Singapore: Voluntary disclosure programme | Research Credit Integrity Alliance

This page explains how IRAS's Voluntary Disclosure Programme (VDP) treats errors that a taxpayer corrects on its own initiative, including errors in research and development (R&D) deduction claims and Enterprise Innovation Scheme (EIS) cash payouts. It describes the rules only and makes no recommendation.

Summary

Point	Position as at 11 October 2026	Source
Taxes covered	Income tax, GST, withholding tax and stamp duty; income tax includes cash payouts under the Income Tax Act 1947	VDP e-Tax Guide1
Disclosure within 1 year of the statutory filing deadline	No penalty	VDP e-Tax Guide1
Disclosure after that year	5 percent of the tax undercharged, or of the excess payout, for each year the error was late in being rectified	VDP e-Tax Guide1
Past actions involving willful intent	May be compounded at a reduced penalty rate of 200 percent instead of prosecution	VDP e-Tax Guide2
How companies disclose	Through the "Revise/ Object to Assessment" digital service	IRAS3

The guide reviewed for this page is the Thirteenth Edition, published on 30 January 2026. The first edition was published on 1 March 2009.4

Cash payouts are covered

The VDP guide states that references to income tax include "cash payouts administered under the Income Tax Act 1947". "Income tax undercharged" is therefore read as also meaning the amount of cash payout obtained in excess of entitlement.1 IRAS's update history records that the guide was amended on 6 May 2015 to make clear that voluntary disclosures relating to cash payouts are within the program.5

Qualifying conditions

A disclosure qualifies for reduced penalties if it is timely, accurate, complete and self-initiated. The taxpayer must also cooperate fully with IRAS to correct the errors, and pay, or arrange to pay, the additional tax or excess payout and any penalties, and honor those arrangements.6

A disclosure is timely and self-initiated if it is made before the taxpayer receives a query from IRAS about its tax or cash payout matters, or before IRAS notifies it that an audit or investigation has started.6 A taxpayer already under query, audit or investigation can still qualify, but only for errors not directly related to the scope of that query, audit or investigation.6 An application is complete only when all the information listed in Annex B of the guide has been submitted.6

Reduced penalties

The reduced penalties, which have applied since 1 January 2013, are:1

When the disclosure is made	Corporate and individual income tax, including cash payouts
Within 1 year of the statutory filing deadline	No penalty
After that year	5 percent of the tax undercharged, or of the excess payout, for each year after the grace period that the error was late in being rectified

The grace period runs from the statutory filing deadline, not from any extended deadline given to the taxpayer. For corporate tax the statutory deadline is 30 November.1 IRAS illustrates the rule with a company whose YA 2022 return understated tax by $1,000: no penalty if disclosed by 30 November 2023, $50 if disclosed in the following year, and $150 if disclosed three years after the grace period.3

For context, where there is no voluntary disclosure, penalties under the Income Tax Act 1947 for incorrect returns range from an amount equal to the tax undercharged up to four times that amount, depending on the conduct.7 See Penalties.

Disclosures of willful conduct

IRAS treats cases involving willful intent to evade tax or to obtain excessive cash payouts differently from cases of ignorance or negligence.2 According to the guide, such an action has two elements: an act, which can include "giving false information in a claim or an entry in a form to obtain a higher amount of cash payout than entitled to", and knowledge that the act will lead to a lower tax liability or an excess refund.8

The guide states that taxpayers who commit offences with willful intent, "including persons who assist in such acts", may face prosecution. Taxpayers who come forward and voluntarily disclose such past acts may instead have their offences compounded at a reduced penalty rate of 200 percent. If they do not meet the VDP conditions, IRAS may charge them in court.2 For income tax, the Act provides for a penalty of up to four times the tax undercharged on conviction for the most serious evasion offences.7

How to make a disclosure

For corporate tax, IRAS asks companies to make a voluntary disclosure through the "Revise/ Object to Assessment" digital service and to upload the required information, including a revised tax computation.3 For a disclosure of past actions involving willful intent, taxpayers may email IRAS at the address given on its VDP page or write to it.3

For EIS cash payouts specifically, IRAS asks businesses that notice errors in an application to tell it through myTax Mail, using the subject line it specifies for amending a cash payout filing. Companies that have claimed enhanced deductions on expenditure also converted into cash should amend the deductions through the "Object to Assessment" digital service.9 The EIS e-Tax guide states that penalties may apply to businesses that fail to notify IRAS promptly of such double claims.10

IRAS offers extended grace periods or penalty waivers to taxpayers in certain voluntary compliance initiatives. For corporate tax, a company approved under the Tax Governance Framework receives a one-time extended grace period of two years, and a company accorded status under the Tax Risk Management and Control Framework for Corporate Income Tax receives a one-time waiver of penalties for voluntarily disclosed prior-year errors.3

Sources

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, IRAS e-Tax Guide: IRAS' Voluntary Disclosure Programme (Thirteenth Edition, published 30 January 2026), paragraphs 2.1 and 2.2 and footnote 1. https://www.iras.gov.sg/docs/default-source/e-tax/etaxguides_iras-voluntary-disclosure-programme.pdf?sfvrsn=7eac3cc6_37 (accessed 11 October 2026). Back
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, IRAS e-Tax Guide: IRAS' Voluntary Disclosure Programme (Thirteenth Edition, published 30 January 2026), paragraphs 9.1 to 9.4. https://www.iras.gov.sg/docs/default-source/e-tax/etaxguides_iras-voluntary-disclosure-programme.pdf?sfvrsn=7eac3cc6_37 (accessed 11 October 2026). Back
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, Voluntary disclosure of errors for reduced penalties (last updated 21 May 2026), sections "Reduced penalties" (Example 1), "Voluntary compliance initiatives" and "Making a voluntary disclosure". https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/corporate-income-tax/corporate-income-tax-compliance/voluntary-disclosure-of-errors-for-reduced-penalties (accessed 11 October 2026). Back
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, IRAS e-Tax Guide: IRAS' Voluntary Disclosure Programme (Thirteenth Edition, published 30 January 2026), cover page publication history. https://www.iras.gov.sg/docs/default-source/e-tax/etaxguides_iras-voluntary-disclosure-programme.pdf?sfvrsn=7eac3cc6_37 (accessed 11 October 2026). Back
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, IRAS e-Tax Guide: IRAS' Voluntary Disclosure Programme (Thirteenth Edition, published 30 January 2026), section 11 "Updates and Amendments", item 1. https://www.iras.gov.sg/docs/default-source/e-tax/etaxguides_iras-voluntary-disclosure-programme.pdf?sfvrsn=7eac3cc6_37 (accessed 11 October 2026). Back
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, IRAS e-Tax Guide: IRAS' Voluntary Disclosure Programme (Thirteenth Edition, published 30 January 2026), paragraphs 4.1 to 4.3. https://www.iras.gov.sg/docs/default-source/e-tax/etaxguides_iras-voluntary-disclosure-programme.pdf?sfvrsn=7eac3cc6_37 (accessed 11 October 2026). Back
Attorney-General's Chambers, Income Tax Act 1947 (Singapore Statutes Online, current version), sections 95(1), 95(2), 96(1) and 96A(1). https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/ITA1947?ProvIds=pr95- (accessed 11 October 2026). Back
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, IRAS e-Tax Guide: IRAS' Voluntary Disclosure Programme (Thirteenth Edition, published 30 January 2026), Annex A, paragraphs 1 and 2. https://www.iras.gov.sg/docs/default-source/e-tax/etaxguides_iras-voluntary-disclosure-programme.pdf?sfvrsn=7eac3cc6_37 (accessed 11 October 2026). Back
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, Enterprise Innovation Scheme (EIS) (last updated 23 September 2026), section "How to amend my online EIS application after submission". https://www.iras.gov.sg/schemes/disbursement-schemes/enterprise-innovation-scheme-(eis) (accessed 11 October 2026). Back
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, IRAS e-Tax Guide: Enterprise Innovation Scheme (Third Edition, published 31 August 2026), paragraph 6.11. https://www.iras.gov.sg/docs/default-source/e-tax/etaxguide_cit_enterprise-innovation-scheme.pdf?sfvrsn=3a36afd3_12 (accessed 11 October 2026). Back