Global Daily Tax News, Singapore Highlights Employer Reporting Obligations, (Feb 12, 2025)

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore has issued a reminder to employers of the obligation to provide employment income information by March 1, 2025.

The submission requirement applies to all employers that are already on the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) even if they have fewer than five employees in 2024, and employers that newly had five or more employees in 2024. Non-compliance is an offence under the Income Tax Act. The information filed by employers is used to pre-fill employees' tax returns.

The IRAS said, "While majority of the employers have been compliant, some 11,000 employers missed the AIS deadline in 2024, causing inaccurate or delayed tax assessments for 140,000 employees. Employers that do not file on time commit an offence and cause inconvenience to their employees due to the missing pre-filled employment income information."

About 12,500 employers were newly added to the AIS for 2025, requiring them to file this data for the first time this year. The obligation applies to about 120,000 employers in total.

Employers that do not file by March 1, 2025, can be fined up to SGD5,000 (USD3,700). Key personnel of non-compliant businesses such as company directors or precedent partners can also be fined up to SGD10,000, and/or face imprisonment for a term of up to 12 months.