IRAS » Auto Inclusion Scheme for Employment Income

Auto Inclusion Scheme for Employment Income (AIS) and CPF Data Linkup Service

How AIS works ?

Under S68(2) of the Income Tax Act, participation by employer is compulsory for those that fall under this section to furnish the employment income information that complies with the IRAS’s format and submit electronically to IRAS by 1 Mar of every year.

Employers under the AIS do not need to distribute hard copies of the IR8A/IR8S/Appendix 8A/Appendix 8B to their employees.

Employees may refer to their payslips for details of their employment income and view their auto-included information via the Income, Deductions and Reliefs Statement (IDRS) at myTax Portal when e-Filing their income tax return.

IRAS has over the years reduce the number of employees to ensure compulsory participation by employers in AIS in order to prepare Singapore companies to move to AIS one day.

Employers not under the AIS for Employment Income

Employers who are not under the AIS for Employment Income will have to provide the hardcopy Form IR8A and appendices (where applicable) to their employees by 1 March of each year to file their income tax returns. Employers need not submit the forms to IRAS.

Benefits of AIS

There are a few benefits for companies who participate in AIS:

1. Go green – Simply eliminate hardcopy Form IR8A and make our world a better place by saving the environment
2. Simplify tax filing for your employees with the convenience of No-Filing Service.
3. Remove human errors such as avoid understating your employment income.
4. Avoid last minute rush and possibly penalties imposed by IRAS by preparing the AIS submission early.

Compulsory Participation by Employers

From YA 2022, participation in the AIS is compulsory for employers:

1.   With 5 or more employees including the following:

• Full-time resident employees
• Part-time resident employees
• Non-resident employees including those who are based overseas and are required to render service in Singapore during the year (exclude details of employment income where clearance has been filed)
• Company directors (including non-resident directors)
• Board members receiving Board/Committee Member Fees
• Pensioners; and
• Employees who have left the organization but were in receipt of income in reporting year (e.g. stock option gains), or

2.   Who have received the “Notice to File Employment Income of Employees Electronically under the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS)”

Voluntary Participation by Employers

Employers with less than 5 employees are encouraged to join AIS.

Employers can register for YA 2022 submission from 1 Apr 2021 to 31 Dec 2021. To confirm the participation the AIS, employers are required to complete their authorisation for Submission of Employment Income Records (PDF, 1.01 MB) digital service.

There are some important information for Employers below.

Foreign employees who have sought tax clearance (Form IR21)

Sole Proprietors and Partners

Sole proprietors and Partners are owners of their own businesses. As a result, their salaries withdrawn from the businesses by them are taxable as trade income. The income information of these sole proprietors and partners should be excluded via the Auto-Inclusion Scheme.

Exception for sole proprietors and partners

The income information of partners who are engaged under an employment contract with the partnership should be submitted as employment income via the Auto-Inclusion Scheme.

These partners have the following characteristics:

1. They do not assume the liabilities of the partnership.
2. They do not have a share in the profit/loss of the partnership.
3. They are considered as employees of the partnership though they have the title of “partner”.

Non-resident Directors

The employment income of non-resident directors have to be submitted via the AIS. 

if Section 45 withholding tax has been paid on director’s fees payable to a non-resident director, indicate select “Y” under “Section 45 (applicable to non-resident director) Indicator” when reporting via AIS.

Exception for non-resident directors

You are not required to submit the income information of non-resident directors if they solely receives director’s fees.

Employees who are posted overseas

• Overseas posting incidental to Singapore employment

Income arising from overseas employment which is incidental to a Singapore employment are taxable in Singapore and employers are required to submit the employment income details and CPF contribution for the year via the AIS.

•  Overseas posting not incidental to Singapore employment

Employers are required to select “Income from Overseas Employment” under “Remission/Exempt/Non-Taxable Indicator”, regardless of whether the overseas posting is for the entire year or part of the year.

Employees’ donations / contributions to Mosque Building Fund and / or life insurance premiums paid through their salaries are required to be submitted as well.

if the period of overseas posting is for the :

• Whole year – Employers are not required to report the employment income or the employee’s CPF contribution.

• Part of the year – Employers are only required to report the employment income and the employee’s CPF contribution relating to the Singapore employment.

Employees re-hired within a year

Employers may submit the employment income details of re-hired employees under one record.

Trainees and Students on Attachment

Employers who have entered an employment contract with students and remuneration is paid for the services rendered must submit the employment income information.

If there is no employment contract between the employers and the students and the students are only paid an allowance for defraying the costs of travelling and meals during the training period, there is no need for Employers to submit the allowance information.

Foreigners or Expatriates

Employers are required to submit the employment income information for foreign and expatriate employees. Submission is required regardless of the quantum of the income and the duration of the employment.

Registration for AIS by Employers

The registration for AIS is open till 31 Dec of each year. 

There are 3 ways to register for AIS electronically. To register, you simply need to access MyTax Portal via the following:

1. Personal Tax
2. Business Tax
3. Tax Agent Login

To know more on the explanatory notes on Form IR8A & Appendix 8A, you can click here. 

CPF Data Linkup Service offered by IRAS

Employers can consider registering for the CPF Data Linkup Service offered by IRAS which is open from 1 Apr of each year until 31 Dec of each year.

IRAS will obtain employees’ data from CPF for the calendar year (e.g. Jan to Dec 2024) if:

• the data has been e-Submitted* to CPF Board by 14 Jan of the following year (e.g. 14 Jan 2025 for the calendar year 2024) (or the next working day if the 14th falls on a Saturday, Sunday or Public Holiday); and
• the CPF Submission No. (CSN) is ‘PTE’ account type.

*Note:

• If you use a different CPF Submission Number (CSN) with the same UEN (e.g. 12345678A-PTE-01 and 12345678A-PTE-02, etc.) to submit your employees’ monthly CPF contributions, all the employees’ information under the respective CSNs will be combined and pre-filled in ‘Submit Employment Income Records’ digital service under the same UEN.
• For each employee, the monthly data will be summed up for the whole year and displayed in the digital service by 1 Feb 2025.

The types of information that will be prefilled by IRAS under CPF Data Linkup Service when employers submit the employment income of each year are:

1. Personal particulars such as Name, NRIC
2. Income (Ordinary and Additional wages excluding income that do not attract CPF)
3. Donation such as CDAC, SINDA and Eurasian Community Fund)
4. Employee’s CPF contribution

Under the CPF Data Link-up Service, employers need to access the ‘Submit Employment Income Records’ at myTax Portal to:

1. Verify the pre-filled NRIC employees’ personal particulars, income and deduction amounts
2. Update Ordinary and Additional Wages to Salary, Bonus and Other Income if necessary
3. Add relevant information not obtained from CPF Board (e.g. Director’s Fees, Transport Allowance) and allowable deductions (e.g. donations to Community Chest, and Yayasan Mendaki Fund, Contributions to Mosque Building Fund)
4. Add foreign employees’ income information (if any)
5. Submit the information to IRAS by 1 Mar of each year.

Contact Us

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