Singapore IRAS: Direct Tax Bills for 1 Million Taxpayers

Singapore IRAS Newsroom

Published March 10th, 2026

Detected March 24th, 2026

Summary

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) will issue direct tax bills to approximately 1 million taxpayers starting mid-March 2026 under the Direct Notice of Assessment initiative. This aims to simplify the tax process for most individuals, who will no longer need to file a tax return. The notice also highlights that over $5 million in penalties were collected for late and non-payment for the previous tax year.

View original document View source feed page

What changed

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) is expanding its Direct Notice of Assessment (D-NOA) initiative, with approximately 1 million taxpayers set to receive their tax bills directly from mid-March 2026. This means the majority of individuals will not need to file an income tax return for Year of Assessment (YA) 2026, simplifying tax compliance. The D-NOA is made possible by timely income information submissions from employers and intermediaries.

Taxpayers receiving a D-NOA or pre-filled tax return (No-Filing Service) must verify their income details, deductions, and relief claims. Amendments can be made via the myTax Portal within 30 days of the tax bill or by filing a tax return by April 18, 2026. Taxpayers remain responsible for ensuring accuracy to avoid penalties. The notice also reminds that over $5 million in penalties were collected for late and non-payment in YA 2025, emphasizing the importance of timely payment and encouraging GIRO arrangements for automatic, interest-free installments.

What to do next

Verify income details, deductions, and relief claims on the received tax bill or pre-filled return.
Amend tax bill within 30 days of receipt if necessary.
File tax return by April 18, 2026, if required or if amendments are needed.

Penalties

5% late payment penalty on unpaid tax, potential recovery actions by IRAS (e.g., appointing agents, Travel Restriction Order, legal action). Over $5 million collected in penalties for YA 2025.

Source document (simplified)

10 Mar 2026

Majority of taxpayers are not required to file and only need to verify tax bill or tax return
Over $5 million in penalties collected for late and non-payment for Year of Assessment (YA) 2025 Over 2 million individual taxpayers are expected to benefit from the No-Filing Service (NFS) this Year of Assessment (YA) 2026, with about 1 million of them to receive their tax bills directly under the Direct Notice of Assessment (D-NOA) initiative. This means that most taxpayers will not need to file an income tax return this YA, simplifying their tax experience.

Under the D-NOA initiative, taxpayers will receive their automatically computed tax bills from mid-March 2026, as part of plans by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) to extend the D-NOA progressively to majority of taxpayers. This expansion is made possible with the timely submission of income information to IRAS from employers or intermediaries such as commission-paying organisations and private hire car operators.

Upon receiving their tax bill (D-NOA) or pre-filled tax return (NFS), taxpayers **** should:

verify their income details and ensure all income is declared, including any rental income or self-employment income [1],
check their deductions and relief claims, especially since there may be changes in their eligibility for tax relief, and
if necessary, amend their tax bill (using the Amend Tax Bill digital service within 30 days from the date of the tax bill) or pre-filled tax return (by filing a tax return by 18 April) at myTax Portal. Verification is important as taxpayers remain responsible for ensuring that their tax information is complete and accurate to avoid incorrect assessments and potential penalties.

While majority of taxpayers will enjoy the convenience of D-NOA and NFS, some taxpayers are still required to file their income tax return for YA 2026. Taxpayers will receive an SMS, email or letter from IRAS between February and March 2026, informing them if they are under D-NOA or NFS or required to file.

IRAS reminds all individuals and partnerships who need to file that they must do so by 18 April 2026 and declare all sources of income. This includes employees whose employers are not under the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) and self-employed individuals who do not have their income pre-filled (e.g. home-based business owners, private tuition teachers or those providing media or creative services).

Over $5 Million in Penalties Collected for Late and Non-Payment for YA 2025

Income tax must be paid within 1 month from the date of the tax bill, and taxpayers can check their payment due date at myTax Portal. A 5% late payment penalty will be imposed on the unpaid tax, unless taxpayers are on an approved instalment plan. IRAS may also take other recovery actions, including appointing agents (e.g. bank, employer, tenant, lawyer handling the sale of any of their property) to recover the overdue tax, issuing a Travel Restriction Order and taking legal action.

While most taxpayers are compliant, IRAS will take enforcement action against the minority of errant taxpayers to ensure that all taxpayers contribute their fair share of taxes. For YA 2025, IRAS collected over $5 million in penalties from close to 37,000 taxpayers who did not pay their income tax on time.

Individuals who face difficulties paying their tax may reach out to IRAS before the payment due date, so that a suitable payment arrangement such as a longer instalment plan can be considered due to extenuating circumstances.

Ensure Timely Payment with GIRO

To ensure timely payment, taxpayers are encouraged to set up GIRO arrangements which automatically begin making payments in May each year. GIRO, which offers up to 12-month interest-free instalments, can be set up in minutes via eGIRO at myTax Portal. Additionally, taxpayers on GIRO who require more time to pay for their taxes may appeal for a longer payment plan via the Apply/Manage GIRO Plan digital service.

Payments can also be made at myTax Portal via AXS or PayNow QR. Successful payments will be posted into taxpayers' accounts almost instantaneously.

Stay Vigilant Against Phishing Scams This Tax Season

IRAS would like to remind taxpayers to remain vigilant against phishing scams involving fraudulent emails, SMSes, and WhatsApp messages. Taxpayers should check that official IRAS emails are from addresses ending in “@iras.gov.sg” and SMS messages are sent from the official “gov.sg” sender ID. IRAS does not use WhatsApp to text or call taxpayers regarding their tax matters. For all tax transactions - including filing, payments and refunds - taxpayers should access myTax Portal secured by Singpass authentication. IRAS will also not request personal details or confidential information through email or unsecured web links. More information can be found at IRAS’ Advisory on Scam & Fraudulent Activities .

Need Assistance with Filing Your Taxes?

Contact IRAS through the following channels:

Chat with us online (Mon to Fri, 8am to 5pm);
Call our helpline at 1800 356 8300 (Mon to Fri, 8am to 5pm);
Send us an email via myTax Portal; or
Make an appointment Taxpayers who need in-person assistance with individual income tax filing can also visit ServiceSG Centres and counters [2]. Do expect longer wait and response time for all channels between 2 March and 13 March 2026, as well as 1 April and 17 April 2026.

For more information, please visit https://www.iras.gov.sg.

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore

[1] Taxpayers must declare all self-employment income, such as income from home-based businesses, private tuition and media or creative services, under “Trade, Business, Profession or Vocation” in their tax return. The income must be declared even if they are an employee carrying out these activities on the side.

[2] ServiceSG Centre Our Tampines Hub, ServiceSG Centre One Punggol, ServiceSG Centre Woodlands, ServiceSG Centre Bukit Merah, ServiceSG Centre Bukit Canberra, ServiceSG@Nee Soon Central Community Club, ServiceSG@The Frontier Community Club, ServiceSG@Keat Hong Community Club, ServiceSG@Kampong Chai Chee Community Club or ServiceSG Centre Ang Mo Kio