Claiming Relief/Exemption under the Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement

How to claim

1. Use the Double Taxation Relief Tax Rate Calculator to check if a non-resident company is eligible for Double Taxation Relief/ Exemption and find the applicable tax rate under the DTA.
2. Check the "Double Taxation Relief" (DTR) box during e-Filing; and
3. Submit the original Certificate of Residence (44KB) for the years in which DTR was claimed. The years the DTR was claimed refers to the period of payment as declared in the e-Filing.
4. The Certificate of Residence must be certified by the foreign tax authority of the non-resident and submitted to IRAS by the due date. The Certificate of Residence status can be viewed under 'View Submission Status of Certificate of Residence' in myTax Portal.

• By 31 Mar of the following year if the claim is for the current year.
  Example

  You filed a withholding tax submission in the year 2017, with period of payment between 1 Jan 2017 to 31 Dec 2017.

  For the purpose of claiming DTR, you must submit the COR for 2017 to IRAS by 31 Mar 2018.

• Within three months from the date of submission of Form IR37 if the claim is for preceding years.
  Example

  You filed a withholding tax submission on 30 Jun 2017, with period of payment between 1 Jan 2016 to 31 Dec 2017.

  For the purpose of claiming DTR, you must submit CORs for 2016 and 2017 to IRAS by 30 Sep 2017 and 31 Mar 2018 respectively.

You may receive a Demand Note to pay the balance of the withholding tax and the late payment penalties if the COR is not received by the due date.

Information required in the Certificate of Residence (COR)

Please ensure that the COR issued by the foreign tax authority:

1. Is in English; and
2. Bears the stamp of the foreign tax authority; and
3. Clearly states the

• applicant is a resident of the foreign country for DTA purposes and;
• year(s) in which the COR is applicable. One COR may be accepted for multiple years if the years are clearly stated.

How to submit the COR to IRAS

Please submit the original COR along with a cover letter (indicating payer's name and tax reference number) to:

Enforcement Businesses Branch (S45 Withholding Tax),

55 Newton Road, Revenue House, Singapore 307987

For payers who are co-sharing the original COR, please remember to indicate all the payers' names and their tax reference numbers in the cover letter. 

Use the tax treaty calculator (Quick Links > Calculators > Withholding Tax > Tax Treaty Calculator for non-resident professionals) to check if a non-resident professional is eligible for tax treaty exemption. It will give you certainty as to whether a payer needs to comply with withholding tax obligation.

For claiming tax treaty exemption, a non-resident professional must note the following:

1. Where tax treaty exemption applies
   
   The "Result" in the calculator shows that the tax treaty exemption applies, the non-resident professional should proceed to complete IR586 online.
   
   The IR586 printout is not required to be submitted to IRAS unless IRAS requested for verification. Payment of withholding tax is not required at this juncture.
2. Where tax treaty exemption does not apply
   
   The "Result" in the calculator shows that the tax treaty exemption does not apply, the payer should e-file and make payment for the withholding tax to IRAS by the due date.  
   
   There will be penalties if the withholding tax is not paid by the due date.