The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has introduced several enhancements for Individual Income Tax Season 2016 which runs from 1 Mar to 18 Apr 2016.
Filing taxes on-the-go optimised for smartphones New
Interactive personal relief tool for immediate eligibility checks New
Pre-filled rental expenses for tenanted residential properties New
File your taxes on-the-go – this year’s smartphone filing optimised for mobile browsers
Taxpayers will save time with the enhanced smartphone filing available from Mar 2016. IRAS would like to encourage taxpayers to file early to avoid a last minute rush as tax filing can be done easily from anywhere, anytime.
Get immediate confirmation that you are eligible for personal reliefs
For taxpayers who would like to check on-the-spot if they are eligible for certain personal reliefs (e.g. Qualifying Child Relief, Grandparent Caregiver Relief, Foreign Maid Levy Relief), they can use the new Personal Reliefs Eligibility Tool. This tool allows taxpayers to determine if they meet the qualifying conditions for the reliefs they wish to claim.
Standard personal reliefs (e.g. Earned Income Relief, NSman Relief) will continue to be automatically granted.
Owners of tenanted residential properties can save time, thanks to pre-filled rental expenses
Taxpayers who wish to claim rental expenses for their tenanted residential properties will enjoy simplified tax filing. In their online tax form, an amount of deemed rental expenses calculated based on 15 per cent of the gross rent has been pre-filled for them. In addition, taxpayers can still claim mortgage interest on the loan taken to purchase the tenanted property.
Alternatively, taxpayers can choose to claim the amount of actual rental expenses incurred.
For taxpayers with more than one property, the option they choose i.e. either the pre-filled 15 per cent or actual rental expenses incurred, will apply to all their tenanted residential properties.
90 per cent increase in organisations participating in e-Submission of Commission Income Scheme
This year, more than 70,000 commission-earners – real estate agents and insurance agents included - will have an easier time filing as they just need to verify or edit the pre-filled income information and claim their expenses, saving much time and effort.
This is possible because more than 210 organisations are expected to have submitted their commission earners’ income records under the e-Submission of Commission Income Scheme. IRAS is very encouraged by this overwhelming response – last year, just 110 such organisations took part in the scheme.
Greater certainty with preview of tax bill and early assessment of income
1.4 million taxpayers who are on the No-Filing Service (NFS) scheme i.e. not required to file, can preview their tax bill (Notice of Assessment) and request an early assessment from March 2016. This is provided they have no changes to their pre-filled income and relief claims.
Upon request, these taxpayers will be able to view their tax bills online within three working days. For taxpayers on the GIRO payment scheme, opting for an early assessment provides them with even more certainty on their tax payments as their GIRO instalment plans will be based on their actual tax payments instead of a provisional instalment plan. Last year, 14,000 taxpayers requested early assessment.
File today at mytax.iras.gov.sg
IRAS would like to remind all taxpayers, including sole proprietors and partners, to file their income tax returns online by 18 Apr 2016, or send in their paper returns by 15 Apr 2016. Do file early to avoid any last-minute rush, or late filing penalties.
For more information on individual income tax filing matters, visit www.iras.gov.sg/irashome/TaxSeason2016, and follow us on www.facebook.com/irassg or www.twitter.com/iras_sg.
Source: IRAS
