Income Tax Filing 2026: A Step-by-Step Guide to This Year’s Tax Season

It’s that time of the year again when we have to pay our dues to the government. Yup: Tax season is here again.

If navigating IRAS and Singpass feels confusing, you’re not alone. The good news: filing your income tax in Singapore is usually quick and straightforward once you know the steps.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to file your income tax for YA2025, step by step.

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Do you need to file your income tax in 2026?

The simplest way to check if you need to file your income tax is to use IRAS' Filing checker service.

But if you received a notification that you’re eligible for the No-Filing Service (NFS), let's save you time: you do not need to file your income tax.

If you're under the NFS, your tax details are already automatically entered. All you need to do is log in to verify that the information is accurate. The system may not capture all your tax reliefs or all of your additional income. Considering there are over 1.9 million taxpayers eligible for the NFS, it's quite likely that you fall under this category of taxpayer.

You might also be on the Direct Notice of Assessment (D-NOA) initiative, in which case IRAS sends you your tax bills directly based on your income provided by your employer and the previous year’s relief claims. In this case, you still need to check that the information is accurate and make amendments if necessary.

Don’t fret if you need to make changes, you can file an amendment using the Amend Tax Bill digital service in myTax Portal within 30 days from the date of your tax bill.

Do you need to file your income tax?

You need to file your income tax if you answer “yes” to one or more of these questions:

1. Did you earn more than $22,000 (including gross rental) in 2025?
2. Do you have self-employment income with a net profit of more than $6,000?
3. Are you a non-Singapore resident who earned income from Singapore?

ALSO READ: Expats Working in Singapore – Guide to Income Tax For Foreigners

Timeline for tax season 2026

• Feb – Mar 2026: That’s when IRAS will send out filing notifications by SMS, emails or snail mail.
• 1 Mar – 18 Apr 2026: If you received a notification to file, it’s time to e-File your income tax via myTaxPortal.
• Mar 2026 onwards: Most taxpayers will receive their Notice of Assessment. It includes the amount of income tax to be paid in full within 1 month via GIRO, AXS station, or Internet Banking. Tip: You can pay via monthly GIRO instalments too. When you will receive your Notice of Assessment depends on your filing status:
  • Direct Notice of Assessment (D-NOA): From mid Mar 2026
  • No Filing Service (NFS)/Required to file taxpayers: Generally, from end Apr 2026 to end Sep 2026

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Step 1. Log into IRAS Tax Portal

First things first: Kickstart the e-filing process by logging on to IRAS’ myTaxPortal. Have your Singpass on hand, because you’ll need to use that to log in after you select Personal Tax.

Tip: We like the Singpass mobile app for its convenience. The Singpass mobile app is much easier than trying to remember or password or jumping through all the 2FA hoops (yes, we’ve been there).

Once you’ve set up the app, just follow the onscreen instructions on the IRAS myTaxPortal to quickly enter the system. This usually means scanning the QR code if you’re doing your e-Filing via your computer (we prefer this, the screen is larger). It’s slightly different via your mobile phone.

For those who are self-employed, be it partially or fully, you’ll need to go the DIY route. Please follow this guide by IRAS to help you manually enter your income for YA2026.

If you're under the NFS, the following steps detail what you'll see.

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Step 2: View latest Income Tax Return

After logging into IRAS’ myTaxPortal, you'll find yourself on the Overview page. On this page, you'll see a section called Your Tax Overview - What You Need to Do. This neatly summarises your next steps.

Image: IRAS

Click on the Verify button to verify your 2026 Income Tax Return.

You'll be brought to the File Income Tax Return page.

Image: IRAS

There are 4 items you need to review on this page:

1. Employment Income and Expenses
2. Trade, Business, Profession or Vocation
3. Other Income
4. Deductions, Tax Reliefs and Rebates

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Step 3. Check your employment income for YA2026

Under Employment Income and Expenses, you can view your total employment income earned in 2025 if you are a full-time, salaried employee.

You will see sources of income from different employers if you changed jobs part-way last year. 

Something missing? Select Add New to declare it.

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Step 4. Check your trade or business income

On the Trade, Business, Profession or Vocation page, check or declare your income from self-employment or sole proprietorships (e.g. PHV/taxi drivers, commission agents), as well as your share of partnership income.

IRAS considers these persons as self-employed, and you'll need to declare your income accordingly:

• Baby-sitter
• Commission agent (e.g. insurance agent, real estate agent)
• Direct seller
• Freelancer, i.e. you receive fees for providing services as a delivery rider, consultant, bookkeeper, graphic designer, fitness instructor
• Hawker, i.e. you are the owner of a hawker business or a food stall
• Owner of a business that buys and sells goods and/ or services
• Owner of an online business, i.e. you buy and sell goods or provide services through the Internet
• Owner of your own practice (e.g. accountant, architect, doctor, lawyer)
• Private hire car driver/ Taxi driver
• Private tuition teacher, i.e. you are not employed by any tuition centres and you get your students through referrals

If there's anything missing, select the "Add New" button to add it in. 

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Step 5. Check your rental income

This section will reflect other sources of income such as rental income from property you own.

Again, click on the "Add New" button to add in anything missing. 

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Step 6. Check tax reliefs & deductions

The last section, Deductions, Tax Reliefs and Rebates, displays your total donations and your total personal reliefs (this includes CPF contributions). If you made voluntary CPF contributions to your own or a loved one’s CPF Account or put money into your Supplementary Retirement Scheme last year, that will be reflected here as well.

These reliefs work to reduce the amount of tax payable. Your task right now is to check that your total donations and total personal reliefs you’ve amassed in 2024 are reflected accurately in your YA2026 NOA tax bill.

Here’s a list of some typical personal reliefs a Singapore taxpayer would have:

• Earned Income Relief: Anyone who has taxable income, a bit like a small subsidy on your tax.
• NSMan Relief: This can apply to self/wife/parent. Yep, the mothers and wives of our operationally-ready NS Men benefit too.
• Various CPF Reliefs: You enjoy income tax reliefs when you put money into CPF OA/SA/RA/MediSave, be it your own or your family members (Singaporeans and PRs only). Do note that there’s a cap for voluntary top-ups.
• Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) Relief: There’s a cap of $15,300
• Handicapped Sibling/Parent/Grandparent Reliefs: If you’re supporting someone in your family, you also get tax relief. This extends to your parents-in-law and grandparents-in-law too.
• Course Fees Relief: They’ll need to fulfil certain criteria.
• Life Insurance Relief: Only if you’re paying for your life insurance premiums AND if you’ve contributed less than $5,000 in total to your CPF.

Note: The maximum income tax reliefs are capped at $80,000.

Something missing? Scroll down to the bottom of the section and click on the Add New button.

ALSO READ: 10 Ways to Reduce Your Personal Income Tax in Singapore for YA2026

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Step 7. View your income tax 

Finally, you will see your estimated income tax payable. This is based on your income, deductions and reliefs, and is broken down into:

1. Tax Computation for Estimated Income Tax Payable: Total Income (less expenses) - Total Deductions and Reliefs = Chargeable Income
2. Tax Rates applicable

The first line reflects how much of your income IRAS charges tax on. The second line reflects the percentage rates that IRAS applies on that chargeable income.

For a very simple example (that uses simple but unrealistic taxation numbers just to help you understand how the math works), if IRAS is charging 10% income tax on $10,000, you will end up paying $1,000 in income tax.

If you've made no changes on the entire page, no action is required from you. If you've declared additional income or reliefs, you need to review your changes and submit an acknowledgement.

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Step 8. Check your Notice of Assessment

You will receive your income tax bill, also known as your Notice of Assessment, from the end of April 2026. This is a statement that tells you how much to pay for your income tax and when to do so. The NOA can be found in your myTax Portal.

The notification that your NOA is ready can be sent via SMS, email or both—you can change this in myTax Portal > Account > Profile > Update Notice Preferences.

Here’s another chance to put things right. If there’s anything inaccurate on your NOA, go to your myTax Portal and submit an Object to Assessment (top menu bar > Individuals > Filing Matters > Object to Assessment) within 30 days of receiving your NOA. Make sure you have the supporting evidence ready for IRAS’ review.

This can be a bit of a hassle, so it’s best to ensure everything is accurate on your first submission. For more details, check out IRAS’ guide on objecting to your NOA.

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Step 9. Pay your income tax

Cash? Credit? Cashless? Overseas at the moment? Can’t leave home? Well, there are just so many ways to pay:

• GIRO (you can enjoy 12 interest-free monthly instalments with this option)
• PayNow QR (scan the code in myTax Portal)
• AXS: physical, website, mobile app
• SingPost: POPDrop, in-person at SingPost branches, SAM Web, SingPost Mobile App
• Internet Banking Bill Payment: Various banks accepted
• Internet Banking Fund Transfer: Make sure you follow the instructions closely)

IRAS will even accept telegraphic transfers if you are overseas and unable to use any of the above payment methods.

Remember to pay your income tax within 1 month from the date of the Notice of Assessment—even if you need to make an amendment and object to your NOA. IRAS will refund you any excess that you paid if your objection is successful.

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What happens if I don't file my income tax?

Remember to file your income tax from 1 Mar 2026 to 18 Apr 2026. If you miss the 18 Apr 2026 deadline, your tax form may be sent automatically, and/or you may incur penalties like a fine.

Here’s what the IRAS website says: “If you fail to file your tax returns for 2 years or more, you may be issued with a summons to attend Court. On conviction in Court, for each offence, you may be ordered to pay: A penalty that is twice the amount of tax assessed; and a fine of up to $5,000.” Ouch.

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Can I use my credit card to pay income tax?

IRAS says they don’t directly offer the option for credit card payments as they incur a high transaction cost. To preserve public funds (taxpayers’ money), they need to keep their cost of collection low.

However, there are 2 workarounds: use a bank tax facilities or third-party platform.

Bank tax facilities

The Standard Chartered Visa Infinite Credit Card lets you pay your taxes with its credit card income tax payment facility, and you'll earn 360° Rewards Points while you're at it. You can then redeem the points you'll earn for miles, cashback, or products.

Do note that there is a one-time processing fee of 1.9% on your tax payable amount.

With Citibank’s PayAll service, you can pay your taxes (yup, not just limited to income tax) with your Citi credit card. While there is a service fee of 2.6%, you’ll earn the base earn rate on your card. i.e. 1.2 miles per $1 on the Citi PremierMiles card.

Check out the best credit cards for income tax filing.

Third-party platforms

If your bank doesn’t provide a tax payment feature—or you’d like to charge the payment to a different credit card—you can use third-party services such as CardUp. The platform accepts most Singapore-issued cards, including American Express, Citi, HSBC, Maybank, OCBC, POSB, Standard Chartered and UOB.

CardUp fees are typically 2.60%, though recurring income tax payments may qualify for a 1.80% promotional fee with code 18VTAX26 (Visa cards only, valid until 22 Mar 2026).

Tip: Only use your credit card to pay large income tax amounts to make the processing fees worthwhile. No point in incurring fees and earning only measly miles or rewards points for that effort. 

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If you found this article helpful, share it with anyone who may need help filing their income tax.