Reporting Employee Earnings in Singapore: IR8A, Appendices, & AIS Explained

Every year, employers in Singapore face a crucial compliance deadline: reporting employee earnings to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). This process is centrally managed through the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS), which is mandatory for most companies and forms the basis for each employee’s personal tax assessment.

Depending on your compensation structure, you may need to go beyond the basic IR8A to report benefits-in-kind (Appendix 8A) or stock-based compensation (Appendix 8B). This guide explains the core IR8A form, the scope of reporting, and key steps to navigate the AIS filing process accurately and on time.

What is the IR8A Form in Singapore?

The IR8A Form is the core document for employer income reporting in Singapore. It is the official, mandated declaration used by all employers to report an employee’s total taxable cash earnings for the preceding calendar year (1 January to 31 December).

This annual report is critical, as it provides the sole basis for the employee’s personal tax assessment (Year of Assessment, or YA), automatically pre-filling their e-Filing submission with the IRAS. At its core, the IR8A is a consolidated statement that only captures cash-based employment income, including:

• Basic salary, wages, and overtime pay
• Annual Wage Supplement (AWS), bonuses, and commissions
• Director fees (where the director is also an employee)
• Cash allowances (e.g., transport, meal, housing allowances)
• Employer-borne taxes (taxes paid by the employer on the employee’s behalf)

As an employer, it’s vital to understand the limitations of the IR8A to maintain full compliance. Failure to accurately capture all cash and non-cash elements will likely lead to follow-up queries, amended assessments, and increased audit risks from IRAS. Therefore, you should note that:

• The IR8A reports cash earnings and statutory deductions only.
• Non-cash benefits (Appendix 8A) and share-based compensation (Appendix 8B) must be reported separately using the relevant appendix (see next section).

Who is included in the IR8A Filing Scope?

All employers with active operations in Singapore are statutorily obligated to prepare and submit Form IR8A for every individual who received employment income from the company during the reporting year. This generally includes:

• Resident Employees: Full-time, part-time, and probationary staff.
• Directors & Board Members: Both resident and non-resident company directors or board members receiving fees.
• Non-Resident Employees: Individuals who rendered services in Singapore during the year.
• Former Employees: Staff who left during the year but received subsequent income (e.g., final bonuses, deferred commissions, or vested share income).
• Pensioners: Individuals receiving ongoing pension payments from the company.

On the other hand, not every person you pay needs to be reported under IR8A. In most cases, you do not need to file IR8A for:

• Independent Contractors/Freelancers: These individuals are not employees. Their income is treated as trade income, not employment income.
• Wholly Overseas Employees: Foreign employees posted overseas for the entire year who performed no services in Singapore and paid by a foreign entity.
• Tax Cleared Employees: Employees for whom you have already filed Form IR21 (Tax Clearance) because they left Singapore permanently during the year.

When to File Appendix 8A and Appendix 8B?

As mentioned earlier, form IR8A only reports an employee’s cash-based earnings, such as salary, bonuses, and allowances. If your compensation structure includes non-cash benefits or share-based rewards, IRAS requires additional disclosures through separate appendices. These are:

• Appendix 8A: to report benefits-in-kind provided to employees.
• Appendix 8B: to report gains from stock options or share-based compensation.

If any employee received these types of benefits during the year, the relevant appendix must be filed together with IR8A. This allows IRAS to accurately assess the employee’s full taxable income, not just what appears on payroll.

Form	Purpose	When It Is Required	Examples of Income Reported
Appendix 8A	Reports the value of benefits-in-kind (BIK)	When an employee receives taxable non-cash benefits during the year	Housing or accommodation, utilities, company car, personal expenses paid by employer
Appendix 8B	Reports gains from stock or share plans	When an employee derives gains from ESOPs, RSUs, or other employee share ownership (ESOW) schemes	Gains from exercising, vesting, or disposing of shares or stock options

Valuing housing benefits and calculating taxable gains from stock options are two areas where employers most often make reporting errors. These calculations affect not just compliance, but also the employee’s final tax position.

Emerhub’s payroll and tax team supports employers with the valuation, calculation, and accurate reporting of Appendix 8A and 8B. This helps ensure complex benefits and equity items are addressed correctly in your first submission.

Your Responsibilities as an Employer When Filing for IR8A

IR8A filing is a year-end consolidation of what your company has already been tracking each month across payroll, benefits, director remuneration, and employer-borne taxes. The final submission appears as a single report per employee, but it is built entirely on the data you’ve filed throughout the year.

Once the filing window opens on 1 February, most employers find there is limited room to correct earlier missteps. Issues such as misclassified allowances, incorrectly valued benefits-in-kind, or unclear approval timing for director fees usually originate months earlier in the payroll process.

If left unresolved, these gaps carry straight through into the IR8A submission, which significantly increases the risk of IRAS query and costly penalties for your company.

For this reason, an employer’s responsibility goes beyond meeting a deadline. It involves the following core steps, all of which Emerhub experts can navigate on your behalf: 

1. Prepare Accurate Employee Earnings and Payroll Records

The core responsibility is maintaining detailed, audit-ready payroll records for at least five years. You must ensure that every single item of remuneration, from basic salary to one-off expense reimbursements, is categorized correctly as taxable or non-taxable and reflected accurately on the forms.

2. Assigning the Correct Forms for Your Employees (IR8A vs 8A vs 8B)

You must individually assess each employee’s compensation structure to determine which forms apply. This mandatory, employee-by-employee assessment analyzes not only the employee’s job role but also the specific payments and benefits received during the year. For instance:

• IR8A Only: A part-time employee receiving a cash salary and an annual cash bonus will only require Form IR8A, as all remuneration is monetary and fits the core reporting categories.
• IR8A + Appendix 8A: A resident employee receiving a salary (Form IR8A) who is also provided with employer-paid gym membership and highly subsidized housing (taxable benefits-in-kind) will trigger the mandatory submission of Appendix 8A.
• IR8A + Appendix 8B: A senior manager whose compensation includes a monthly salary (Form IR8A) and who realized gains from the vesting of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) during the year must be reported with Appendix 8B.
• Comprehensive Filing: The most detailed filing is reserved for executives or employees with complex packages. For an employee receiving a base salary, a company-provided car benefit, and a stock option grant, the complete required documentation would be: Form IR8A + Appendix 8A + Appendix 8B. This multi-form submission ensures all taxable compensation, regardless of its form (cash, in-kind, or capital gain), is accurately disclosed.

3. Understanding Who Files the IR8A through AIS vs myTax Portal

When it comes to IR8A submission, employers in Singapore follow one of two reporting routes:

• they either file through the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS), or 
• they issue IR8A manually to employees for self-filing.

Under current IRAS guidelines, AIS participation is mandatory if your company has five or more employees, or if IRAS has specifically instructed your company to file electronically. Employers below this threshold may still opt into AIS voluntarily, often to avoid issuing hardcopy forms and to streamline future reporting.

Before looking at how each route works in practice, it helps to separate two concepts that are often confused:

• The Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) is the reporting framework that allows employers to submit employee income directly to IRAS, so the figures are automatically reflected in the employee’s tax return.
• The myTax Portal is IRAS’ online platform where both employers and employees log in to manage tax matters, including AIS submissions and personal tax filing.

If You Are on the AIS	If You Are Not on AIS
Under AIS, the employer submits employee income details directly to IRAS in electronic format, either through payroll software or via the myTax Portal. Once submitted, the information is automatically pre-filled into the employee’s personal tax return.	If your company is not on AIS, you follow the manual reporting route. In this case, the responsibility for completing the tax declaration shifts partly to the employee, because IRAS does not receive income data directly from the employer.
What this means in practice: – You submit IR8A, Appendix 8A and Appendix 8B digitally to IRAS. – You do not issue any hardcopy forms to employees. – Employees file their tax returns using the pre-filled income figures. – All submissions must be completed by 1 March.	What this means in practice: – You prepare hardcopy Form IR8A and applicable appendices. – You issue these directly to your employees by 1 March. – Employees then manually declare the income in their own tax returns via the myTax Portal. – You do not submit the hardcopy forms to IRAS.

4. Handle Corrections, Amendments and IRAS Follow-Up

If any income figures are revised after submission, you’ll need to submit an amended IR8A. This applies whether the adjustment comes from late payroll changes, reclassifications, or delayed approvals.

For AIS employers, all corrections are made electronically through the myTax Portal. You update only the affected fields and resubmit the revised figures directly to IRAS. If the change also affects Appendix 8A or Appendix 8B, those forms must be updated at the same time so the employee’s full income profile remains consistent.

Once the amendment is processed, the corrected figures will replace the earlier data in the employee’s pre-filled tax return. However, this works differently if you are not on AIS. You will need to:

• Reissue the corrected hardcopy IR8A and any applicable appendices to the employee
• Inform the employee to update their personal tax return in the myTax Portal using the revised figures

In this scenario, the employer does not submit the amendment directly to IRAS. Instead, the employee makes the update based on the corrected documents you issue.

5. Record Retention and Audit Readiness

Once your IR8A and appendices are submitted, IRAS expects you to be able to substantiate every reported figure if asked. For this reason, employers are required to keep payroll and employment records for a minimum of five years. This means keeping documents that support:

• Salary and bonus calculations
• Director and board remuneration
• Benefits-in-kind valuations
• Share-based compensation records
• Employer-borne tax details

These records are what IRAS will refer to if figures are reviewed down the line, sometimes well after the relevant Year of Assessment has closed. When documentation is complete and organised, queries are usually resolved quickly. When it isn’t, the process tends to drag.

At its simplest, record retention is about one thing: being able to explain, with evidence, how each number on your IR8A was derived.

Key Deadlines for IR8A and AIS Filing in Singapore

Below is a summary of the main dates and deadlines you need to know when fulfilling IR8A and employment-income reporting obligations. The table outline the different workflows depending on whether your company is on the AIS or not.

Filing Route	Filing Requirements	Deadline
Employers on AIS	Submit employee income data (IR8A, Appendix 8A, Appendix 8B, etc.) electronically to IRAS through payroll software or via the myTax Portal	By 1 Mar each year
Employers not on AIS (manual route)	Prepare hardcopy IR8A (and relevant appendices) and issue to every employee for them to file their own tax return	By 1 March each year
Amendments (AIS route)	If you need to correct previously submitted data (e.g. change in earnings, benefits, bonuses), log into myTax Portal and submit amended IR8A / appendices	As soon as the correction is identified– there is no fixed “late window,” but timely submission is critical to avoid discrepancies in employee tax assessments.
Amendments (Manual route)	Re-issue corrected hardcopy IR8A / appendices to the employee	As soon as error is discovered.

IR8A Filing Support for Employers in Singapore

By the time IR8A filing season arrives, most issues arise from how payroll, benefits, director fees, and equity items were handled throughout the year. For many foreign setups and growing teams, keeping all of this aligned across systems can be difficult to manage internally.

Emerhub Singapore offers end-to-end payroll and compliance services designed specifically to handle these requirements:

1. Guaranteed Compliance: We ensure every taxable item, including complex benefits-in-kind and stock options (Appendix 8A/8B), is correctly valued and reported according to the latest IRAS rules.
2. Seamless AIS Submission: We manage your electronic submission through the AIS, eliminating manual errors and guaranteeing you meet the 1 March deadline.
3. Audit-Ready Records: We maintain meticulous digital records for the required retention period, providing complete peace of mind.

Don’t risk penalties due to miscalculation or missed deadlines. Focus on growing your business today while Emerhub takes care of your entire payroll compliance process, from monthly CPF calculations to annual IR8A submission.

Interested in getting in touch with our tax and payroll advisors? Contact us via the form below!