As stated in section 68(2) of the Income Tax Act, every employer is required to report employee earnings to IRAS.

Here is a reproduction of the statute:

 

The Comptroller may, by notice in the Gazette, require every employer to prepare and deliver to the Comptroller or any person specified in the notice, for any year specified in the notice and within the time limited thereby, a return in such form as the Comptroller may determine containing —

(a) the names and places of residence of such classes of persons employed by the employer as may be specified in the notice; and
(b) the full amount of remuneration, whether in cash or otherwise, paid or payable to those persons in respect of such employment,
and every employer is bound to comply with any such notice within the time for compliance limited thereby, or such extended time as the Comptroller may allow.

 

The way that this reporting is done is through the Form IR8A. The deadline for reporting is by the 1st of March every year.

 

The IR8A must be completed by the employer for all employees. This includes:

  1. Full-time resident employees
  2. Part-time resident employees
  3. Non-resident employees (this includes employees who are based overseas and are required to render service in Singapore during the year)
  4. Company directors (this includes both resident and non-resident directors)
  5. Board members who receive board or committee member fees
  6. Pensioners
  7. Employees who left the organisation but received income in the reporting year (For example, stock option gains)

 

For employers under the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) for Employment Income. 

Employers who have a total of 5 or more such employees for the entire year or who received the “Notice to File Employment Income of Employees Electronically” are required to provide the completed and correct return in an electronic format specified by the Comptroller of Income Tax. This electronic format is within the entity’s (i.e. in most cases, the company’s) IRAS tax portal.

 

For employers not under the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) for Employment Income. 

Employers not under the AIS will have to provide the hardcopy Form IR8E to their employees by 1 March every year for them to file their Income Tax Returns. Employers do not need to submit the forms to IRAS.

 

If you need assistance with your IR8A and IR8E, you may contact us at [email protected].

 

Yours sincerely,

The editorial team at Singapore Secretary Services