Singapore Self-Employed — Form B Income Tax Return (myTax Portal)

Establish the client's tax residency status for the Year of Assessment (YA), confirm that the scope is sole proprietor or freelancer (not a Pte Ltd or partnership), and identify any employment income (Form IR8A) that must be combined with trade income on the Form B. Non-residents are out of scope and must be escalated.

Gather all sources of trade income for the calendar year (the preceding year basis). Classify receipts from bank statements using IRAS payment-pattern logic: PayNow, FAST, GIRO credits, Stripe payouts, Wise, PayPal, and overseas TTs are all gross trade income under s 10(1)(a) ITA. Determine whether the client is GST-registered (mandatory above SGD 1 million taxable turnover; voluntary below) and whether gross invoiced amounts or GST-exclusive amounts should be reported.

Apply the s 14 ITA wholly-and-exclusively test to all business expenses. Classify recurring operating costs (rent, communications, travel, professional fees, software subscriptions) and identify capital assets qualifying for Section 19A one-year or three-year write-off. Note that private motor vehicles (S-plates) are explicitly disallowed under s 15 ITA. Home office expenses require a defensible apportionment basis. Renovation and refurbishment costs are capped at SGD 300,000 over three consecutive YAs under s 14Q ITA.

Self-employed persons in Singapore are not required to make CPF Ordinary Account or Special Account contributions, but are mandatorily required to contribute to MediSave based on net trade income and age under the CPF Act. Compute the mandatory MediSave contribution amount and confirm whether the client has already paid, is on GIRO instalment, or has a shortfall. Also identify voluntary CPF top-up opportunities (up to SGD 8,000 own account + SGD 8,000 family member account) that generate dollar-for-dollar personal relief.

Identify and compute all personal reliefs available to the client subject to the SGD 80,000 annual cap. Priority reliefs for self-employed clients are: Earned Income Relief (automatic, age-scaled), CPF Cash Top-Up Relief (up to SGD 16,000), SRS Relief (up to SGD 15,300 for citizens/PRs), Course Fee Relief (up to SGD 5,500), and Life Insurance Relief. Family-based reliefs (spouse, qualifying child, parent, Working Mother's Child Relief) are assessed where applicable. The YA 2026 Personal Income Tax Rebate of 60% of tax payable capped at SGD 200 applies automatically.

Apply the YA 2026 progressive rate table (0%–24%) to chargeable income. Apply the 60% Personal Income Tax Rebate capped at SGD 200 automatically. Cross-check the computed tax against any prior year Notice of Assessment (NOA) for reasonableness. If the client received a pre-filled Form B auto-inclusion from IRAS (via Auto-Inclusion Scheme employers or the SRS operator), reconcile pre-filled figures against the compiled income and relief schedule before submission.

Submit the completed Form B via myTax Portal (mytax.iras.gov.sg) using Singpass authentication by the 18 April e-filing deadline. After submission, IRAS issues the Notice of Assessment (NOA) typically within 5–8 weeks. Review the NOA on receipt — taxpayers have 30 days to file an objection if the NOA is incorrect. Advise the client on payment: IRAS GIRO auto-debit, PayNow QR, Internet Banking (AXS/SAM), or by cheque. Outstanding tax is due approximately one month after the NOA date.