Owning up to Past Mistakes

TAXPAYERS are encouraged to step forward and voluntarily disclose any past errors in their tax returns, as doing so will attract lower penalties, said the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras). The longer you take to own up, the more severe the penalty.

For instance, the penalty imposed on those who own up to past tax filing mistakes is charged at an incremental rate of 10 per cent a year, subject to a maximum of 30 per cent.

If you don’t own up and the errors are discovered by Iras, penalties of up to two times the tax undercharged may be imposed.

‘In the long run, we encourage voluntary compliance. It’s more sustainable,’ said Ms Loh Lee Kim, the director of the individual income tax division.

In cases of tax evasion, the penalty payment is three times the amount of tax that has been undercharged. In addition, the taxpayer could be fined up to $10,000 or jailed up to three years or both.

Those who would like to voluntarily disclose past errors in their returns can approach Iras by sending an e-mail message to ksgoh@iras.gov.sg or vivianseah@iras.gov.sg, or calling 6351-3481 or 6351-3090.