Common filing mistakes to avoid when filing your individual annual Income Tax Return.
On this page:
1. Not filing your Income Tax Return
a. No income to declare
I received a notification informing me to file for the Year of Assessment. However as I did not earn any income last year, I do not need to file an Income Tax Return.
What you need to do
For e-Filing:
You will need to log in to myTax Portal to submit your Income Tax Return by 18 Apr. An acknowledgement page will be displayed upon successful submission.
b. Employer is in the Auto-Inclusion Scheme for employment income
My employer is sending my employment income details to IRAS. Therefore, I do not have to file my Income Tax Return.
What you need to do
Although your employer has sent your employment income details to IRAS, you are still required to file your Income Tax Return unless you have received the No-Filing Service (NFS) notification.
If you receive a letter or SMS informing you that you have been selected for the NFS, you are not required to file an Income Tax Return.
Your Notice of Assessment or tax bill (digital or paper format) will be sent to you from end Apr onwards. Your tax bill is computed based on your auto-included income and previous year's relief claims, which may be adjusted if you do not meet the eligibility criteria.
How can I verify that the information is correct before IRAS finalizes my tax bill?
What if I have changes to my income and personal relief claims?
If you need to amend your tax bill, you have to file an Income Tax Return to make the relevant changes which could include:
- Additional or non auto-included sources of income
- Amendments to personal relief claims
- Amendment to pre-filled rental details
What should I do after receiving my tax bill?
You need to check your tax bill to ensure that it is correct. If you have any other income that is not shown in the tax bill, or your relief claims in the tax bill are incorrect, please inform us via the "Amend Tax Bill" digital service at myTax Portal within 30 days from the date of your tax bill. Alternatively, please email us the details of your amendments if you are unable to use the digital service.
For non-resident individuals, please submit the details of your amendments via email.
You may refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (PDF, 131KB) for more information on NFS.
2. Wrong declaration of trade or business income
I am a:
- Commission agent (e.g. insurance agent, real estate agent)
- Hawker
- Private tutor
- Taxi driver, Grab/Uber driver
I declare my income as ‘Employment’ or ‘Other Income’ in my annual Income Tax Return.
What you need to do
You are considered a self-employed person.
For e-Filing:
You should declare your income as trade income under the item on "Trade, Business, Profession or Vocation".
For paper filing:
- Form B: You should complete items "Revenue", "Gross Profit/Loss", "Allowable Business Expenses" and "Adjusted Profit/Loss" of Form B.
- Form B1: You should complete item "Trade, Business, Profession or Vocation" of Appendix 1 and "Other Income" of Form B1.
3. Incorrect relief claims
Since I have claimed reliefs last year, I do not have to claim them again. The reliefs will be automatically included in my future assessments.
What you need to do
Tax reliefs and rebates are allowable if you are a Singapore tax resident and have met the qualifying conditions. Please ensure that all qualifying conditions of the tax reliefs and rebates are met before making a claim.
For e-Filing:
You need not claim the reliefs shown in the Income, Deductions and Relief Statement (IDRS) as they will be automatically included in your tax bill.
If you have any changes to the pre-filled deductions and reliefs or wish to claim new reliefs/Parenthood Tax Rebate, please select "Edit My Tax Form" at the IDRS page and fill in the details at My Tax Form.
For paper filing:
You still need to claim reliefs and enter the amount of claim even if this amount remains unchanged from last year.
4. Wrongful claim for CPF contributions for self-employed
I have contributed CPF as a self-employed person last year. Thus, I should indicate the amount contributed in my Form B so as to qualify for the relief.
What you need to know
CPF Relief for a self-employed is allowed automatically based on information received from CPF Board. You need not make a claim.
Self-employed CPF Relief will be allowed if:
- you have an assessable trade income
- you are making the contribution as a self-employed person
- your contribution was made before 31 Dec of the preceding year.
5. Submitting documents not requested for
I declared rental income and claimed the actual expenses. Thus, I submitted documents to substantiate my rental expense claims.
What you need to know
You need not submit any documents unless you are advised to do so. The documents you need to submit will be listed in the acknowledgement page. Please send in the documents via email.
6. Not clicking “Submit Income Tax Return” button
I exited from e-Filing after checking that the details in the Consolidated Statement in My Tax Form are correct and did not receive any acknowledgement.
What you need to do
You need to click the "Submit" button at the Consolidated Statement to complete your e-Filing.
An acknowledgement page will be displayed upon successful submission. If you do not see an acknowledgement page, it means that you have not successfully e-Filed your Income Tax Return.
7. Made errors in my declaration
I submitted my Income Tax Return without including my relief claim for my newborn which was not prefilled.
What you need to know
You may re-File once within 7 days of your previous submission or by 18 Apr, whichever is earlier.