tax policies in Singapore. As an employer, you interact with IRAS primarily through reporting your employees' income each year.

Understanding IRAS helps you stay compliant and avoid penalties. The good news is that Officaid handles most of the complexity for you.

What IRAS Does

IRAS manages all tax-related matters in Singapore, including:

  • Income Tax collected from individuals and businesses.
  • Goods and Services Tax (GST) on goods and services sold in Singapore.
  • Property Tax on property owners.
  • Stamp Duty on legal documents like property transfers.

For employers, the most relevant responsibility is reporting employee income so IRAS can assess each employee's personal income tax.

Your Responsibilities as an Employer

Every year, employers in Singapore must report how much they paid each employee. This includes salaries, bonuses, allowances, and benefits. IRAS uses this information to calculate each employee's tax obligations.

Key employer responsibilities include:

  1. Submitting employment income records to IRAS by 1 March each year for the previous calendar year.
  2. Providing accurate information including basic salary, bonuses, allowances, benefits-in-kind, and employer CPF contributions.
  3. Issuing IR8A forms to employees if you are not enrolled in the Auto-Inclusion Scheme.
Late or inaccurate submissions can result in penalties from IRAS. Ensure your payroll records are accurate throughout the year.

The IR8A Form

The IR8A is the official form used to report an employee's earnings to IRAS. It summarises everything the employee earned during the calendar year, including:

  • Gross salary before any deductions.
  • Bonuses and variable payments.
  • Director's fees if applicable.
  • Allowances such as transport or housing.
  • Benefits-in-kind like company cars or housing provided by the employer.
  • Employer's CPF contributions for the year.

If your company is enrolled in the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS), you submit this information directly to IRAS electronically and do not need to issue paper forms to employees.

Learn more about electronic submissions in What is the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS).

Key Deadlines

IRAS has strict deadlines for employment income submissions:

  • 1 March is the deadline to submit employment income records for the previous year.
  • Electronic submissions through AIS must be completed by 1 March.
  • Paper submissions (Form IR8A) must reach employees by 1 March if you are not on AIS.
Start preparing your submissions in January to avoid last-minute rushes. Officaid generates all required reports with a few clicks.

How Officaid Helps with IRAS

Officaid tracks all the information IRAS needs throughout the year. When submission time comes, you can generate accurate reports without manually compiling data from multiple sources.

With Officaid, you can:

  • Generate IR8A data for each employee automatically based on their payroll history.
  • Submit electronically to IRAS through the Auto-Inclusion Scheme if your company is enrolled.
  • Review before submitting to catch any discrepancies or missing information.
  • Keep records of all submissions for audit purposes.

Because Officaid is an approved One Stop Payroll (OSP) vendor, your submissions go directly to IRAS through secure government channels.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. All employers in Singapore must report employee earnings to IRAS, regardless of company size. Even if you have only one employee, you must submit their income information by 1 March each year.

Late submissions may result in penalties from IRAS. The exact penalty depends on how late the submission is and whether it is a first-time or repeat offence. It is best to submit on time to avoid any issues.

Yes. You must report income for all employees who worked for you during the calendar year, including those who resigned or were terminated. Report the income they earned while employed with your company.

The IR8A reports standard employment income. The IR8S is an additional form used when there are excess or voluntary CPF contributions that need to be reported. Officaid generates both forms as needed.

Official Resources

For more information on employer tax obligations, visit:

Tax regulations may change from time to time. Officaid keeps track of these updates and applies them automatically. For the latest news, visit Officaid News.

What's Next?

Learn more about tax compliance and submissions:

iras tax ir8a singapore compliance