How to Complete Form C

Q1. How do I claim for qualifying deductions/allowances under PIC?

You must:

1) Check Part I Box 4 on Page 1 of Form C; and

2) Complete Section E of “Additional Information on Income and Deductions in Part VI to XII of Form C (Form IRIN 301)".

Q2. The company spent $300,000 in YA 2011 to purchase computers that qualify for enhanced allowances under PIC. It has opted to defer its claim for capital allowances on the computers. How should I complete Form C?

You are required to:

1) Check Part 1 Box 4 on Page 1 of Form C;

2) Assuming that the computers of $300,000 were the only new assets that the company acquired in YA 2011, complete Part IX Box 32 on Page 5 of Form C with “$300,000”; and

3) Complete Section E Box 21 of “Additional Information on Income and Deductions in Part VI to XII of Form C (Form IRIN 301)” as follows:

- Total cost incurred = $300,000
- Enhanced deductions/allowances = $900,000*

*300% x qualifying cost of $300,000

Q3. The company acquired computers of $100,000 that qualify for enhanced allowance under PIC on hire purchase terms in YA 2011. Principal repayments made in YA 2011 amounted to $50,000. The company would like to make a claim for capital allowance under Section 19A(2) of the Income Tax Act (i.e. over a tax life of one year) on the cost of computers. How should I complete Form C?

You are required to check Part 1 Box 4 on Page 1 of Form C.

Assuming that the computers of $100,000 were the only new assets that the company acquired in YA 2011, you are also required to complete:

1) Part VII Box 22 on Page 4 of Form C with “$200,000**”;

2) Part IX Box 32 on Page 5 of Form C with “$100,000”;

3) Section B Box 17 of “Additional Information on Income and Deductions in Part VI to XII of Form C (Form IRIN 301)” with “$200,000**”; and

4) Section E Box 21 of “Additional Information on Income and Deductions in Part VI to XII of Form C (Form IRIN 301)” as follows:

- Total cost incurred = $50,000
- Enhanced deductions/allowances = $150,000***

**[$50,000 / $100,000] x [$100,000 + (300% x qualifying cost of $100,000)]
***[$50,000 / $100,000] x [300% x qualifying cost of $100,000]

Q4. My company paid $450,000 to a research and development (R&D) organisation to conduct qualifying R&D activities in Singapore on behalf of my company. 
My company is claiming 60% of the fees under PIC for
YA 2011.  How should I complete Form IRIN 301?

You are required to:

1) Check Part 1 Box 4 on Page 1 of Form C;

2) Complete Section E Box 25 of “Additional Information on Income and Deductions in Part VI to XII of Form C (Form IRIN 301)” as follows:

- Total cost incurred = $450,000
- Enhanced deductions/allowances = $675,000
(250% x $270,000*)

*Deemed qualifying R&D expenditure = 60% x $450,000
= $270,000

Can I submit only Page 1 of Form C if Box 1 is checked but Box 2 is not checked?

You can submit only Page 1 of Form C if Box 1 is checked and it does not have any unutilised losses, capital allowances or donations brought forward or to be carried forward.

If Box 2 is not checked, the company could have owned investments during the basis period but such investments do not generate any income for the year of assessment. The company can still submit only Page 1 of Form C provided it also does not have any unutilised losses or donations to be carried forward.

Boxes 1 & 2

How do I claim for tax exemption scheme for new start-up companies?

You must complete Part IV on Page 1 of the Form C as follows:

1. If the company satisfied all the qualifying conditions, enter “1” (Yes) in Box 1.

2. State the first YA upon incorporation in YYYY format.

If the tax computation and accounts are maintained in a currency other than the Singapore dollars, how do we complete the Form C to show that the currency is not Singapore dollars?

Form C should be completed in Singapore dollars and not in the foreign currency. Please refer to the IRAS circular on 'Filing of Income Tax Computations and Financial Statements in Functional Currencies other than Singapore Dollars' for details.

Box 1a

Trade/business income

Q1. What is the amount to be declared in Box 1a?

The amount to be declared is the adjusted profit/loss figure after deducting unutilised capital allowances brought forward, current year capital allowances and unutilised losses brought forward.

Q2. How to arrive at the adjusted profit/loss figure?

This is the amount after adjusting the net profit/loss as per the accounts for non-taxable items, separate source income, and disallowable expenses.

To note:

The amount to be declared in Box 1a should be the amount before deducting the exempt amount under the partial tax exemption scheme/tax exemption scheme for new start-up companies*.

If the amount is a loss/negative figure, enter “X” in the box on the extreme left hand side.

You may download the Basic Tax Calculator to help you compute the adjusted profit/loss and chargeable income.

*Applicable to new companies which satisfy the qualifying conditions and have indicated so on Part IV on Page 1 of the Form C.

Q3. For an investment holding company receiving passive income, should I reflect the net investment income in this box?

No. Please complete Boxes 1b to 1f on Page 2 of Form C, where applicable.

Box 1c

Trust distribution

Trust distribution made out of income already taxed at the trustee level need not be included in this box.

Amount to be declared include REIT distribution.

Note: You must attach a list showing details of distributions received.

Box 1d

Rent - S10(1)(f)

Q1. Should the gross rent or net rent after deducting rental expenses be declared?

The net rent is to be declared.

Q2. What amount should be filled in Box 1d if the net rent is negative?

If the net rent is negative, enter “0”.

However, if the negative rent is a result of Industrial Building Allowances claimed against the rent, enter the negative amount with an “X” in the box on the extreme left hand side to indicate loss/negative amount.

Box 2

Foreign income received in Singapore

Q1. What kind of income should be included in this section?

This refers to income sourced outside Singapore and is remitted to Singapore, e.g.

• Foreign dividends and interest income received from overseas. For foreign dividends, if double tax relief is claimed, the amount to be entered should be the regrossed amount net of allowable expenses (if any).
• Profits of overseas branches or permanent establishments remitted to Singapore.

Please exclude foreign income remitted into Singapore but exempted under Sections 13(8) and 13(8A) of the Income Tax Act (ITA). For foreign income exempted under Sections 13(8) and 13(8A) of the ITA, please complete Box 18 on Page 4 of Form C and where applicable, Section D of “Additional Information on Income and Deductions in Parts VI to XII of Form C (Form IRIN 301)”.

Q2. Where should I declare any foreign income not remitted to Singapore?

This need not be indicated in the Form C. However, the amount should be shown in your tax computation.

Box 4

Current year donations and unutilised donations b/f

Q1. Must I submit original donation receipts?

Yes and the original receipts must bear the words “Tax Deductible” issued by Institutions of a Public Character (IPCs) and/or other approved recipients unless the company has given its Tax Reference Number to the IPCs and/or other approved recipients.

Q2. What is the amount to be declared?

The amount to be declared is 2.5 times the amount of approved donations made.

Q3. Is there any time limit to carry forward unutilised donations?

With effect from YA 2003, any unutilised donations can be carried forward to set-off against the income for the subsequent YA up to a maximum of 5 years if there is no substantial change in the ultimate shareholders and shareholdings.

For example, if the company has balance of unutilised donations from YA 2005 as at the end of YA 2010, these should be disregarded and not carried forward to YA 2011.

Box 6

Loss transferred to claimant company

Box 7

Carry-back of current year capital allowances/losses

The amount to be entered is the current year capital allowances/losses to be carried back to the immediate preceding year of assessment, subject to a maximum of $100,000.

Box 8a

Research & development (R&D) tax allowance

Can I utilise my R&D tax allowance and also claim enhanced deduction on R&D expenditure under PIC scheme?

No. You must make a choice between utilising your R&D tax allowance granted in YA 2009 and/or YA 2010 or claiming enhanced deduction under PIC.

Boxes 11 and 13

Chargeable income

If the amount is negative, enter "0".

Q1. Should the chargeable income be the amount before or after deducting the exempt amount under the partial exemption scheme or tax exemption scheme for new start-up companies?

The chargeable income to be declared should be the amount before deducting the exempt amount. IRAS will compute the exempt amount under the partial tax exemption scheme or tax exemption scheme for new start-up companies* when raising the assessment.

*Applicable to new companies which satisfy the qualifying conditions and have indicated so on Part IV on Page 1 of the Form C.

Q2 Should the chargeable income in Box 13 include concessionary income?

Yes, the amount should include income taxed at normal rate and concessionary rates. (Details of the concessionary income should also be filled in Box 14).

Q3. Should the chargeable income include exempt income arising from tax incentives?

No. Exempt income arising from tax incentives should be filled in Box 18.

Box 12

Loss claimed from transferor company

Box 15

Tax set-offs

Box 16

Tax deducted at source

Box 17b

Tax to be remitted under Sections 92(1) and 92(2)

Box 18

Exempt income/loss for current year of assessment

The amount to be entered is the current year adjusted exempt income/loss after current year capital allowances and donations, where applicable.

It includes foreign income exempted under Sections 13(8) and 13(8A) of the ITA but exclude one-tier exempt dividends received. Please also complete Section D of “Additional Information on Income and Deductions in Part VI to XII of Form C (Form IRIN 301)”, where applicable.

Boxes 19 and 20

Claim of unutilised capital allowances/losses/donations

Q1. If the company has an adjusted loss but unutilised capital allowances brought forward has been used to offset income from separate source/balancing charge, how should Box 19 be completed?

Please indicate "1" (Yes) in Box 19 since there is a claim for unutilised capital allowances in Section 1 of Part VI.

Q2. When should Box 20 be completed?

Only when Box 19b is indicated with "1" (Yes), i.e., there is a substantial change in the company's shareholders and their shareholdings and the company is applying for a waiver of the shareholding test under Sections 23(5) and 37(16) of the ITA.

Q3. Where unutilised capital allowances/losses are claimed and part of the capital allowances/losses is to be disregarded for certain periods (i.e. company is not claiming for a waiver under Sections 23(5) and 37(16) of the ITA), how should the relevant boxes be completed?

Box 19 is to be completed with "1" (Yes)

Box 19b is to be completed with "2" (No)

You may leave Box 20 blank since no unutilised capital allowance/loss is claimed under Sections 23(5) and 37(16) of the ITA.

The amount of capital allowances/losses disregarded should be shown in the tax computation.

Boxes 21 to 27

Unutilised capital allowances/losses/donations b/f and c/f

Q1. If the unutilised capital allowances and losses are to be totally disregarded and not to be set-off against the income for the current year of assessment because of a substantial change in shareholdings, do I still have to complete Box 21 and Boxes 23 to 25?

Yes. The amount to be entered for Boxes 21 and 24 will be the brought forward balances. Boxes 23 and 25 are to be completed with zeros.

Q2. Should the amounts entered in Boxes 23, 25 and 27 be before or after group relief?

This should be the amounts after group relief.

Q3. How do I compute the current year capital allowances for the purposes of completing Box 22?

The amount to be entered for Box 22 will be the total capital allowances, industrial building allowances and land intensification allowances claimed in the current year of assessment, i.e. IA¹ + AA² + BA³ – BC⁴. If the total is a negative amount (i.e. BC), please fill up Box 22 with a zero.

¹Initial allowance
²Annual allowance
³Balancing allowance
⁴Balancing charge

Box 28

Income not previously reported

Where should the amount of additional expenses incurred for back years (commonly termed as prior years' adjustments) be indicated?

There is no provision for this item in Form C. However, the adjustments may be reflected in the relevant revised tax computation and supporting schedules.

Box 29

Receipts claimed as not taxable (Including real estate)

Does the "amount" represent gross sale proceeds or net profit?
Does receipt mean cash receipt? Is a waiver of loan of a capital nature excluded?

This represents net profit.

Receipts here include both cash and non-cash receipts.

A waiver of loan that is of a capital nature is therefore included.

Box 32

New assets

Q1. If the company is claiming capital allowance for the first time for assets purchased in previous years, should the amount be included in Box 32?

No. The amount to be declared is the cost of new assets purchased during the year for which capital allowances and/or industrial building allowances can be claimed.

Q2. Should I include the cost of the new assets purchased during the year if I defer the capital allowance and/or industrial building allowance claim?

Yes.

Q3. Does Part IX include new assets purchased under hire purchase? If yes, should the cost of the assets be the principal cost or principal repayments made during the year?

Part IX includes assets purchased under hire purchase and cost of assets refers to the principal cost.

Box 33

Q1. What is the amount to be declared in Box 33?

The amount to be declared is the current year qualifying R&R expenses incurred on renovating or refurbishing business premises. This is subject to a cap of $150,000 for each relevant three consecutive basis periods.

Box 34

Withholding tax

Q1. If a company is making a claim for deduction on a payment made to a non-resident that is exempt from withholding tax under the provision of the Avoidance of Double Taxation agreement (DTA), how should Box 34 be completed?

Payments exempt from withholding tax should not be included in Part XI of Form C.

Q2. The company has made a provision for royalty payable to non-residents. Since the royalty is not due for payment, withholding tax has not been complied with. In addition, no tax deduction has been claimed for the provision. In this case, how does the company complete Part XI?

If the payment to non-resident is not deemed paid or payable under Section 45/45A/45B/45D/45F/45GA/45H, Box 34 should be completed as "2" (No).

Where a company has branches overseas, should Part XII be completed on the basis of the company's Singapore operations only, or the consolidated results as reflected in the audited accounts?

Balance sheet items are to be completed based on the consolidated results. Profit and loss account items are to be completed based on the results of the Singapore operation.

Box 35

Revenue

This refers to the main income source of the company.

Note: The revenue amount will be used for computing the SME Cash Grant, where applicable.

Examples:
1) The revenue of an investment company would be its investment income (e.g. dividend income, interest income).
2) The company is in a manufacturing trade and also derives passive income such as interest. The revenue will be the income derived from its manufacturing trade.

Box 36

Purchases

Q1. Does "Purchases" refer to cost of sales?

No. However, if the figure for "purchases" is not available in the accounts, fill in the figure for "cost of sales" instead, if this figure is available.

Q2. Does "Purchases" include opening stock?

No.

Box 37 

Gross profit/loss

This refers to the amount after taking into account the cost of goods sold. If there is no cost of goods sold, the gross profit should be the same amount as the revenue.

If the amount is a loss/negative figure, enter “X” in the box on the extreme left hand side.

Box 39

Sales, general and administrative expenses (Exclude amount in Box 40, Box 41 and Box 42) 

Q1. Can the company fill in the required figure as per the description in the company's audited accounts? If there is no such description in the accounts, can the figure be that of the total of all expenses after the gross profit line?

The company can fill in the required figure as per the description in the company's audited accounts. Where there is no such description in the accounts, the total of all expenses after the gross profit line can be used as long as the company is of the view that this figure is for sales, general and administrative expenses. Finance cost need not be included in Box 39 unless the company has included Finance cost as part of Sales, General and Administrative Expenses. Please also exclude directors’ fees, directors’ remuneration, head office expenses and staff training expenses as these items should be declared in Boxes 40, 41 and/or 42 separately.

Box 40

Directors’ fees and directors’ remuneration

The amount should include both directors’ fees and directors’ remuneration. Directors’ remuneration includes salaries, leave pay, commissions, bonuses, gratuities, allowances, other emoluments paid in cash and contributions made to approved pension or provident funds which are deductible under the Act.

Box 42

Staff training expenses

Box 43

Other receivables

Q1. Where the accounts have an item called "Other receivables, deposits, and prepayments", can a figure that represents the total of the three components be used? On the other hand, if there is no such item in the account, is the figure '0' to be filled?

If there is a breakdown of "Other receivables, deposits, and prepayments" in the Notes to the Accounts, please fill in the figure for "Other receivables" in Box 43. However, if there is no such breakdown, the figure for "Other receivables, deposits, and prepayments" can be used. In the case where the item "Other receivables, deposits, and prepayments" is not available anywhere in the accounts, please fill in the figure '0'.

Box 44

Trade receivables

Q1. Can the amount of trade receivables, net of provision be entered if the amount of gross amount of trade receivables is not available anywhere in the accounts?

Yes, the amount of trade receivables, net of provision amount can be used if the gross amount of trade receivables is not available anywhere in the accounts. The figure should also include third party and related trade debts.

Box 45

Trade payables

Q1. Does trade payables include third party trade creditors, inter-company trade payables, accrued operating expenses, and hire purchase creditors?

The amount of trade payables includes third party trade payables and inter-company trade payables, but excludes accrued operating expenses and hire purchase creditors.

Box 47

Total (Add Boxes 35 up to 46)

Note: From YA2009 onwards, Forms IRIN 306 (Exempt dividend account) and IRIN 307 (Schedule of Singapore Dividend/Interest/Trust Distribution Received and Tax Deducted), are no longer applicable.

From YA 2011 onwards, Form IRIN 312 (Details of Interest-Free/Subsidised Loans to Individual Directors/Shareholders) is no longer applicable.

If you are completing the Form C for previous years of assessment, you may download:

Guide to completing Form C for the Year of Assessment 2010 (54KB)

Guide to completing Form C for the Year of Assessment 2009 (72KB)

Guide to completing Form C for the Year of Assessment 2008 and before (95KB)