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Who can e-File IR21

You must be authorized by your company either as a Preparer or an Approver for the e-Filing of Form IR21.

Roles and Access Rights for Preparer and Approver are as follows:

Preparer Approver
  • Prepare form and save as draft for Approver to approve and submit to IRAS.
  • Cannot submit e-IR21.
  • Submit document(s) to Approver.  
  • View/edit/delete drafts prepared by himself and other Preparers within the organisation.
  • View tax clearance status of Form IR21 filed via post.
  • View all correspondence/notices sent by IRAS.
  • Approve and submit any e-IR21 pending approval. 
  • Prepare e-IR21.
  • Remove and re-attach document(s) before submission to IRAS.
  • Submit document(s) to IRAS.
  • View/edit/delete drafts prepared by Preparers, himself and other Approvers within the organisation.
  • View filing and tax clearance status of e-filed Form IR21 and Form IR21 filed via post.
  • View all correspondence/notices sent by IRAS.

Getting ready

Before you start filing, please get ready the relevant information required to complete the Form IR21. This includes:

  • Employee's Details
  • Employment Records
  • Income Details

The filing may take you 5-10 minutes to complete. To guide you through the e-Filing process, you can refer to the User Guide (1.58MB, PDF).

Points to note when e-Filing

"Save draft" facility

If you are not able to complete your filing in one session, you may save the e-IR21 as draft. You can access the draft later and make the necessary amendments before you submit the e-IR21.

The draft will be available up till 21 days from the date of creation.

When attaching and submitting documents to IRAS:

  • Before downloading the appendices, to click on "Save Draft" in order to be able to retrieve your filing information subsequently.
  • Uploaded documents will not be saved when you leave the page or save draft. Hence, the documents should be uploaded only when you are ready to submit.
  • If Preparer needs to revise only the Form IR21, Approver should click on "Save Draft". Preparer will then be able to make the necessary revisions.
  • If Preparer needs to upload a revised document, Approver should remove the document and click on "Save Draft". Preparer will then be able to re-attach the document and submit to Approver.

Timeout

If a filing session is left idle for more than 20 minutes, a connection timeout will occur and you have to log in to the portal again. If you are unable to complete your filing, save your changes as draft before you log out from the portal.

Acknowledgement

If your e-Filing is successful, you will see an Acknowledgement page after you click "Submit". To save the page with Internet Explorer:

  • Select "File Menu > Save As" on the browser window.
  • Select the location to save the HTML document.
  • Type in the desired file name in "File Name:" and click on the "Save" button.

Auto-Inclusion Scheme for Employment Income

Please see table below for the corresponding course of actions.

ScenariosChanges to be made to income detailsNo change to income details

Income details for the year prior to the year of cessation has been transmitted to IRAS under the Auto-Inclusion Scheme for Employment Income

Select:

- "Yes" to the "Auto Salary Inclusion Scheme" question.

- "Yes" to the "changes to the income details" question.

Please report the amended income details.

Select:

- "Yes" to the "Auto Salary Inclusion Scheme" question.

- "No" to the "changes to the income details" question.

You do not need to report the income details again.

Income details for the year prior to the year of cessation has not been transmitted

Select:

- "No" to the "Auto Salary Inclusion Scheme" question.

Please report the income details.

Types of e-IR21

Please select the appropriate type of e-IR21 and complete it according to the guidelines below.

OriginalAmendedAdditional (Post-cessation benefits provided after year of cessation)
  • You are e-Filing tax clearance for your employee for the first time. 
  • Complete the fields where applicable.
  • You wish to make changes to an Original/Amended Form IR21 filed previously, including reporting additional employment income which is taxable in the employment cessation year/year prior to the employment cessation year.
  • Report the full set of income details and the revised amount of withheld monies, as the Amended Form IR21 would supersede all Original/Amended Forms IR21 filed previously.


    Note:
  • If you are only making changes to the "Amount of Monies Withheld for Tax Clearance", please inform IRAS via email . You do not need to file an Amended Form IR21.
  • You wish to report additional employment income that is taxed in the year of payment, where the payment is made after the employment cessation year (e.g. non-contractual bonus).
  • Report only the additional income payable and additional withheld monies.
  • Do not report the other income details which have been previously reported. Otherwise, the income will be doubly assessed.
  • You are required to withhold the additional income from your employee, pending IRAS' processing of the Additional Form IR21.


    Notes:
  • Please verify the information that has been entered before submission.
  • If you need to make changes to an Additional Form (Post-cessation benefits provided after year of cessation) e-Filed previously, please do so by filing the form again.

Common mistakes made in e-filing

It is important that you provide complete and accurate information when filing the Form IR21. Tax clearance processing time may take longer if the information in the Form IR21 is incomplete or when IRAS needs clarification on the submitted information.

No.MistakesWhat you need to do instead
 Declaring Employment Income 
1My employee worked from 1 Oct 2020 to 31 Jan 2021. His monthly income was $5,000. I reported the total amount of $20,000 under the column "Year of Cessation".
You should report your employee's income separately for each calendar year. Please report the income as follows:
a) Year of Cessation (1 Jan 2021 to 31 Jan 2021) - Income $5,000
b) Year Prior to Year of Cessation (1 Oct 2020 to 31 Dec 2020) - Income $15,000.
 Withholding monies for Tax Clearance 
2My employee has tendered his resignation on payday and I have paid him his last month's salary. I did not know that I have to withhold monies from him for tax clearance. So, I have declared zero for "Amount of Monies Withheld for Tax Clearance" in the Form IR21.

You are required to withhold all monies due to the employee from the day he notified you of his intention to cease employment (i.e. the day you received his resignation letter).

As the obligation to withhold monies from the employee was not fulfilled, you may be held liable for the tax payable by the employee.


 Employee's Income Tax Borne by Employer  
3Since I have withheld my employee's remuneration for tax clearance, I will indicate "Income Tax Borne by Employer" in the Form IR21.

Paying tax from the withheld remuneration is not considered tax borne by employer. Thus, do not indicate "Income Tax Borne by Employer" in the Form IR21.

Tax is considered to be borne by employer if the employer is bearing the tax liability of the employee. The amount of tax liability will then form a taxable component in the hands of the employee. You need to indicate "Income Tax Borne by Employer" for such cases.


 Unexercised Stock Options 
4My employee has not exercised his share options when he ceased employment in Singapore. As such, there are no share option gains to be reported in the Form IR21.

Under the "deemed exercise" rule, your employee is deemed to have derived gains from his unexercised share options or unvested share awards at the point of tax clearance. You will need to report the deemed gains from the unexercised share options or unvested share awards in the Form IR21 - Appendix 2.

You can download a copy of  Appendix 2 (40KB, XLSX), complete and attach it as an attachment when e-Filing the Form IR21.

For more details, refer to What should I do if there are unexercised share options. 

 Making Changes After Filing 
5I discovered some errors after I have filed a Form IR21. The income of my employee should be lower than the amount reported previously. I have to complete another Original Form IR21 to replace the one I have filed earlier.

You should complete an Amended Form IR21 to replace the Original Form IR21. When filing the Amended Form IR21, remember to:
a) Select "Amended Form";
b) Report the full set of income details and the revised amount of withheld monies; and
c) Withhold the additional payments (if any) pending IRAS' processing of the Amended Form IR21.

6I am paying a non-contractual bonus to my employee who had ceased employment with my company last year. Since this is an additional payment, I have to complete an Additional Form IR21 and report the total income paid to him in the year.
You should complete an Additional Form IR21 (Post-cessation benefits provided after year of cessation). When filing the Additional Form IR21, remember to:
a) Select "Additional Form (Post-cessation benefits provided after year of cessation)";
b) Report the amount of non-contractual bonus under Income Details and "Amount of Monies Withheld for Tax Clearance"; and
c) Withhold the additional payment pending IRAS' processing of the Additional Form IR21.

Need additional help to e-File?

You may call our Tax Clearance Helpline for additional help to e-File. Please call 1800-356 8300 (or +65-6356 8300 if you are overseas).