Corporate Tax Filing Simplified for Companies
5 Nov 2020
- Simplified
Corporate Income Tax Return for Small Companies
- New
Digital Solutions for Companies
Companies
will enjoy a simpler tax filing experience in the 2020 Corporate Tax Filing season.
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has launched a new, simplified
Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Return called Form C-S (Lite) which allows smaller
companies to save time and file their taxes easily. New digital solutions such
as fund transfers via PayNow, direct filing from accounting
software, and digitised notices for companies are also being rolled out.
Simplified Corporate Income Tax Return
This year, around
60,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can benefit from IRAS’ new,
simplified CIT Return, Form C-S (Lite). Form C-S (Lite) is introduced from YA
2020 to make tax filing easier and faster for small companies. Form C-S (Lite)
requires companies with straightforward tax matters to complete only six
essential fields (such as their revenue and net profit/loss), a two-third
reduction compared to Form C-S. To qualify to e-File Form C-S (Lite), companies
only need to fulfil the current criteria to e-File Form C-S and have an annual revenue of S$200,000 or below.
Similar to the Form C-S, companies filing Form C-S (Lite) are not required to
submit their financial statements and tax computations to IRAS. However,
companies should continue to prepare these documents and be ready to submit
them in the event that IRAS requests for them.
New Digital Solutions for Companies
To further enhance taxpaying experience for companies,
IRAS has also accelerated digitalisation plans for Corporate Tax.
- Corporate Tax payments
and fund transfers via PayNow for the first time
Companies can now pay
their taxes seamlessly via PayNow QR, the latest addition to the list of
payment modes available in IRAS’ myTax Portal. Along with the convenience that
the Scan and Pay function provides, they will also benefit from instant
settlement and real-time updates of their outstanding tax balance.
From mid-2021, IRAS
will also introduce PayNow Corporate as a new e-refund option for companies to
receive CIT refunds, on top of GIRO and telegraphic transfers. By selecting
PayNow Corporate as their preferred mode of refund, companies will be able to
receive their refunds within 7 days from the credit arising. To be eligible for
this refund mode, companies must link their Unique Entity Number to their
corporate bank account via internet banking. Those interested in applying for
PayNow Corporate can seek assistance from their respective banks.
For the list of banks
participating in PayNow services, please refer to Annex A.
This year, IRAS is introducing a digital solution that
incorporates statutory filing requirements into an accounting software, in a
collaboration with the
Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA). Co-created with 5
software developer1,
the enhanced accounting software automates the preparation of tax computations
and allows SMEs to file their CIT Returns (Form C-S) directly to IRAS. Within
the same filing session, companies can also file the Annual Returns with Financial
Statements in Simplified XBRL format to ACRA directly from the software via the
API2
technology.
Currently, the solution is catered for qualifying
trading companies of Form C-S filing and can potentially benefit 200,000 SMEs with
annual revenue of $5 million or below.
Eligible SMEs are encouraged to e-File through this solution to enjoy
time savings of more than 90% as well as to minimise reporting errors in their
returns. By digitising their financial records through an accounting software,
SMEs can also ensure that they have convenient access to essential information
required to make effective business decisions.
Please refer to Annex B (PDF, 30KB) for the list of support
schemes that SMEs can tap on for funding of the enhanced accounting software.
From May 2021, most of IRAS’ notices will be digitised
and paper notices will be phased out. With digitised notices, companies will
enjoy greater convenience in the following ways:
- Fast Access – Convenient and instant access of
notices, anytime, anywhere.
Timely Notifications – Receive timely email
notifications when a notice is ready for viewing in myTax Portal.
Easy Management – View up to 3 years of past notices
without rummaging through physical files.
Safety and Security – Access IRAS’ notices in myTax
Portal, a safe and secure platform.
Come January 2021, companies which
need to update their email address to receive the e-Notifications from IRAS can
do so online via the e-service “Update Notice Preferences” in myTax Portal.
Through the same e-service, companies that are not ready to receive digitised
notices may also indicate their preference to continue receiving paper notices.
Companies will receive a letter
from IRAS in early 2021 with the details on digital communications.
Compulsory e-Filing by 15 Dec 2020; Single
Filing Deadline from YA 2021
IRAS
reminds all companies, including those with no business activities or those in
a loss position, to e-File their YA 2020 CIT returns (Form C-S/ C) by 15
December 2020.
Starting
from YA 2020, e-Filing of the CIT Returns is compulsory for all companies and
paper filing is no longer accepted. The compulsory e-Filing of CIT Returns
started in YA 2018 and was implemented in three phases. This year, more than
170,000 companies who were not in the previous compulsory e-Filing groups are
required to e-File.
The extended tax filing due
date of 15 December, which was initially introduced as an incentive to
encourage companies to e-File their tax returns, will no longer be available
from YA 2021. All companies will be required to e-File their YA 2021 CIT Returns
by 30 November 2021. IRAS will remind companies of this filing due date nearer
to YA 2021.
Inland Revenue Authority
of Singapore
1 Currently, the seamless filing solution
is available through accounting software, Netiquette O2O Business Suite and
SMECEN. It will be made available progressively in AutoCount Accounting,
Deskera ERP and Realtimme Cloud Solutions.
2 API refers to Application Programming
Interface, which is a software intermediary that allows two applications to
talk to each other.
Annex A: List of participating banks for
PayNow services
