GST Filing in Singapore: How to Do It Right

Filing for taxes such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) can keep many business owners and finance managers up at night. This is because many underestimate their complexities.

While the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has made the filing web portal intuitive, the user interface is always a work-in-progress. This can be particularly daunting for some professionals.

If your business turnover exceeds $1.0 million in revenue within a 12-month accounting period, you must be GST registered. As a GST-registered business, you must file for goods and services tax within 30 days after the end of the accounting period. Failure to do so could lead you into hot waters and penalties.

Surprising or otherwise, there are still a handful of GST registered businesses which get into trouble every year with unpleasant surprises from IRAS. Some are due to error, and some are outright fraud.

Either way, we at ABSS aim to provide the solutions to help you and your business from falling into such predicaments. All the GST-registered businesses can file for GST returns electronically at myTax portal and pay their dues to IRAS by the due date.

And if your business is not GST registered, we strongly encourage you to voluntarily register as there are more benefits to gain.  The difference between the Output Tax and Input Tax may put in more jazz into your coffers. More on these later.

 We have put together 4 hacks to help you navigate the GST filing labyrinth a little easier.

CorpPass and SingPass are both online authentication services developed by the Singapore government.

For SingPass, if you are a Singaporean or Permanent Resident above 15 years old, you are likely familiar with this government digital service and platform. Non-Singaporeans who possess valid Foreign Identification Number or FIN pass could also apply.

CorpPass is an additional layer of digital authentication closely tied to SingPass, and for eligible personnel to apply for the purpose of performing government-related online services. GST filing is one of them. It allows your business or company to appoint your staff and apply as Registered Officer, Administrator, Sub-Admin and even drill down to several tiers of user access rights and privileges

Getting pass the stages of these two digital authentication services for yourself, your appointed employees or third party, such as tax agents, are thus the first steps for filing GST returns.

At this point, we want to point out that there may still be some GST registered businesses that file their taxes the traditional way, that is, gathering all the hardcopies of the GST filing forms and post into the snail mailbox or march their way down to IRAS head office. The next point is applicable to electronic or online format for filing GST returns.

The next stage you need to clear after you have identified and appointed the personnel to carry out GST filing duties is to officiate the appointee in IRAS portal.

If you are the owner and/or partner of the business and company, the authorisation mechanics can be quite different compared to a sole proprietor. The format is also different for a liquidated company. You can visit the link here to deep-dive into the details of each mechanism.

For all its forms and procedures, there may also be instances in which you could appoint an entity, such as a tax agent, to file GST returns on your behalf. This would require different dimensions of authorisation.

However, the good news is that, all these procedures would only need to be conducted once. If there is a change in the appointed personnel carrying out GST E-filing, the entire authorisation would then need to be carried out again.

Once all this is cleared, you would be able to log in to the whole new world of GST related services at myTax portal. Please be mindful and reiterate to your appointed staff that domain names are different for IRAS website and GST filing portal.

• IRAS website
• myTax Portal for GST filing

Be aware and avoid falling into any potential cybersecurity issues like phishing scams.

The GST F5 Return form is the first port of call in your GST filing journey. Incidentally, this is also the place where errors in GST filing tend to occur.

While there are a few areas to note, we want to highlight two key points and each of them need to be meticulously computed when you put the numbers together for filing.

1. All GST figures must be in Singapore dollars.

   If your GST registered companies deal with foreign currencies, you need to convert them the right way.

   For example, if you import goods from overseas to sell in your e-commerce store, the purchase you make is likely to be foreign currency, such as in US dollars. You would then need to convert them into local currency with the approved exchange rate for GST purposes.

   There are various channels you can tap on for approved exchange rates, such as from local newspapers like The Straits Times and The Business Times, or online portals like Bloomberg or Reuters. But the simplest and quickest way to get to this is with the Monetary Authority of Singapore or MAS.

2. Nil transaction in GST filing.  

   This refers to the situation where there was no transaction or GST collected from your Output Tax in your tax invoice for the filing period. IRAS still requires you to file by indicating nil return for that corresponding time

As we mentioned earlier where errors occurred at the first port of call. F7 is the location for disclosing errors, if you discovered any.

Some of the common errors include claiming more for GST refunds than you are entitled to for your GST registered business. This can be due to mistaken computation methods between Output Tax and Input Tax. Or filing for GST with non-eligible expenses.

Do note that GST filing must be precise as any errors can land you in some nasty troubles as indicated at the start of this article.

In addition, IRAS has provided an online calculator for users to assist themselves into getting their formulas correct. You could visit this link for more details. If you or your appointed personnel can get GST filing input all correct, there is less of a worry in F7 section.

Quite similar to F7, the GST F8 is the final filing of the GST filing process. This applies when you decided to de-register for GST, to migrate your current GST-registered company or business to another entity or when you decided to completely discontinue your operations.

By default, you need to file for your GST return, pay any tax due by the due dates. Both are one month after the end of your accounting period.

There are cases where a longer time may be needed, and IRAS provides concession in those instances. Some examples include your business being newly formed, your computer system breaks down or your company is going through restructuring.

Besides being a new company, proof of the request for an extension is required. Finally, going by GIRO is strongly recommended. Besides wanting to avoid late submission penalty, GIRO can save you and your staff time and resources when there are many deadlines to remember and keep track of.

If you are not GST registered, we want to encourage you to register voluntarily for GST even if your business does not exceed $1.0mil in annual turnover. The benefits tend to outweigh the hassles. One example is in the case of startups.

If you have a new business, it is possible that your business has nothing to sell at the early stage. But you still need to buy or spend. Things you buy can be claimed back as GST refunds. Many new businesses miss out on this.

We have written extensively on voluntary GST registration.

Before we end, the rise of e-commerce has allowed many individuals, businesses and companies to thrive.

Digitalisation as the new buzz word has transformed how businesses and companies operate and create new realities. Whether on generic e-marketplaces such as Shopee and Lazada, or corporate e-commerce web stores, people and organisations buy goods and services over the internet without incurring the right taxes. Some underdeclared their purchases. With the law catching on, some are caught with heavy consequences.

The complexities to righting errors are onerous.

This is where ABSS can come in to help.

ABSS accounting software provides integration and automates the chasms in the workflow.

With the Productivity and Solutions Grant (PSG) scheme to help you ease technology adoption, it is easier to avoid falling into a GST submission rabbit hole.

Get a 7 days free trial with our GST Compliant accounting software.