IRAS Penalty Waiver: Late Filing, Late Payment and Composition Letters (2026)
By Lucas Seah, Founder of Excellence Singapore Group | Last Updated: October 2026
Got a penalty notice, a letter of composition or a summons from IRAS? An IRAS penalty waiver is possible, but IRAS checks its published conditions before it looks at your reasons. For a late payment penalty, it considers a waiver only if the tax was paid in full by the date in the penalty notice and no waiver was granted in the past 2 calendar years. A composition is a sum IRAS offers to accept instead of prosecuting a late return, and IRAS considers waiving it only if the overdue return is filed by the composition due date and your returns were filed on time for the past 2 years. Most appeals take a few minutes on myTax Portal and get an instant answer.
Ignore the letters, and IRAS moves on to your directors and the courts.
Short on time? Jump to whether your penalty can be waived or what to do in the next 7 days.
Key Takeaways
- For corporate tax, individual income tax and GST, IRAS considers a late payment penalty waiver only if the tax is paid in full by the penalty notice date and no waiver was granted in the past 2 calendar years.
- An IRAS late payment penalty starts at 5%. If the tax is still unpaid 60 days later, a further 1% is added for each completed month, up to 12% more; for GST, 2% a month, up to 50% more.
- A GST late filing penalty is S$200 straight away and S$200 for each completed month, up to S$10,000 per return. A late company tax return brings an estimated tax bill, payable within 1 month even if you object.
- A letter of composition offers to settle a late return for up to S$5,000 per offence; paying it avoids prosecution only if you also file the overdue return by the due date.
- If the company still does not file, IRAS can send a director a Section 65B(3) notice, a legal demand for the missing information. Ignoring it can mean up to S$10,000 and/or 12 months’ jail.
- For corporate tax, GST and individual income tax, appeal through myTax Portal’s Appeal for Penalty Waiver service, not by email or phone; withholding tax and IR21 have their own channels.
Which IRAS letter did you get?
IRAS usually escalates in this order, and each stage leaves you less room. The earlier you act, the more options you keep.
- Estimated Notice of Assessment. A Notice of Assessment is IRAS’s tax bill. If a return is late, IRAS can estimate your tax from past years or other information, and may assume your income went up. Estimated corporate or individual income tax is due within 1 month, even if you intend to object.
- Late payment penalty notice. Tax not paid by the due date attracts a 5% penalty straight away. For corporate tax, individual income tax and GST, if it is still unpaid 60 days after that, a further penalty is added for each completed month it stays unpaid.
- Composition offer (letter of composition). Instead of prosecuting a late return, IRAS may offer to settle the offence for a composition amount of up to S$5,000, depending on your compliance record.
- Section 65B(3) notice. IRAS writes to a director to demand the information the return should have contained, by a set date.
- Notice to Attend Court or summons. Issued to the company and/or its directors when the return or the composition is still outstanding. Once it is issued, IRAS grants no more filing extensions; more time can only be asked for in court, on the court date.
If the letter is from ACRA, not IRAS, it falls under company law, not tax: see our guides to ACRA late penalties and ACRA court summons.
How much are IRAS late filing and late payment penalties?
An IRAS late filing penalty or late payment penalty depends on the tax, and on whether the problem is a late return, a late payment or both. For company tax, IRAS says late filing may result in penalties of up to S$5,000, usually through a composition offer, on top of an estimated tax bill. The GST late filing penalty, which IRAS calls a late submission penalty, starts at S$200 and grows each month, and the GST late payment penalty starts at 5%.
| Tax and deadline | Late filing | Late payment |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate income tax (Form C-S or C), due 30 November | Estimated assessment; composition of up to S$5,000 per offence; if convicted, a fine of up to S$5,000, plus twice the tax if 2 or more years late | 5%; if still unpaid 60 days later, a further 1% for each completed month, up to 12% more |
| GST return (GST F5 or F8), due one month after each period | S$200, then S$200 for each completed month, up to S$10,000 per return; estimated assessment with a 5% penalty; court fine of up to S$5,000 if repeated | 5%; if still unpaid 60 days later, a further 2% for each completed month (counted from the due date), up to 50% more |
| Individual income tax, due 18 April | Estimated assessment; composition of up to S$5,000; if convicted, a fine of up to S$5,000, plus twice the tax if 2 or more years late | As for corporate tax (5%, then a further 1% a month, up to 12% more); IRAS can also stop you leaving Singapore until it is paid |
| Withholding tax, due on the 15th of the second month after paying a non-resident | Filed with the payment, on the same date | 5%; if still unpaid 30 days after the due date, a further 1% for each completed month, up to 15% more |
| Employer Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) submission (IR8A), due 1 March | Court fine of up to S$5,000; directors who ignore IRAS notices face up to S$10,000 and/or 12 months’ jail | Not applicable |
| Form IR21 tax clearance, due at least 1 month before a non-citizen employee stops work in Singapore or leaves for more than 3 months | Composition of up to S$5,000 per offence | On monies withheld: 5%, then a further 1% for each completed month, up to 12% more |
| Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI), due 3 months after the financial year end | IRAS sets no fixed penalty, but issues an estimated assessment, payable in full within 1 month with no instalments | As for corporate tax |
Sources: IRAS late filing and late payment pages for corporate tax, GST filing, GST payment, individual tax, individual payment, withholding tax, AIS, IR21, IR21 payment and ECI; Income Tax Act s94A. Read October 2026.
Three points catch people out. First, paying a composition without filing the return does not end the matter: IRAS says it may still take legal action, and uses the payment to settle any unpaid tax. Second, a penalty never replaces the tax: you still owe the tax itself, and you still have to file. Third, for unpaid company tax, IRAS can appoint the company’s bank, tenant or lawyer to recover it, which can freeze access to the bank account until the tax and penalties are paid in full. For employer filings, see our guides to IR21 tax clearance and withholding tax.
Can an IRAS penalty be waived?
Yes, if you meet IRAS’s conditions. IRAS checks eligibility before it considers your reasons, so start with the table below.
| Penalty | IRAS considers a waiver only if | How to appeal |
|---|---|---|
| Late payment penalty (corporate tax, individual income tax, GST) | Tax paid in full by the date in the penalty notice (for GST, all returns filed too), and no waiver in the past 2 calendar years | myTax Portal, Appeal for Penalty Waiver: instant outcome |
| Composition for a late corporate or individual return | Overdue return filed before the due date in the offer, and returns filed on time for the past 2 years | myTax Portal; for corporate tax, current-year appeals open after 30 November |
| GST late filing (late submission) penalty | All overdue GST returns filed and all overdue GST paid, and GST returns filed on time for the past 1 year | myTax Portal, for periods up to 12 months back |
| Withholding tax late payment penalty | Tax paid in full, no waiver in the past 2 calendar years, and an undertaking to pay on time (such as by GIRO) | Request for S45 WHT Penalty Waiver form: up to 15 working days |
| IR21 composition | First request; or clearance was not needed (for example, the employee was in Singapore for under 60 days); or clearance was filed under another group company for the same job | IRAS’s IR21 appeal form |
Sources: IRAS corporate tax late filing and late payment pages, GST late filing, GST late payment, withholding tax, IR21, and the corporate tax and GST waiver user guides. Read October 2026.
When a waiver is unlikely
- You do not meet the conditions. Any one of these usually ends the appeal before your reasons are read: tax still unpaid, a return still outstanding, a late payment waiver already granted in the past 2 calendar years, or, for a composition or GST late submission penalty, a late return in the past 2 years (1 year for GST).
- Your reason is about workload. IRAS publishes no list of reasons it accepts. In a 2025 court case, it said a company’s delays in preparing its accounts “are not valid grounds for non-compliance”.
- Your agent dropped the ball. IRAS says directors remain responsible even when a tax agent fails to file or pay on time.
If you do not qualify, the priority shifts from appealing to stopping the escalation: file, pay, and if cash is the problem, apply for a longer payment plan through myTax Portal’s GIRO service before the due date.
How do you appeal for an IRAS penalty waiver?
For corporate tax, GST and individual income tax, the appeal is an online form that takes a few minutes.
- Clear the cause first. File the overdue return and pay the tax in full by the date in the penalty notice. For GST, IRAS will not process the appeal while any return is overdue.
- Log in to myTax Portal with Corppass (individuals use Singpass). For a company, the person appealing needs the right Corppass authorisation, such as Corporate Tax (Filing and Applications) or Corporate Tax (Payment), or the GST equivalents.
- Go to Account, then Appeal for Penalty Waiver (Corporate Tax or GST). Choose the composition amount or the late payment penalty (for GST, the late payment or late submission penalty), then the year of assessment or accounting period.
- Select your reasons if asked, and submit. You get the outcome straight away, and a successful appeal shows in your tax account within 3 working days.
Timing matters. For corporate tax, an appeal against the composition for the current year of assessment only opens after 30 November. For corporate tax, GST and individual income tax, IRAS asks you not to appeal by myTax Mail, email or phone, as that causes delays. Withholding tax and IR21 compositions use the separate forms shown in the table above, and a late payment penalty on IR21 monies withheld is the exception: IRAS says to appeal it through myTax Mail.
Waiver or objection: which do you need?
A waiver removes a penalty or a composition amount. An objection disputes the tax assessed. If IRAS has estimated your company’s tax because its corporate tax return was late, the fix is an objection within 2 months of the Notice of Assessment, filed with the return, financial statements and tax computation. Without them, IRAS will not revise the estimate. GST works differently: file the overdue GST return and IRAS revises the estimated tax and the 5% penalty, provided the return is filed within 5 years of the end of that accounting period. For individual income tax, file the overdue return straight away so that IRAS can review the estimate. Our Notice of Assessment guide explains how to read the notice.
The estimated corporate tax still has to be paid within 1 month while the objection is reviewed. If the assessment comes down, IRAS refunds the excess and recalculates the 5% penalty on the revised tax.
Are directors personally at risk?
Yes, in three ways.
- The Section 65B(3) notice. A director who ignores it without reasonable excuse faces a fine of up to S$10,000, up to 12 months’ jail, or both, plus up to S$100 a day if the failure continues after conviction (Income Tax Act s65C).
- Court. A summons can name the company and its directors. If no one attends, IRAS says further legal action will follow, potentially including a warrant of arrest against the director. If more time is needed, the company’s representative must still attend court on the date with a Letter of Authorisation to ask for a postponement, even if that representative is a director.
- No hiding behind an agent. Directors are responsible for filing even when a tax agent is engaged. Our guide to a director’s key responsibilities covers the wider duties.
IRAS uses these powers. From January to mid-October 2025, it issued close to 4,500 Notices to Attend Court to companies that had not filed for Year of Assessment (YA) 2024 and earlier. In 2023, it prosecuted over 4,700 companies and issued 1,690 summonses to directors. In September 2025, a construction company whose YA 2019 and YA 2020 returns were more than two years overdue was ordered to pay S$190,165: a penalty of twice the tax assessed plus a S$2,500 fine. IRAS said the returns were still unfiled at the time.
Can a director be stopped from leaving Singapore?
IRAS mentions travel restriction orders for an individual’s own unpaid income tax, and for sole proprietors and partners who owe GST or IR21 monies withheld from an employee; its corporate tax pages do not mention them for directors.
Late penalties are not error penalties
Everything above is about returns filed or paid late. Mistakes in a return fall under a separate regime: up to 200% of the tax undercharged without intent to evade, and up to 400% with it. A qualifying voluntary disclosure within a year of the filing deadline avoids a penalty altogether. Our guide to IRAS letters and audits explains that side, and our GST F7 guide covers correcting GST returns. If your company is dormant and wants IRAS’s permission not to file at all, that is a different kind of waiver, covered in our dormant company guide.
What should you do in the next 7 days?
- Check the letter is genuine. Find it in myTax Portal; IRAS does not send payment links. Our IRAS letters guide shows how to spot a fake.
- Find the due date on the letter. Every option, from a waiver to avoiding court, depends on acting before it.
- File the overdue return, even late. A composition waiver is only considered if the return is filed before the composition due date, and filing is the only way to replace an estimated assessment.
- Pay the tax in full by the penalty notice date. Full payment is a condition of every late payment waiver, and for most taxes it must be made by that date. If you cannot pay, apply for a payment plan before the date.
- Appeal on myTax Portal if you meet the conditions, and keep the outcome letter.
- Reply to any Section 65B(3) notice or summons by its deadline. File and pay the composition by the deadline stated in the summons if you can (for IR21, at least 1 week before the court date); otherwise someone must still attend court on the date.
- Fix the calendar. Corporate tax by 30 November, Estimated Chargeable Income within 3 months of the year end, GST one month after each period, employer AIS by 1 March and individual returns by 18 April. Our monthly compliance checklist helps.
How we help with IRAS penalties and composition letters
Excellence Singapore Group’s tax team, which brings accreditation from the Singapore Chartered Tax Professionals (SCTP) in both income tax and GST, handles IRAS letters, audits and voluntary disclosures, as well as corporate tax and GST filings. When a penalty notice, composition letter or summons arrives:
- Send us the letter, with its due date, before you pay or reply.
- We work out where you stand: which stage you are at, what is overdue, and whether you meet IRAS’s waiver conditions.
- We get the overdue returns filed, preparing the accounts and tax computation if needed, aiming to beat the composition or court deadline.
- We make the appeal or the objection, prepare the reply to any Section 65B(3) notice, or set up a payment plan if cash is tight.
- We keep you on schedule afterwards, so the next deadline does not turn into the next letter.
Fees are quoted after we review the notice. If a court date or composition deadline is close, say so when you send the letter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can IRAS waive a late payment penalty?
Yes, if you qualify. For corporate tax, individual income tax and GST, IRAS considers a waiver only if the tax was paid in full by the date in the penalty notice and no waiver was granted in the past 2 calendar years. For GST, every required return must also have been filed. Appeal through myTax Portal for an instant outcome. Withholding tax adds a third condition, a commitment to pay on time in future, and uses a separate form.
What is a letter of composition from IRAS?
It is an offer to settle the offence of filing a return late, instead of prosecuting it. The composition amount can be up to S$5,000 per offence, depending on your compliance record. To avoid prosecution, you must pay it and file the overdue return by the due date in the letter.
Is there a late filing penalty for corporate tax?
Yes, though not a fixed amount. If a company’s return is late, IRAS can estimate its tax and offer a composition of up to S$5,000 per offence, depending on its compliance record, instead of prosecuting. If the company is convicted, the fine can reach S$5,000, plus a penalty of twice the tax if returns are 2 or more years late. Paying the composition avoids prosecution only if the return is also filed by the due date.
Can IRAS waive a GST late filing penalty?
Yes, if you qualify. IRAS calls it a late submission penalty, and considers a waiver only if every overdue GST return is filed, all overdue GST is paid and your GST returns were filed on time for the past year. Appeal through myTax Portal’s Appeal for Penalty Waiver service, for periods up to 12 months back.
How long does an IRAS penalty waiver appeal take?
For corporate tax, GST and individual income tax, appeals made through the Appeal for Penalty Waiver service on myTax Portal get an instant outcome, and successful appeals show in your tax account within 3 working days. Withholding tax waiver requests use a separate form and take up to 15 working days.
Can a director be jailed for late tax filing?
A company’s late return can be punished with a fine of up to S$5,000, plus twice the tax if it is 2 or more years overdue. For your own personal return, not paying the court fine or penalty can mean up to 6 months’ jail. A director who ignores a Section 65B(3) notice without reasonable excuse faces a fine of up to S$10,000, up to 12 months’ jail, or both. Skipping court can lead to a warrant of arrest.
What if I disagree with an estimated assessment?
For corporate tax, object within 2 months of the Notice of Assessment, and file the return, financial statements and tax computation with your objection, or IRAS will not revise the estimate. You must still pay the estimated tax within 1 month. If the tax comes down, IRAS refunds the excess. For GST, file the overdue return instead: IRAS revises the estimate once it is filed, as long as that is within 5 years of the end of the period.
Got an IRAS penalty or composition letter? Act before the due date
Most of the options in this guide close on the date printed on the letter. Talk to us and send us the notice; we will tell you where you stand and what to do first.
