Singapore Employer Tax & IRAS Filing Guide 2026

Regardless of the size of your business, you’re legally required to file employer taxes correctly. If you wait until the last minute, you risk making mistakes or missing deadlines, so it’s better to prepare early to stay on track with IRAS requirements.

In this guide, we will walk you through your key tax obligations and what to expect during this year’s filing cycle. We will also show you how the best payroll software in Singapore — Adaptive Pay — can simplify your filings in 2026 and beyond.

What are your IRAS filing obligations in 2026?

As an employer, you’re expected to report income details for every individual who worked for you during the year. If an employee joined or left partway through the year, you only declare income earned during their period of employment.

If your company went through a merger or restructuring, you have two options: file income under each original entity, or report it all under the new entity. Whichever route you choose, your records must clearly show the timeline and employment periods to avoid filing issues.

You should also understand which employee tax forms apply to your workforce:

• IR8A – This lets you report all your employees’ primary income, whether they’re residents or non-residents.
• IR21 – You’re required to file this when foreign employees or permanent residents leave Singapore or your company
• Appendix 8A – This covers your organisation’s non-cash benefits, such as housing or car perks
• Appendix 8B – This applies to share-based income from ESOP or ESOW plans

By filing the right forms, you can avoid follow-ups and corrections later.

Understanding the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS)

You’re required to submit IR8A forms every year, but doing it manually can take up a lot of your HR team’s time. That’s why IRAS introduced the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS), which lets you file employee income data electronically and reduce admin workload.

Under AIS, you’re required to submit employee income details electronically. After submission, the information flows directly into each employee’s personal tax assessment, so you don’t have to manually enter the data on your own.

You’ll be required to join the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) starting from YA 2026 If your company meets certain criteria. But even if your organisation is not required to join yet, voluntary participation is strongly encouraged. With the best payroll software in Singapore, you can further simplify submissions and lower the risk of errors.

How should you submit your IRAS forms?

Employer tax submissions follow a strict timeline, making it important to have a clear process if you want to avoid errors and last-minute stress. Below is a straightforward, step-by-step guide to submitting IRAS forms in Singapore manually or by using the best payroll software in Singapore.

How to submit forms manually

If your HR team handles IR8A submissions manually:

1. Submit an online application through the myTax Portal.
2. Log in and select Employment Income (AIS Online Application) under the e-Submission menu.
3. Register for the CPF Data Link-Up Service. This will allow the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore to retrieve your employees’ income data submitted to the Central Provident Fund Board.
4. Review the pre-filled income details in the AIS application, make any required adjustments, and submit the forms.

Submitting forms with payroll software

The best payroll software in Singapore helps streamline the entire filing process for you. Here’s how it works:

1. If it’s your first time participating in AIS, you must authorise a staff member or payroll provider through CorpPass to submit employment income details.
2. After authorisation, download the required tax form specifications from IRAS to confirm the information needed. With HRMS platforms like Adaptive Pay, the system generates these forms automatically.
3. A full-featured HRMS integrates directly with IRAS via API, allowing employers to validate and submit employment income data through the platform itself.

Make tax season easier with Adaptive Pay

Use the best payroll software in Singapore to simplify tax reporting by keeping CPF and IRAS submissions aligned in one system. Adaptive Pay’s all-in-one cloud HRMS will support your IRAS compliance and allow you to fulfil AIS obligations smoothly. Request a demo today.