6 Mar 09
It is the tax-filing season again
This year’s No-Filing Service (NFS) will benefit about 493,000 individual taxpayers as they may not need to file a tax return to IRAS. Instead, they will receive their Notices of Assessment from IRAS directly. For those on GIRO instalments, it means no action is required of them at all, making tax paying a non-event for them.
The NFS was first introduced in 2007 to about 45,000 taxpayers and was extended to about 332,000 taxpayers last year. These are taxpayers who only have auto-included income and claim the standard tax relief items. They do not need to file a tax return unless they have other income that has not been auto-included (e.g. rental income, income from free-lancing) or have changes to make to their tax relief claims.
This service is made possible by the numerous simplifications made to the individual income tax system over the years, and with more employers submitting salary information of their employees directly to IRAS under the Auto-Inclusion Scheme for Employment Income (AIS) . Employees whose employers are in the AIS find it easy and convenient to file their tax returns as their employment income information is already provided to IRAS directly by their employers. This year, about 8,500 employers are on the AIS, up from last year’s figure of 6,300. With 2,200 more employers in the AIS, another 220,000 taxpayers do not need to provide their employment income when they file their tax returns this year, bringing the total number of taxpayers benefiting from the AIS to 960,000.
Taxpayers who have enquiries on the NFS or tax filing can call 1800-356 8300 (Mon to Fri, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or Sat, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.) or email us at taxqueries@iras.gov.sg. Taxpayers who wish to check whether they need to file their taxes may also check through Filetax by simply sending an SMS with their NRIC number to 91164900 using this format: filetax<space>NRIC / FIN Number. Do note that prevailing SMS charges apply.
e-Filing of Partnership Tax Return (Form P)
Filing of Partnership tax return has been made simpler for partnerships. Instead of having to manually fill out the partners’ particulars and calculate the share of profits/loss of each of the partners, those who e-File the Partnership tax return can enjoy the convenience of having the particulars pre-filled and the share of income automatically computed for them. Taxpayers who wish to find out more about Form P e-Filing may call 1800 352 4727.
Payment Matters - Defer GIRO Scheme
Taxpayers who are on GIRO instalment plan can choose to defer the payment of their income tax for Year of Assessment 2009 for 3 months, from May to July this year. They can do so by putting in their request via the IRAS website before Mar 15 2009 using their SingPass. To-date, about 17,000 taxpayers have opted to join the DeferGIRO scheme. Their instalment plan will resume in August 2009 and end in April 2010. Taxpayers can call IRAS on 1800 356 4055 or email defergiro@iras.gov.sg for enquiries.
More accessible locations in the heartlands to help taxpayers e-File
To provide greater accessibility and convenience to taxpayers and to encourage them to e-File, IRAS has tied up with the Central Provident Fund Board (CPF) to set up off-site e-Filing service centres this year. Taxpayers may visit any of the following locations for e-Filing assistance:
a) IRAS e-Filing Service Centres
(Mon to Fri - 11am to 7pm, Saturday - 9am to 2pm) [16 Mar to 18 Apr 2009]
Chong Pang Community Club
Bedok Community Centre
b) CPF Service Centres
(Mon to Fri - 8am to 5pm, Saturday - 8am to 1pm) [16 Mar to 18 Apr 2009]
CPF Main office @ Tanjong Pagar
CPF Tampines Service Centre
CPF Bishan Service Centre
CPF Jurong East Service Centre
CPF Woodlands Service Centre
c) CitizenConnect Centres
(Sat & Sun only, 2pm-6pm) [28 Mar to 18 Apr 2009]
More information on the locations of the 25 CitizenConnect Centres.
File early to avoid last-minute rush
The due date for e-Filing is 18 Apr 09, and 15 Apr 09 for hardcopy returns. Taxpayers are encouraged to e-File early to avoid the last-minute rush. Those submitting paper returns can post their returns in any SingPost box by 12 midnight of 15 April and still meet the deadline. They need not submit their forms personally at Revenue House.
Issued by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore