Income tax e-submission in Singapore means filing your return online through myTax Portal rather than on paper, and for almost everyone it is now the only option IRAS expects. For Year of Assessment 2026, the window runs from 1 March to 18 April 2026. You log in with Singpass, IRAS shows you a return that is mostly filled in already, you check the numbers, add anything missing, and submit. Most resident employees finish in under ten minutes because their employer already sent the salary figures through the Auto-Inclusion Scheme. This guide covers the exact steps, the deadlines that bite, the 14-day draft rule that catches people out, and the employer side of e-submission that quietly does most of the work for you.
There are two things people call e-submission, and it helps to keep them apart. The first is you, an individual, e-Filing your own Income Tax Return on myTax Portal. The second is your employer e-submitting your salary data to IRAS under the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) before you ever log in. The second one is why your own filing is so short.
Paper forms still exist in theory, but IRAS has steered almost all individuals to online filing. If you received a filing notification (by letter, SMS, or email), the message points you to myTax Portal. If you are on the No-Filing Service, you may not have to do anything at all - IRAS prepares the return and a tax bill follows automatically unless you need to make changes.
Year of Assessment 2026 covers income earned in calendar year 2025. The e-Filing service opens on 1 March 2026 and the deadline to submit is 18 April 2026. Self-employed persons who did not receive a filing notification but still need a tax bill have until 31 October 2026 to e-File.
Two other clocks run after you submit. Your tax bill, the Notice of Assessment, usually arrives between May and September. Payment is due one month from the date on that bill. If you spot an error, you generally have 30 days from the bill date to file an amendment online.
| Event | Date / window | Who it affects |
|---|---|---|
| Employers e-submit AIS income data | By 1 March 2026 | AIS employers |
| Individual e-Filing opens | 1 March 2026 | All filers |
| Filing deadline | 18 April 2026 | Most individuals |
| Extended filing deadline | 31 October 2026 | Self-employed without a filing notification |
| Notice of Assessment issued | From May 2026 | Filers and NFS taxpayers |
| Tax payment due | 1 month from bill date | Anyone with tax payable |
Not everyone has to lift a finger. You are required to file if you received a notification from IRAS to do so, or if your total annual income for 2025 was more than $22,000, or your net trade income (for the self-employed) was more than $6,000. If none of that applies and you got no notification, you usually do not need to file.
If you are on the No-Filing Service, IRAS has already prepared your return from the data it holds. You only need to log in if you have extra income to declare or reliefs to claim that are not already showing. The fastest way to confirm your obligation is the official Filing Checker, but the rule of thumb above settles most cases. If you are still unsure how your residency or relief position affects the bill, our guide to how income tax works in Singapore runs through the rate bands and a worked example.
The process is the same whether you are an employee or self-employed; the self-employed simply have a few more fields to complete. Set aside ten to twenty minutes and have your reliefs handy if you plan to claim any.
Go to myTax Portal and log in with Singpass (foreigners without Singpass use a Singapore Foreign user Account, or SFA). Singpass is the same digital ID you use for CPF, HDB, and most government services, so set up the Singpass app for the fastest login.
From the dashboard, select Individuals, then File Income Tax Return. IRAS loads a return that already shows your pre-filled income, deductions, and reliefs from the data employers and other organisations sent in.
Verify the employment income figure against your own payslips or IR8A. If your employer is on AIS, this number is already there. Donations to approved charities, NSman relief, and CPF cash top-up relief are commonly pre-filled too. Add any income IRAS does not know about - rental income, freelance earnings, side-gig revenue, or a second job that is not under AIS.
Add reliefs you qualify for that are not already in: Spouse Relief, Child Relief, Parent Relief, Course Fees Relief, and Life Insurance Relief among them. Remember the $80,000 cap on total personal reliefs. To estimate the bill before you submit, run the figures through the Singapore income tax calculator so there are no surprises when the Notice of Assessment lands.
Review the summary, submit, and save or print the acknowledgement page. That confirmation is your proof of filing. You can log back in any time to view your return, check your bill, or amend within the 30-day window.
You do not have to finish in one sitting - IRAS lets you save a draft. The catch: a saved draft is not a filed return. You must submit within 14 days of saving the draft, or by 18 April, whichever comes first. People who save in early March and assume they are done can blow past the deadline without filing anything.
If you let a draft expire or never submit, IRAS treats you as not having filed. Treat the save button as a pause, not a finish line, and come back to hit submit well before the deadline.
The reason your own filing is so quick is the Auto-Inclusion Scheme. Employers e-submit their employees' employment income directly to IRAS, which then pre-fills it into your return. For YA2026, around 123,000 AIS employers were due to submit 2025 income data by 1 March 2026, pre-filling over two million tax returns.
AIS is mandatory, not optional. Any business that employed five or more people at any point in 2025 is in the scheme, whether it signed up or not, and existing AIS employers stay in regardless of how many staff they now have. The submission window opens 1 February and closes 1 March.
The penalties for employers are heavier than most realise. An AIS employer that misses the 1 March deadline can be fined up to $5,000 under Section 94(1) of the Income Tax Act 1947. Company directors or precedent partners who ignore IRAS notices can be fined up to $10,000 and face up to 12 months' jail. If you run a small company, e-submitting your staff's IR8A on time is not admin you can let slide. The CPF you withheld and your IR8A figures should reconcile - if you are unclear on the CPF side, the CPF glossary entry covers the contribution basics that feed into AIS.
E-submission and payment are two separate steps. Once your Notice of Assessment is issued, payment is due within one month. The most painless route is GIRO, which can spread the bill across up to 12 interest-free monthly instalments instead of one lump sum. PayNow QR and other digital methods settle it in full.
If you cannot pay in time, contact IRAS before the deadline rather than after - a longer instalment arrangement is far cheaper than the penalty. The Notice of Assessment glossary entry explains how to read the bill and what each line means.
| Method | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| GIRO | Up to 12 interest-free monthly instalments | Spreading a larger bill |
| PayNow QR | Scan and pay the full amount instantly | Paying in one go |
| Internet/mobile banking | Add IRAS as a billing organisation | Bank-app users |
| Telegraphic transfer | For taxpayers paying from overseas | Those abroad |
Miss the deadline and IRAS can issue an estimated Notice of Assessment - a bill based on its own guess of your income, which is usually higher than reality, and you still have to pay it within a month even while objecting. IRAS may also offer to settle the offence with a composition amount of up to $5,000 depending on your record. If it goes to court, the fine for each offence can reach $5,000.
Fail to file for two years or more and the stakes climb: on conviction, you can be ordered to pay a penalty of twice the tax assessed plus a fine of up to $5,000. Late payment carries its own charge on top - a 5% penalty on the unpaid tax, with an additional 1% per month it stays outstanding (capped). Filing on time and paying on time, or arranging GIRO if money is tight, avoids all of it.
Individual e-Filing on myTax Portal opens on 1 March 2026 and closes on 18 April 2026. Self-employed persons who did not receive a filing notification but need a tax bill have an extended deadline of 31 October 2026.
No. If you are on the No-Filing Service, IRAS has already prepared your return and a tax bill follows automatically. You only need to log in and file if you have extra income to declare or reliefs to add that are not already showing.
A saved draft is not a filed return. You must submit within 14 days of saving the draft or by 18 April, whichever is earlier. If the draft expires without submission, IRAS treats you as not having filed and late-filing consequences can apply.
AIS e-submission is your employer sending your employment income straight to IRAS, which then pre-fills it into your return. Your own e-Filing is when you log in to myTax Portal, check those pre-filled figures, add anything missing, and submit your return yourself.
Payment is due one month from the date on your Notice of Assessment. GIRO lets you spread the bill over up to 12 interest-free monthly instalments, while PayNow QR and bank transfers settle it in full. Arrange GIRO before the deadline if cash flow is tight.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.