Every Singapore employer must report each employee’s income to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) each year, and the deadline is fixed at 1 March. Most first-time employers learn this late. Form IR8A is the annual return of employee remuneration. Under the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS), employers file that income data electronically straight to IRAS.
The deadline for 2025 income is 1 March 2026, and the IRAS Auto-Inclusion Scheme page-for-employment-income) is the authoritative source. IRAS confirmed roughly 123,000 AIS employers must submit by 1 March 2026, pre-filling over 2 million tax returns, per its July 2026 newsroom release.
What is Form IR8A in Singapore?
Form IR8A is the annual return of employee remuneration that employers prepare for IRAS. It covers the preceding calendar year’s salary, bonuses, allowances, and benefits for every employee. It is an income reporting duty about your staff. It is not your company’s corporate tax return. Corporate income sits on Form C-S/C, and estimated profit sits on the Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI) filing.
IR8A reports 2025 income for Year of Assessment (YA) 2026. IRAS uses that data to pre-fill individual tax returns. The employee’s personal return, not the employer’s, is where this income lands.
Who needs to submit IR8A?
All employers must prepare IR8A for everyone employed at any point in the year, including staff who left. The Section 68(2) gazette notice for YA2026 defines seven classes of covered persons, per the IRAS S68(2) gazette (YA2026)-gazette-ya-2026.pdf). Income paid during the year is what triggers reporting.
| Covered person | Reportable on IR8A? | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time resident employees | Yes | IRAS S68(2) gazette, YA2026 |
| Part-time resident employees | Yes | IRAS S68(2) gazette, YA2026 |
| Non-resident/foreign employees | Yes | IRAS S68(2) gazette, YA2026 |
| Company directors (incl. non-resident, director’s fees) | Yes | IRAS S68(2) gazette, YA2026 |
| Board/committee members receiving fees | Yes | IRAS S68(2) gazette, YA2026 |
| Pensioners | Yes | IRAS S68(2) gazette, YA2026 |
| Ex-employees who received income (e.g. stock gains) in the year | Yes | IRAS S68(2) gazette, YA2026 |
What is the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS)?
The Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) is the regime under which employers submit employee income data electronically straight to IRAS. AIS employees receive no hardcopy IR8A, because their income auto-populates their tax return. Non-AIS employers instead hand the IR8A form to employees by 1 March. AIS is mandatory for employers with 5 or more employees, per Section 68(2) of the Income Tax Act 1947-for-employment-income).
The 5-employee threshold has applied since YA2022, and it counts everyone employed at any time in the preceding calendar year, including leavers, per the IRAS guide to joining AIS-for-employment-income/join-the-auto-inclusion-scheme-(ais)-for-employment-income). Employers who receive IRAS’s “Notice to File Employment Income of Employees Electronically” are also mandatory participants. Employers with fewer than 5 employees may join voluntarily. Once registered, participation is permanent even if headcount later drops below 5.
When is the IR8A submission deadline?
The IR8A/AIS deadline is 1 March following the income year, so 2025 income is due by 1 March 2026, per the IRAS S68(2) gazette (YA2026)-gazette-ya-2026.pdf). The electronic submission window opens 6 January. IRAS states the deadline as 1 March, not 2 March, in its own headline. Treat 1 March as the authoritative date.
| Milestone | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|
| AIS submission window opens | 6 January | IRAS AIS essentials guide |
| AIS registration window (new employers) | 1 January – 1 March | IRAS join-AIS guide |
| Data preparation and validation | January – February | IRAS AIS essentials guide |
| IR8A/AIS submission deadline | 1 March | IRAS S68(2) gazette, YA2026 |
Which supporting forms accompany IR8A?
IR8A rarely travels alone. Three appendices and one adjacent form apply in specific cases. IRAS publishes the current package in its Explanatory Notes on Form IR8A and Appendix 8A for YA2026. Appendix 8A, Appendix 8B, and IR8S attach to IR8A, while IR21 is a separate obligation.
| Form | Purpose | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Appendix 8A | Reports benefits-in-kind (housing, car, accommodation) | IRAS Explanatory Notes, YA2026 |
| Appendix 8B | Reports gains from Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOP) or Employee Share Ownership (ESOW) plans | IRAS Explanatory Notes, YA2026 |
| IR8S | Reports excess or voluntary Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions | IRAS AIS page |
| IR21 | Tax clearance for departing foreign employees (adjacent, not part of the IR8A pack) | IRAS IR21 step-by-step guide |
What information goes into Form IR8A?
Form IR8A captures four blocks: employee identification, income, deductions, and benefits. Identification uses the employee’s NRIC (National Registration Identity Card) or FIN (Foreign Identification Number). Income and benefit line items follow IRAS’s YA2026 explanatory notes. Benefits-in-kind (BIK) are valued under Appendix 8A rules, for which IRAS publishes valuation formulas.
| Block | Line items | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identification | Name per NRIC/FIN, date of birth, nationality, designation, commencement/cessation dates | IRAS Explanatory Notes, YA2026 |
| Income | Gross salary, bonus (with declaration date), allowances, commissions, gratuities, compensation for loss of office | IRAS Explanatory Notes, YA2026 |
| Deductions | Employee compulsory CPF contributions, donations deducted through payroll, approved pension/provident fund contributions | IRAS Explanatory Notes, YA2026 |
| Benefits-in-kind (Appendix 8A) | Housing, car, insurance, interest-free/subsidised loans, utilities | IRAS Explanatory Notes, YA2026 |
How are CPF contributions reported on IR8A?
IR8A reports the employee’s compulsory Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions only. Those figures feed the employee’s CPF relief. Employer CPF contributions do not appear on IR8A. Excess or voluntary contributions go on Form IR8S, not IR8A, per the IRAS AIS page-for-employment-income).
Do not lump all CPF numbers onto IR8A flatly. The split matters: mandatory employee CPF on IR8A, excess or voluntary contributions on IR8S. Getting this wrong distorts the employee’s relief.
How do you report director’s fees on IR8A?
Director’s fees are reportable on IR8A for both resident and non-resident directors. They are taxed by the date they are voted or approved at the annual general meeting (AGM), not the payment date. That approval date decides which Year of Assessment the fees fall into. This timing catches many employers out.
Does IR8A apply to foreign employees in Singapore?
Yes. Employers file IR8A for non-resident and foreign employees on the same terms as locals, identified by FIN. Foreign employees typically have no CPF contributions to report, since CPF applies to citizens and permanent residents. Their salary, bonuses, and benefits still go on IR8A while they are employed in Singapore.
What happens when a foreign employee leaves Singapore (Form IR21)?
Tax clearance via Form IR21 is a separate obligation, filed at least one month before the employee ceases employment, goes on overseas posting, or leaves Singapore for over three months, per the IRAS IR21 step-by-step guide/getting-tax-clearance-a-step-by-step-guide). Where IR21 already covers a departing employee’s only income, that income is excluded from IR8A, per the IRAS S68(2) gazette.
How do you file IR8A through AIS?
Filing IR8A through AIS follows five steps, from gathering payroll data to confirming receipt. AIS employers submit to IRAS; non-AIS employers hand the form to staff instead.
- Gather full-year payroll data for every employee, including leavers.
- Validate the data against IRAS’s prescribed AIS file format.
- Submit via the myTax Portal or approved payroll software API from 6 January.
- Confirm receipt and keep the acknowledgement.
- Deliver nothing to AIS employees, since their income auto-fills; non-AIS employers hand the IR8A form to staff by 1 March.
What should first-time employers do before filing?
First-time employers should register for AIS during the registration window, which runs 1 January to 1 March, per the IRAS join-AIS guide-for-employment-income/join-the-auto-inclusion-scheme-(ais)-for-employment-income). Set up Corppass authorisation for the AIS e-Service early, and confirm your payroll software is AIS-ready. Leaving registration and Corppass to February risks getting locked out before the 1 March deadline.
How do you correct an IR8A after submission?
Submit an amendment file through AIS showing only the amended records, not the whole batch again. Provide the corrected figures so IRAS re-processes the assessment. Correct promptly, because employee tax assessments may already have been raised. Distinguish amending an amount, adding an omitted employee, and removing someone included in error.
Prompt correction protects your employees. An error left uncorrected flows straight into their pre-filled tax return and their assessment.
What are the penalties for late or incorrect IR8A filing?
Failing to submit AIS data by 1 March is an offence under the Income Tax Act 1947, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000. IRAS enforces this actively, per its YA2026 newsroom release. Missed filings also delay accurate tax assessments for affected employees.
| Offence / outcome | Consequence | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Employer fails to file by 1 March | Fine up to $5,000 under Section 94(1) | IRAS newsroom release, YA2026 |
| Responsible individuals ignore IRAS notices | Fine up to $10,000 and/or up to 12 months’ jail | IRAS newsroom release, YA2026 |
| Late filing in 2025 | 12,000+ employers late; 160,000+ employees’ assessments affected | IRAS newsroom release, YA2026 |
| Repeat offenders in 2025 | 1,207 prosecuted; penalties exceeding $1,000,000 | IRAS newsroom release, YA2026 |
| Prosecutions for YA2023 | 900+ employers prosecuted; penalties exceeded S$1,000,000 | IRAS newsroom, YA2023 |
IR8A checklist for employers
Use this checklist to close out the annual IR8A cycle before 1 March.
- Confirm your AIS status against the 5-employee threshold or an IRAS notice.
- Register for AIS if you are new, within the 1 January to 1 March window.
- Set up Corppass authorisation for the AIS e-Service.
- Map every employee category, including directors, pensioners, and leavers.
- Collect income and benefits-in-kind data for the full year.
- Prepare the right appendices: 8A, 8B, and IR8S as needed.
- Validate the file against the IRAS format.
- Submit by 1 March and keep the acknowledgement.
- Calendar IR21 triggers for any departing foreign employees.
How Commenda helps with IR8A and Singapore payroll compliance
Commenda’s tax and accounting platform tracks Singapore filing obligations like IR8A, surfaces the deadlines, and handles the filings, so employers get certainty their annual reporting is done. IR8A sits inside a broader annual compliance bundle, and Commenda keeps the whole cycle on one calendar. Use the Commenda compliance calendar to track filing deadlines by country and entity, and connect your payroll system through 100+ ERP, API, and custom integrations.
Book a demo to get a free Singapore compliance obligations review before the 1 March deadline: schedule your demo.
