• 3 Years of Automatic 15-Day Extension of Filing Due Date and Penalties Waiver

To support more companies and tax agents to adopt seamless filing from software for greater productivity, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) is pleased to announce two new benefits for those filing Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Returns (Form C-S ¹) seamlessly from software for the Year of Assessment (YA) 2023 to YA 2025. The two benefits are: 

1.  Automatic 15-day extension of filing due date; and
2.  Waiver of penalties for errors made in the return due to unfamiliarity with its use.

This is part of IRAS’ digitalisation blueprint to provide hassle-free tax filing experience for companies and tax agents by integrating tax into the systems that businesses use in their daily operations. Businesses will be able to enjoy up to 95% time-savings and improved compliance as their tax computations and returns will be automatically generated and filed from their software.

Two New Benefits for Companies & Tax Agents Adopting Seamless Filing

IRAS has been actively engaging and partnering companies and tax agents to promote adoption of seamless filing from software. Most agreed that it would improve productivity. While some businesses are keen to try the software, they are concerned about needing time to be familiar with its use, and the possibility of making errors in their submission in doing so.

IRAS has considered the feedback and will be providing two new benefits between YA 2023 to YA 2025 to support companies and tax agents who are transiting and familiarising themselves with filing Form C-S seamlessly from software:

1. Automatic extension of filing due date by 15 days (i.e., from 30 Nov to 15 Dec) for YA 2023 to YA 2025 Form C-S filed seamlessly from software. Companies and tax agents do not need to separately request for the extension.
   
2. Waiver ²of penalties for errors made due to unfamiliarity with the use of the software for YA 2023 to YA 2025 Form C-S filed seamlessly from software by the filing due date.

Other similar benefits will also be available for the adoption of seamless filing for Goods & Services Tax (GST) returns, Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) submissions, and Tax Clearance for Foreign & Singapore Permanent Resident Employees (IR21) due from 1 Jan 2023 to 31 Dec 2025. For more information, please refer to the IRAS website and Annex A - Summary of Benefits for Adoption of Seamless Filing from Software (PDF, 14KB).

Companies and tax agents that adopt software with seamless filing capability can prepare and file Form C-S within 15 minutes, achieving time savings of more than 95%. In addition, they can reduce potential transposition errors by eliminating the need for manual data entry in myTax Portal, and improve the accuracy of Form C-S with software features such as pre-filling of tax data. See Annex B - Illustrative Examples on Seamless Filing from Software (PDF, 192KB) for illustrative examples of how seamless filing from software can ease tax filing for companies and tax agents.

Companies and tax agents that are keen to adopt seamless filing from software can refer to IRAS’ Accounting Software Register Plus (ASR+) for the list of software that enables them to fulfil their tax filing obligations seamlessly. Businesses are encouraged to consider using Tier 3 software ³ (see Annex C - Tier 3 Software in the Accounting Software Register Plus (ASR+) Listing (PDF, 36KB) for the list) in the ASR⁺ Listing that will enable seamless filing for both CIT and GST returns. Tax agents can also connect their in-house system with IRAS’ system to enable the seamless filing of Form C-S via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

 Nearly 9 in 10 Companies Filed on Time in YA 2021

In YA 2021, nearly 9 in 10 companies filed their tax returns on time. This is a result of IRAS’ simplified tax returns to make filing easier for small companies as well as IRAS’ enhanced digital communication efforts through targeted filing reminders to companies last year.

Over 70% of companies filed Form C-S and Form C-S (Lite) ⁴ and were not required to file their financial statements and tax computations. However, these companies would still have to prepare these documents and be ready to submit them upon IRAS’ request.

As part of its continuous efforts to streamline CIT filing, IRAS will further support more companies and tax agents to adopt seamless filing from software to achieve greater productivity.

File by 30 November 2022

IRAS reminds all companies, including those with no business activities or those in a loss position, to file their YA 2022 CIT Returns (Form C-S/ Form C-S (Lite)/ Form C) by 30 Nov 2022. All directors are reminded to ensure that their companies’ tax returns are filed on time. Failure to file the CIT Return by the due date is an offence under the Income Tax Act 1947, for which companies may be subject to penalties of up to $5,000.

Companies are also encouraged to opt for digitised notices. Those who have yet to do so can update their email address(es) and notification preference via the “Update Notice Preferences” digital service in myTax Portal to begin receiving e-Notifications from IRAS.

Companies which require further assistance on the YA 2022 tax filing can visit the IRAS website, contact IRAS via myTax Mail, or call the helpline at 1800 356 8622.

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore

¹The simplified CIT Return for qualifying companies with annual revenue of $5 million or below.  

² The waiver does not apply to errors made without reasonable excuse, through negligence, or with wilful intent to evade tax. 

³ Software that have successfully connected with the IRAS’ system to file the CIT Return (Form C-S) and GST Returns (F5, F8) seamlessly as well as with e-invoicing capabilities will attain the ASR⁺ Tier 3 status. 

⁴ The simplified CIT return for qualifying companies with annual revenue of $200,000 or below.