What you need to know about Income Tax

All individuals who receive payments (whether in the form of cash or benefits-in-kind) for any service rendered in or any form of employment from Singapore need to pay income tax, unless specifically exempted under the Income Tax Act.

Refer to https://www.iras.gov.sg/IRASHome/Individuals/Locals/ to understand income tax basics for individuals.

Generally, you do not need to pay income tax if you satisfy the following conditions:

  • You are earning gross income of $22,000 or less in a year;
  • You do not derive or receive any income in Singapore.

However, you must file an Income Tax Return, as long as you receive a letter, form or an SMS from IRAS informing you to do so. It does not matter how much you earned in the previous year or whether your employer is participating in the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) for Employment Income.

To file your tax return, please log into myTax Portal using your SingPass.

You can check your filing requirement (XLS, 60KB) if you have not been contacted by IRAS.

Notification of Selection for No-Filing Service (NFS)

If you receive a letter or SMS informing you that you have been selected for NFS, you are not required to file a tax return.

What you need to know about CPF

For Self Employed

For self employed persons, refer to https://www.cpf.gov.sg/Members/Schemes/schemes/self-employed-scheme/self-employed-matters for a detailed breakdown of your obligations. In summary, SEPs are not required to contribute to CPF, but if you earn a net trade income of more than $6,000, you need to contribute to Medisave. You can use the calculator here to determine the amount you are required to contribute. You may still make voluntary CPF contributions as well as participate in the Contribute-As-You-Earn programme.

See https://www.areyouready.gov.sg/YourInfoHub/Pages/News-4-types-of-CPF-members-who-should-make-voluntary-contributions-to-their-CPF-accounts.aspx for more information on why you should consider voluntary CPF contributions.

For Employees

See https://www.cpf.gov.sg/Members/Schemes

For Employers

See https://www.cpf.gov.sg/Employers/EmployerGuides

For contribution rates for your employees, refer to https://www.cpf.gov.sg/Employers/EmployerGuides/employer-guides/paying-cpf-contributions/cpf-contribution-and-allocation-rates