Singapore Personal Income Tax Guide: How To File and Pay Your Personal Income Tax YA 2021

02 Mar 2021

Singapore Personal Income Tax Guide 2021

If you’re working in Singapore, chances are, you probably need to pay tax.

Here in Singapore, we follow a progressive personal income tax rate which starts at 0% and maxes out at 22% for employment and self-employment incomes above $320,000.

Thankfully, there is no capital gain or inheritance tax.

For 2021, the deadline for personal income tax submission will be by 18 April 2021 (Sunday).

Think that this is all too cheem (Hokkien: complex)?

Fret not!

This really simple and essential guide should help you figure out your personal income tax in no time!

Tips & Tricks for Income Tax Relief!

TL;DR: How to File Your Personal Income Tax in 2021

Paying your taxes is mandatory as it helps to fund Government spending on common resources (eg. infrastructure like roads, and security like the Singapore Armed Forces and the Singapore Police Force).

It’s pretty straightforward as you can do it online via myTax Portal or by paper filing.

To pay lesser tax, you can do so through various (legal) ways like charity contributions, NSman deductions, CPF Top-ups etc.

If you want to know exactly how much income you have to pay…

You can use the IRAS Personal Tax Calculator to find out!

Do I Need to File My Income Tax?

Before you get started on filing your income tax, it’s important to understand whether you need to file your income tax or not.

1) You Receive a Letter, Form or SMS From IRAS Telling You That You NEED to File Your Income Tax

Pretty straightforward.

This means that you’ll need to file your income tax return via myTax Portal between 1 March to 18 April 2021.

If your employer applied for the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) for Employment Income, any information about your salary will be pre-filled.

If you’re a commission agent or taxi or private-hire car driver and you and your organisation are participating in the Pre-filling of Income for Self-Employed Persons Scheme, your income information from the organisation will also be pre-filled.

But, you’ll still need to complete the other field in your tax return form before submitting it.

You can also check if your employer is participating in the AIS here.

2) You Receive a Letter or SMS From IRAS Telling You That You DO NOT Need to File Your Income Tax

If you receive a letter or an SMS telling you that you do not need to file your income tax for the year.

FYI: the SMS is sent around mid-February of each year.

SMS For Self-Employed Persons (SEPs) under the Pre-filling of Income Scheme:

<SXXXX567A>: We have implemented No-Filing Service (NFS) for selected self-employed
taxpayers for 2021. You do NOT need to file a 2021 tax return under NFS. From 1 Mar to 18 Apr,
you can verify your income and relief claims. Preview your tax bill at
https://mytax.iras.gov.sg/iras/filetax. You may request for early assessment or await your tax bill
that will be sent subsequently. Details at www.go.gov.sg/iras-sepnfs

That means that you have been selected for No-Filing Service (NFS) and do not need to file a tax return.

However, if you wish to make any adjustments (for eg. changes to income details or relief claims) you can log in to myTax Portal to file it.

The next thing you’ll need to look out for would be your Notice of Assessment (NOA) or tax bill which will be sent to you around end-April.

This will tell you how much income tax is payable.

If there are any discrepancies, you can inform IRAS through the “Object to Assessment” e-Service in myTax Portal.

3) You DO NOT Receive Anything From IRAS

This DOES NOT mean that you don’t have to file your income tax.

You will still need to file a tax return if your:

annual net business income exceeded $6,000, OR
annual income (inclusive of rental income) was more than $22,000 last year

Just be a good citizen and head over to myTax Portal to file your tax return.

Starting from this year, selected taxpayers on the No-Filing Service will receive a Direct Notice of Assessment (D-NOA).

This means that they will not receive a notification from IRAS during tax filing season but will receive their tax bill directly from May onwards.

The D-NOA initiative will be extended to more taxpayers progressively over the next few years.

How to File Your Income Tax in 2021

It’s really simple.

There are three components to filing your personal income tax.

1) Income

When it comes to income, there is taxable income and non-taxable income.

Here are some examples of taxable income:

Employment Income
Salaries
Bonuses
Director’s Fee
Self-employment income from Trade, Business, Profession or Vocation
Rental Income
Withdrawal from SRS

Non-taxable income includes:

Winnings from 4D, TOTO, horse betting and soccer betting.
Capital gains from stocks and property investments
Pensions
CPF Life Payouts

You can also refer to this IRAS table for a full list of what’s taxable and what’s not.

2) Deductions

Deductions refer to any allowable expenses you incurred or approved donations you made during the year.

Some examples of deductions include:

Employment expenses incurred by employees because of work (e.g. work-from-home expenses, such as electricity charges and telecommunication charges, that were not reimbursed by your employer)
Business expenses incurred in carrying on a trade, business, profession or vocation
Rental expenses
Approved donations to recognised charitable organisations and institutions

3) Tax Reliefs

Usually given if you support certain government initiatives with “to promote specific social and economic objectives”.

General Reliefs Available to ALL Taxpayers	Amount of Tax Relief	Additional Reliefs Available to Married/ Divorced/ Widowed Taxpayers
Note: Eligibility is dependent on individual meeting the qualifying criteria		Available to Male and Female Taxpayers	Available to Female Taxpayers
Course Fees Relief	Up to $5,500	NSman (Parent) Relief Qualifying/ Handicapped Child Relief Spouse/ Handicapped Spouse Relief	NSman (Wife) Relief Foreign Domestic Worker Levy Relief Grandparent Caregiver Relief Working Mother's Child Relief
CPF Cash Top Up (You and your family member)	Up to $14,000 ($7,000 for self, $7,000 for family members)
CPF Relief	Depends
Earned Income Relief	Up to $8,000
Earn Income Relief (for handicapped person)	Up to $12,000
Handicapped Brother/Sister Relief	$5,500 for each handicapped sibling or sibling-in-law
Life Insurance Relief	The difference between $5,000 and your CPF contribution or Up to 7% of the insured value of your own/your wife's life or the amount of insurance premiums paid.
NSman Relief	Up to $5,000
Parent Relief	Up to $9,000 per dependant
Handicapped Parent Relief	Up to $14,000 per dependant
Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) Relief	$15,300
Donation	250% of donation value
Claim rental expenses on residential property	15% of rental income and home loan interest

Some common ones which most of you might qualify for include:

Having children
Staying with your parents
Serving the country through National Service
Topping up your CPF account (as a means of planning for your retirement)

You can also refer to this IRAS table for a full list of qualifying reliefs, expenses, donations to make sure you don’t miss out on any!

Do note that there is a limit to the amount of tax relief which you can receive.

The income tax relief ceiling is currently $80,000.

Personal Income Tax Rates for Residents 2021

Once you’ve filed your income tax.

You’ll want to see how much you’re getting taxed.

As mentioned earlier, tax residents are taxed at progressive tax rates.

Here’re the personal income tax rates for residents:

Chargeable Income	Income Tax Rate (%)	Gross Tax Payable (S$)	Total Income Tax in this income bracket (S$)
First $20,000 Next $10,000	0 2	0 200	200
First $30,000 Next $10,000	- 3.50	200 350	550
First $40,000 Next $40,000	- 7	550 2,800	3,350
First $80,000 Next $40,000	- 11.50	3,350 4,600	7,950
First $120,000 Next $40,000	- 15	7,950 6,000	13,950
First $160,000 Next $40,000	- 18	13,950 7,200	21,150
First $200,000 Next $40,000	- 19	21,150 7,600	28,750
First $240,000 Next $40,000	- 19.50	28,750 7,800	36,550
First $280,000 Next $40,000	- 20	36,550 8,000	44,550
First $320,000 In excess of $320,000	- 22	44,550	-

As you can see, the more you earn, the more you’re taxed.

Which is kind of logical and pragmatic if you think about it…

It’s also worth noting that Singapore boasts one of the lowest tiered tax rates in the world for a country with a pretty high standard of living.

Personal Income Tax Rates for Non-Residents 2021

Non-residents are taxed at a flat rate of 15% or the resident rates — whichever results in a higher tax amount on your employment income

Director’s fees and other income are taxed at 22%.

Here’re the personal income tax rates for non-residents:

Type of Income	Non-resident individual tax rate / withholding tax rate from YA 2017
Director's remuneration	22%
Income derived from activity as a non-resident professional (consultant, trainer, coach, etc.)	15% of gross income or 22% of net income
Income derived from activity as a non-resident public entertainer (artiste, musician, sportsman, etc.)	10% concessionary rate (No change)
Other income e.g. property rental income	22%
SRS withdrawal by a non-citizen SRS member	22%
Interest, royalty etc.	Reduced final withholding tax rate (subject to conditions) as follows: Interest: 15% Royalty: 10% OR 22% if reduced final withholding tax rate is not applicable.

Note: you’re also not entitled to tax reliefs.

You can also refer to this IRAS site for tax rates for non-residents if you’d like more information.

Commonly Asked Questions About Income Tax

If this is your first time paying income tax, you probably have a lot of questions.

Here are some commonly asked ones.

Who Is Subjected to Income Tax?

Generally, income tax applies to people in Singapore who are tax residents and are deriving some form of income from:

Employment (Salary or Bonuses)
Trade, Business, Profession or Vocation (e.g. online sellers and service providers, gig workers, commission agents and private hire car/taxi drivers)
Property or Investments
Other Sources (e.g. annuities, royalties, winnings or estate or trust income)

How Do I Know If I’m A Tax Resident?

You will be treated as a tax resident for a particular YA if you are a:

Singapore Citizen who normally resides in Singapore except for temporary absences
Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) who has established a permanent home in Singapore
A foreigner who has stayed or worked in Singapore (excluding director of a company) for 183 days or more in the previous year, i.e. the year before the YA.

If you are employed overseas but now working remotely from Singapore due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, IRAS will treat you as not exercising employment in Singapore, if you meet certain conditions.

Are My Investment Dividends Taxable?

This is a very common question which we always get by members of the SeedlyCommunity.

Non-Taxable Dividends

Generally, the following dividends are not taxable:

Dividends paid on or after 1 Jan 2008 by a Singapore resident company under the one-tier corporate tax system except for co-operatives;
Foreign dividends received in Singapore on or after 1 Jan 2004 by resident individuals. If an individual resident in Singapore receives foreign-sourced dividends through a partnership in Singapore, these dividends may be exempt from Singapore tax if certain conditions are met. For details, please refer to Tax Exemption for Foreign-Sourced Income;
Income distribution from Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), except distributions derived by individuals through a partnership in Singapore, or from the carrying on of a trade, business or profession in REITs.

Taxable Dividends

The following dividends are subject to income tax:

Dividends paid by co-operatives;
Foreign-sourced dividends derived by individuals through a partnership in Singapore. Conditions may apply. For more details, please refer to Tax Exemption for Foreign-Sourced Income;
Income distribution from Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) derived by individuals through a partnership in Singapore, or from the carrying on of a trade, business or profession in REITs

Need More Help or Clarification about Income Tax?

Why not ask the friendly members of Seedly?

There’re always people actively discussing all things income tax-related!

About Kenneth Lou

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