Tax filing now optimised for smartphones

SINGAPORE — Filing taxes with a smartphone has become easier now that the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has optimised the experience for mobile browsers. With the new interface, smartphone users will no longer need to zoom in or scroll horizontally to view content as they had to last year.

This is part of the enhancements to online filing that the IRAS announced on Thursday (March 3). Taxpayers have until April 18 to file their taxes online. Those sending paper returns need to do so by April 15.

Other enhancements include a new tool to help people see if they qualify for personal reliefs such as the Qualifying Child Relief and the Foreign Maid Levy Relief.

The IRAS has also made it easier for some groups of taxpayers by pre-filling certain fields for them. One such group consists of people who rent out residential properties and who wish to claim deductions on expenses related to rental income. In their online tax form, an amount of deemed rental expenses calculated based on 15 per cent of the gross rent has been pre-filled for this group. However, people can choose to claim the amount of actual rental expenses incurred.

In addition, more than 70,000 people who earn a living from commissions, such as real estate agents and insurance agents, will only need to verify or edit pre-filled income information. This is because more than 210 organisations are expected to have submitted their commission earners’ income records under the e-Submission of Commission Income Scheme. This is almost double the number of organisations that took part in this scheme last year.

The IRAS added that the 1.4 million taxpayers who are on the No Filing Service can now preview their tax bill and request for an early assessment but this is only if there has been no change to their pre-filled income and relief claims.