When IRAS opens tax filing season in March, most employees log in to myTax Portal and find their salary already filled in. That convenience comes from the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS), under which IRAS receives your income details directly from your employer. It saves time, but it does not mean the figures are always right, and you remain responsible for the accuracy of your tax return.
This guide explains what the auto inclusion scheme IRAS runs actually pre-fills, how to check those figures against your IR8A, and what to do if something does not match. It is general information, not tax advice. For the latest rules and deadlines, check the IRAS website.
What the Auto-Inclusion Scheme Does
Under AIS, participating employers submit their employees’ income information to IRAS electronically, usually by 1 March each year. IRAS then pre-fills that information into your individual tax return on myTax Portal.
Employers above a certain size must join AIS, and others can join voluntarily. If your employer is on AIS, they generally do not need to hand you a paper IR8A, though many still give you a copy or make it available through their HR or payroll portal.
AIS data typically covers:
- Salary, including allowances paid during the year
- Bonuses, including the 13th month payment and performance bonuses
- Director’s fees, if you are a director
- Benefits in kind, such as housing or a car provided by your employer, if reported
- Gains from share options or share plans, if reported
- Your employee CPF contributions, which feed into CPF relief
Other information can also be pre-filled from other sources, such as donations made through approved charities, CPF cash top-ups, and Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) contributions reported by banks. Rental income, freelance income and foreign income are generally not pre-filled, so you declare those yourself.
Get Your IR8A Ready Before You Log In
The IR8A is the form summarising your employment income for the year. It is the document you check the pre-filled figures against. Before filing, gather:
- Your IR8A from each employer you worked for in the year. Ask HR if you have not received it.
- Any appendix forms, such as Appendix 8A for benefits in kind or Appendix 8B for share-based gains.
- Your final payslips, especially December’s, which often show year-to-date totals.
- CPF statements, which you can check on the CPF website using Singpass.
Remember the income year. Your tax return covers income earned in the previous calendar year. A bonus paid in January of the filing year belongs to next year’s return, even if it relates to work done earlier.
How to Check the Pre-Filled Figures
Log in to myTax Portal with Singpass, open your individual income tax return and go through each section carefully. Use the table below as a checklist.
| Pre-filled item | What to compare it with | Common reason for a mismatch |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary and allowances | IR8A salary line, December payslip year-to-date | Allowances classified differently, back pay |
| Bonus | IR8A bonus line, bonus letters | Bonus paid in a different calendar year than expected |
| Director’s fees | IR8A, company resolution approving fees | Fees approved in one year but paid in another |
| Benefits in kind | Appendix 8A | Employer valuation of housing or car benefits |
| Employee CPF contributions | CPF statement | Contributions on additional wages, late adjustments |
When checking, look for these warning signs:
- An employer is missing. If you changed jobs, both employers should appear if both are on AIS. If one is not on AIS, you need to enter that income yourself.
- The total looks too high. It might include a payment that is not taxable, or one recorded in the wrong year.
- The total looks too low. A bonus or allowance may have been left out.
- Duplicates. Occasionally a record appears twice after an employer resubmits.
If everything matches, you can proceed to check your reliefs and submit.
What to Do If the Figures Are Wrong
The fix depends on where the error comes from.
If the employer’s data is wrong. Contact your employer’s HR or payroll team and explain the mismatch with your supporting documents. Under AIS, the employer is generally the one who must submit an amendment to IRAS. Once IRAS receives the corrected record, the change should flow through to your assessment. Do this early, since corrections take time.
If income is missing because the employer is not on AIS. Enter the income yourself in the employment income section of your return, using the IR8A the employer gave you.
If you have income that is never pre-filled. Declare it in the right section, such as rental, trade or other income. Our guides on declaring rental income and reporting freelance and side hustle income cover these.
If you have already filed. You can usually update your return through myTax Portal before IRAS issues your Notice of Assessment (NOA). Once the NOA is issued, you can generally object within the deadline stated on the notice. Our guide on how to object to your income tax assessment walks through that process.
Do not ignore an error because it works in your favour. Under-declaring income, even by mistake, can lead to penalties once IRAS detects it. Correcting it promptly is always the safer route.
If You Are on the No-Filing Service
Some taxpayers are placed on the No-Filing Service (NFS), meaning IRAS has enough information to assess them without a tax return. Even so, you should log in and check the pre-filled income and reliefs. If anything is missing, such as a relief you are entitled to or income that was not pre-filled, you need to file a return to update it. Our guide on the IRAS No-Filing Service explains when to act.
Tips for a Smooth Filing Season
- Check early in the filing period. It leaves time for an employer to fix errors before the filing deadline. IRAS publishes the deadline each year, typically in April.
- Save a copy of your submitted return and your IR8A for your records. IRAS generally expects records to be kept for several years.
- Review your reliefs at the same time. Pre-filled reliefs such as CPF relief depend on the same data, so an income error can affect them too.
- Watch for the NOA. When it arrives, check the income lines again against your IR8A. The NOA is your final chance to spot problems before the objection deadline passes.
- Use only official channels. Log in to myTax Portal directly, not through links in messages, since tax season attracts phishing scams.
Why a Few Minutes of Checking Matters
The auto inclusion scheme IRAS runs makes filing quicker for most employees, but it relies on employers entering data correctly. A short check against your IR8A protects you from overpaying tax, or from under-declaring and facing penalties later. For most people, the whole review takes less than 15 minutes, and it is worth doing every year.
Official sources: IRAS