If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien living or traveling outside the United States, you generally are required to file income tax returns, estate tax returns, and gift tax returns and pay estimated tax in the same way as those residing in the United States. Your income, filing status, and age generally determine whether you must file a return. Generally, you must file a return if your gross income from worldwide sources is at least the amount shown for your filing status in the Filing Requirements table in Chapter 1 of Publication 54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad (available at www.irs.gov). The IRS web site has a wealth of information available for the overseas taxpayer. Follow the ‘Individuals’ and ‘International Taxpayers’ links, or search for IRS Publication 54.

U.S. Tax Information
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 920
Bensalem, PA 19020
(215) 516-2000 (not toll-free)
Phone service available from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm (EST) M-F

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) acts as an agent of the government and administers, assesses, collects and enforces payment of taxes. The IRAS also advises the government and represents Singapore internationally on matters relating to taxation. A Singapore citizen or a Singapore Permanent Resident who returns to work here will be liable to pay income tax. You will be required to complete and submit the relevant tax form that will be mailed to you. Your employer may furnish your salary details to IRAS directly and this portion of your income need not be included in your tax return. However, you must still submit the tax form and report other income you received in Singapore in the previous year. Should your employer not give IRAS your salary details, you should be issued with the IR8A form, which is the form that shows the gross employment income that you have earned in the previous year. You must include the IR8A with your completed tax form. The chargeable income, that is, your income after deduction of personal reliefs, will be taxed at resident rates of between 0% and 20% from Year of Assessment 2007. The resident rates only apply to a taxpayer who is considered a tax resident, that is, he has been in Singapore for more than 183 days or can prove so by other qualitative means in the previous year.

Non-Resident
A person is considered a non-resident when working (or living) in Singapore for less than 183 days per year. A non-resident’s employment income is taxed at 15 percent or the resident rate, whichever is higher. Only income derived in Singapore will be taxable. Non-residents will not be considered for Personal Reliefs.

Foreigners who are working in Singapore on a Employment Pass will be taxed regardless of the time spent working here.

Foreigners who have rental income from a property in Singapore, director’s fee or all other incomes will be taxed at 20 percent of the respective income.

Foreigners who are on short term employment of less than 60 days per calendar year are exempted from income tax for their employment income.

Foreigners whose main country of residence has an Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement with Singapore are exempted from income tax for their employment income.

Reliefs and Rebates
As a tax resident, a person is taxed on all income earned in Singapore including overseas income which is transmitted, remitted or otherwise brought into Singapore.

There are personal reliefs given under the Income Tax Act. Income without personal reliefs is taxed on a graduated scale from 0% – 20%.

Tax reliefs and rebates are given in recognition of a person’s efforts. Instead of compensating for certain type of expenses fully, reliefs and rebates are given to promote certain social objectives.

There are reliefs available to encourage family formation, retraining, training and upgrading of skills as well as reliefs given to those serving National Service.

Submitting Your Income Tax
You can submit your tax return by post, through e-filing at www.iras.gov.sg, or by phone. If you fail to submit your return by 15th April or to pay your taxes within the specified due date, you will be penalized. To avoid late payment penalties on your tax payable, you may arrange to pay your taxes by GIRO or log on to do it electronically at www.iras.gov.sg for immediate payment. Remember to print the acknowledge copy for your own records.

For more information, contact:
Taxpayer Services
Centre Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore
1st Storey, Revenue House
55 Newton Road, Singapore 307987
www.iras.gov.sg

Work Permits (Basic salary S$2,500 and below)
If you intend to work in Singapore and are earning a basic monthly salary of $2,500 or less, you must apply for a Work Permit. Prospective employers must also furnish a $5,000 security deposit for all foreign workers except those from Malaysia. When the worker is repatriated, the security bond is returned to the employer; otherwise, it is forfeited.

You should know the outcome of your application in 7 working days. Do not begin working until you receive the Permit. You could be fined an amount equivalent to several months of your salary. Depending on the type of occupation, your employer has to pay the Ministry of Manpower a levy that varies from $200 to $400. Application forms are available free-of-charge at Counter 1, Level 2 of the Work Permit Department, Tel: (65) 6538-3033, Fax: (65) 6539-5344.
Before collecting the Permit, get a registered Singapore doctor to certify that you are medically fit. The application process can be quite laborious, so there are agents who are ready to step in and iron out the technicalities for a fee.

Employment Passes (Basic salary above S$2,500)
There are now two classifications of employment pass, ‘P’ and ‘Q’. The ‘P’ pass is for foreigners holding acceptable tertiary/professional qualifications seeking professional, administrative, executive or managerial jobs or who are entrepreneurs or investors. A P1 pass is for those with incomes above $7000 and a P2 pass is for those with incomes of between $3500 and $7000.

If your income is above $2500 and you have basic educational qualifications (at least 5 GCE ‘O’ levels or a full NTC-2 certificate), you can qualify for a Q1 pass. If you do not meet either the basic monthly income or educational requirements noted, you may still be granted a Q2 pass in exceptional circumstances.

More likely, if your basic monthly salary is below $2,500 but you have an acceptable university degree or diploma from a recognised educational institution in Singapore, you may also apply for the Employment Pass. An Employment Pass holder may apply for Dependant’s Passes for a spouse and unmarried children under 21 years old. You can apply for Dependant’s Passes together with the Employment Pass.

Conditions for Application
You will need a local sponsor in the form of a Singapore registered corporation (usually your employer) when applying for the Employment Pass.

Where and How to Apply
You can get application forms for both the Employment Pass and the Work Permit from:

Singapore Immigration & Registration
10 Kallang Road
Singapore 208718
65-6391-6100 (24-hour hotline)

Applications must be made at the above address and normally take about 6 weeks to process. Be sure to have certified copies of documents; you will need to produce the originals later. The documents required are:

Four copies of completed Form 8 per applicant. The forms must be signed by both you and an authorized officer from your sponsor company, and should also be endorsed with the company’s stamp or seal.

One copy each of all your qualification papers and past employment testimonials.

Two passport-sized photographs of you taken within the last 3 months.

For those setting up professional practices here, one copy of the sponsorship letter from a well-established local corporation stating its responsibility for the maintenance and repatriation of each applicant is needed. Otherwise a security deposit of S$3,000 per applicant will be required.

For those who are regional representatives, one copy of the letter from the Trade Development Board approving the setting up of the Representative Office and a letter from the Representative Office’s headquarters stating the purpose of the application, the duration of the applicant’s assignment, the duties and responsibilities of the applicant in the Office, and the maintenance and repatriation of the applicant.

Those who are married must submit one copy each of the official marriage certificate and the spouse’s educational certificates if the spouse is a Singapore citizen, permanent resident or an employment pass holder.

Dependant’s Passes
If you want to apply for Dependant’s Passes for your spouse and unmarried children below 21 years, complete and submit Form 12 together with your employment pass application. The documents required are:

Two copies of completed and signed Form 12 (one may be a photocopy). Children travelling on their own passports must submit a separate Form 12, while parents may sign on behalf of children below 12 years.

One copy of the official marriage certificate.

One copy each of the official birth certificates of children showing both the parents’ names and the child’s name OR Court papers on the custody of the children.

Two passport-sized photographs of the applicant taken within the last 3 months. No photograph is required for children below 12 years.