You will be able to choose how to pay your tax and know how to object to an assessment you disagree with.
Wei Jie now knew his notice of assessment was missing a relief. His first instinct was to hold off paying until IRAS fixed it, on the reasoning that there was no point paying a bill he was about to dispute. That's a common instinct, and it's the wrong one. It's also how a disagreement worth a few hundred dollars turns into a late payment penalty on top.
This lesson covers the two things you do with a notice once you've read it: pay it correctly, and object to it if it's wrong. You often do both at the same time.
The notice states the date by which the tax must be paid, and that date applies whether or not you agree with the assessment, since filing an objection doesn't pause the bill. If the objection succeeds, IRAS revises the assessment and refunds or adjusts what you've paid. If you held back payment and the objection fails, or takes time, you'll have missed the due date in the meantime.
So the order is: note the due date, arrange payment, and file any objection separately. Wei Jie's tax was already on GIRO, so the payment would go out on schedule while he dealt with the relief.
If you pay late, IRAS can impose penalties, and they can grow the longer the tax stays unpaid. IRAS can also take further steps to recover it. The penalty rules are on the IRAS website. You don't need to memorise them, since the point of this lesson is that you never meet them.
You can pay the full amount in one go by the due date. The notice and the IRAS website list the ways to pay.
Or you can pay by GIRO, which lets IRAS deduct the tax from your bank account automatically. GIRO can spread the tax over monthly instalments instead of one payment, which many people find easier to plan around. IRAS sets the number of instalments and the conditions, and the current plan is on its website. If you set up GIRO once, it usually carries on for later years too, so you don't need to arrange it each time.
Two things to watch with GIRO. Keep enough money in the linked bank account on deduction days, because failed deductions can cancel the plan and make the rest of the tax due at once; IRAS's website gives the rule. And if you change your bank account, update the GIRO arrangement, rather than assuming it follows you.
If you can't pay on time for a genuine reason, contact IRAS before the due date. It's better to ask early than to explain afterwards.
If you think the assessment is wrong, you can object to it. Common reasons are income reported wrongly, a relief left out, or a deduction not given. You file an objection through myTax Portal, which has an e-service for it.
There's a deadline for filing an objection, counted from the date of the notice. IRAS states it on its website and on the notice. Miss it and your options narrow. Check the deadline the day the notice arrives and write it beside the due date for payment.
An objection should state what you think is wrong, what the figure should be and why. Attach or keep ready the records that support it. For a missed relief, that means the evidence that you met the relief's conditions. For wrong income, that means your IR8A, payslips, or an amended statement from your employer.
Wei Jie filed his objection through myTax Portal within the deadline. He said parent relief had not been claimed, explained that his mother lived with him and met the conditions, and kept her address details and his records of supporting her ready in case IRAS asked, while his GIRO instalments carried on as usual.
IRAS reviews the objection and may ask questions. If it agrees, it issues a revised notice of assessment, and any tax overpaid is refunded or set against what's due. If it doesn't agree, it explains why.
Most of the stress around tax comes from finding the notice weeks later and working against a deadline. So treat the day it arrives as the day you deal with it, in three short steps.
First, read it from top to bottom, as in lessons 4.1 and 4.2, and decide whether you agree with it. Second, work out how the tax gets paid: if you're on GIRO, confirm the instalment amount and make sure the account will cover it, and if you're not, note the due date. Third, if anything is wrong, note the objection deadline and start gathering your records.
The second step is the one the activity covers. Whether your tax is on GIRO or not, the useful thing is a reminder in your calendar that arrives early enough to act on, rather than on the due date itself.
Check whether your tax is on GIRO, and if not, note the due date and set a payment reminder a week before it.
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